lapis

This quarter has been a little rough on me. I've had physical health issues (that I'm being treated for) all year, but this summer my mental health took a hit. I think I'm slowly getting back to a good headspace.

Games

July

I played more Coral Island though after this month I stopped playing it. I'm sure I'll get back to it, it's just that the news about the Humble Games Layoffs really bummed me out.

I'm taking my sweet time with Hades II. I love what I've played so far. I want a patch desperately.

I played Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes some more. Slowly progressing. I like dicking around in this game.

Played more of my sweet precious Moonstone Island. I got away from it after July though.

Because it was the 35th anniversary of Mother 1 / EarthBound Beginnings I and a couple of friends elected to play some of the game on its anniversary. I was the only person in our group to have ever beaten it, which I assure y'all would not have been possible without save states.. I love that game so much, but I cannot say it is a good game, you know?

I started Vampire Therapist. It's great, though I haven't played as much of it as I'd like. Get it. It's good, and there have been free content updates that have dropped (not that I've touched them, gotta beat the main game first) so there's lots of game.

I had a really bad day in July, and elected to break out one of my “Having a Bad Day” games, which in this case was A Short Hike. While I have beaten it before (and heartily recommend it), I did not beat it this time, because my brother and I learned the hard way that the Xbox Controller everyone recommends doesn't like pairing with multiple computers without freaking out. I'll have to get my own controller at some point (I have a Nintendo Pro Controller I use sometimes, but I like the XBox Controller better, unfortunately). All in all I recommend making a steam collection for your ”Break Glass In Case of Bad Day” games. This idea came from a discord buddy, and I immediately stole it for myself and it has served me many times over.

I played some XenoBlade Chronicles I, though it was mostly screwing around collecting stuff. I'm glad I now know I can raise relationships by giving party members gifts in an option hidden deep in various menus. I'm a little bitter I didn't know sooner, but at least I can use it now.

And of course I played Umineko Chiru Episode 7, Maybe episode 8 will change my mind, but I genuinely think despite the heavy material in this episode, it very well might be my favorite (I promise it is not all because of Lion and Willard).

August

I played more Eiyuden Chronicle. At first I was focusing on it because the first of the Story DLC was supposed to come out. As you may know, it got delayed. And so I started focusing on other games.

As in Fields of Mistria. mostly. It is in Early Access, and as a result you can't romance any of the characters yet, but there's already a decent amount of content, and it feels like it does so many things right. It's addressed a lot of the things I dislike about Stardew Valley (And I did not put 500+ hours into a game I dislike. I think the good outweighs what I dislike.) If you want a good farming game, the chance to be non-binary in a game (and pick from a decent range of pronouns, though I must stress as of yet no Neopronouns are included), or just to bathe in a 90's anime aesthetic, might I recommend Fields of Mistria?

I beat Umineko Chiru episode 7 this month, and since my brother had agreed to go through episode 8 with me, this changed when I would play the game (because he needed to be present).

I played a little Hades II. I got my first clear (in the underworld). Play it play it play it.

Did more Vampire Therapist. Haven't gotten super far.

Progressed the story in XenoBlade Chronicles I. I had forgotten who someone was because they didn't seem important and BOY was I wrong. Thankfully my brother remembered.

As you may know, hit Visual Novel Fate / Stay Night came out in August. I had always wanted to play it (and this is the non porn-game version), but I waited about a week to start playing it because there were some major issues at launch. I was getting really frustrated with the bad UI, but it turns out that stops being an issue once you beat the prologue. It's a long prologue though, so keep that in mind. I sometimes play it on Saturdays when my brother can't do Umineko.

I wanted a relaxing game I could turn my brain off to, so I played a bit of Silent Hope. Definitely a game to get back to.

I played more EarthBound Beginnings. Pippi is so strong I wish you could keep her in the party. Seriously, move over Ninten, Pippi has this covered! So of course I am doing some grinding in the cemetery to help the wimp Ninten gain some levels before I am forced to give away Pippi.

September

I played a little more Fields of Mistria but by this month I'd about exhausted the available content. I regret nothing.

All I knew about Umineko Chiru Episode 8 was that it had a choice. This is incorrect. It has multiple choices and becomes a goddamn Professor Layton game. I'm not sure how many of these choices and puzzles matter though.

I booted up My Time at Portia for the first time in a while.

I started playing Rune Factory 5 on PC this time. It has a few hiccups, but it's still a great game. There seems to be a rule that each Rune Factory (well there's a few of them I haven't played) has to have something glaringly obvious problem with it that will be fixed in the next in the series. For the problems I have with this one (not to mention the glitches and bugs) I assume that Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma will be like this too.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Game-wise)

Since I made the effort to play My Time at Portia I'd like to keep at it, but Rune Factory 5 is awfully enticing.

Of course I need to play more Vampire Therapist, if only for the fact it's nearly October and therefore perfect Vampire time.

You may have noticed Ciel noSurge was not on my list this quarter. Poor planning. I plan to play more, of course. But...

Things I'm looking forward to (Game-wise)

There's a fan-translation patch coming for Ciel noSurge on vita. I love doing these sorts of one-person-audience Translation Let's Plays with my brother, I think he wants to prioritize Kuro no Kiseki (Trails Through Daybreak) since he's several games behind now, so me playing it on my own may be best. I'll have to discuss it.

For Moonstone Island's Anniversary, there's supposed to be a big update (and presumably more decor DLC) that adds festivals. I'm excited. I love this game so much!

Books

July

I don't know why, but I had the urge to jump into a lot of YA Novels again, not super recent ones either. My library's e-book service had Kiera Cass' The Selection series, and I wanted to give it a try because it sounded fascinating (and of course, fun). I finished the titular book in July.

My library also has a fair amount of manga, so I reread Volumes 1 through 10 of Kamome Shirahama's Witch Hat Atelier. It's a very good series, I whole-heartedly recommend it.

I reread volume 1 of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: Eternal Edition by Naoko Takeuchi. I had checked out volume 2, but realized I needed a refresher. So I read those two.

I started a re-read of Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo. My brother's also gotten into it recently, it's fun to discuss how certain wordplay is translated with him. The translators did a really good job in my opinion.

I read a Middle Grade Novel Dear Mothman by Robin Gow. It's about a trans boy looking for and writing to Mothman while dealing with the grief of losing his best friend. I was positive I was gonna cry at the end, but I did not, to my surprise. It's a great book, I recommend it.

I started a reread of the Graceling series by Kristin Cashore. I read the titular novel, and despite how a certain aspect of disability is handled (which I will say Cashore worked on in later books) it's a solid read.

August

Upped my reading goal to 100 books. Probably will raise it again given how many graphic novels and manga I appear to be reading this year.

I read volumes 3 and 4 of Sailor Moon, and volumes 6 through 10 of Spy x Family. And of course, a bit more of Witch Hat Atelier.

I read The Elite and The One which finishes off the first part of The Selection series. There's some short stories I haven't read because my library didn't have them when I checked. Also, there's some books set in the future, but I haven't gotten around to them yet.

I read an asexual platonic “romance” book Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao. I loved it. Romance was in quotes because it's about finding someone who understands you but is more like the best friend you'll ever have and you don't want to kiss them. So that might not count as romance to you. I hope to see more Ace Spectrum romances in the future.

September

Tragedy struck. My Kobo libra 2 bricked. It had lasted about 2 years and unlike the one before it—did not die from a big dog sitting on it. Anyway, I had some perilous days where I was sulking because I couldn't read my e-books (and was refusing to read them on a computer screen) but my new Kobo came. One of the color e-ink models. I love it! Once I figured out the Stylus annotation became so fun. I imagine I will get a lot of mileage out of research using this.

So as you may have expected, those days without an e-reader I read more physical books.

I read Barda by Ngozi Ukazu. I am not familiar with the character, but these DC graphic novels are always so approachable. I know Ukazu has another DC project in the pipeline and I can't wait.

I read Tiffany's Griffon written by Magnolia Porter Siddell (one of my favorite webcomic makers) with art by Maddi Gonzalez. It's really good. Imagine knowing everything about a fantasy world, and when the moment comes for you to go save that world, you find out you are not the chosen one, but someone unfamiliar with the series is. It's great, it's touching, I'm glad I got it.

I read X-Gender volumes 1 and 2 (completing it) by Asuka Miyazaki. The first volume is very informative regarding the X-Gender marker in Japan, but the second volume is a bit different because it was made during the beginning of Covid, so Miyazaki couldn't go to any queer bars and didn't like doing web-events. So that's different than I expected, but it's still good!

I read Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance by S.W. Searle. I didn't realize when I bought it that it was erotica (it is published by “Smut Peddler” so this is 100% me not paying attention) but it's not like I'm allergic to erotica on occasion. It's a sweet read.

I also read Ruined by Sarah Vaughn, Sarah Winifred Searle, Niki Smith, which is Regency period I believe? Anyway, I don't think this one is tagged on Storygraph as erotica, but you do see genitalia drawn, so keep that in mind if that would bother you. I love reading Regency Period stuff so this was a nice treat for me.

I read Volume 1 of The Summer Hikaru Died by Mokumokuren. It's a horror story about your best friend dying, some creature replacing him, and seemingly you are the only one that can tell the difference, but the creature has all of your friend's memories. Also it's in love with you, so yes it's BL plus horror. It's a very interesting read and I plan to read more of it.

On my Kobo I read volume 11 of Spy x Family. There's more, but my hold hasn't come in. I also read the sixth volume of Sailor Moon, and while I did enjoy it (Hotaru / Saturn was one of my favorite characters from what I can recall of watching the (censored) anime), I need a break. I've got volume 7 checked out but I haven't read it yet, and no one has placed a hold on it, so thankfully I don't have to haul ass.

This month I finished How to Read Nonfiction Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster. It's an excellent read about media literacy. It was recommended to me by an academic friend. Foster has written about reading a variety of things. I plan to read his one on Poetry next.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Reading-Wise)

When I finish reading Katzenjammer (Francesca Zappia). I plan to get back to the Graceling series, and also those last books in The Selection. Hopefully the short stories aren't required reading.

If I could shake myself to get myself to finish Children of Blood and Bone so I could get on with the series, reread the second book, and FINALLY witness how this series ends, I would. I think I'm scared of finishing it which is why I'm taking such a leisurely pace.

I'd also like to reread and finish the books I had to return because of my Kobo breaking, whenever the library gives them to me again.

Things I'm looking forward to (Reading-Wise)

I found out Song of the Lioness is getting a comic adaption, though it won't be available until 2025.

In November Dark Horse will publish its first volume of Tom Siddell's Gunnerkrigg Court series (which is an omnibus of the first two volumes of the original publication). I am of course excited.

I have to reread Iron Widow because Xiran Jay Zhao confirmed we will see Heavenly Tyrant this year. Hell yes.

Lore Olympus volume 7 is coming out soon. Too many good reads are coming out!

Miscellaneous Media

July

Because I am too anxious a person to beat Undertale I am watching someone's first time playthrough (Pacifist) and hoping to enjoy it vicariously through their Let's Play.

I watched more of the 1992 version of X-Men the Animated Series. God, Cyclops is such a dick but Mr. Sinister is a creepy pervert.

Watched more Pokémon Horizons.

Watched a little Pokémon: Indigo League because sometimes you're just in the mood for the version from your childhood where Ash can be cocky and a jerk. Good times.

Because the stars aligned, I was able to participate in the Mastodon Sunday Movie event “Monsterdon”. The movie was Invaders from Mars (1953 Version). I really had fun.

I started listening to an audio drama called Remnants which I promise is not just because of its name. It calls itself “Too Weepy For Work” and while I haven't cried often due to the show, it fits very well. It's fascinating, both roles in the show (so far) are performed by Eira Major, who evidently has quite a range.

August

A bit more of the Undertale LP. Slowly but surely making my way through.

I listened to and completed an audio drama called And 195 . It's about a marathon runner who often ends up in other worlds during marathons.

I also tried out an audio drama called Pixie, which I would say is targeted at children. It's a cute one.

Watched more X-Men. Watched more Pokémon: Indigo League this time in honor of Rachael Lillis, who recently died. I mean this with no disrespect to the later voice actors, they're good at what they do, but Veronica Taylor et al were the voices of my childhood, so Rachael Lillis was my Misty, my Jessie.

Watched more Pokémon Horizons. It's such a soothing show.

Continued with the Remnants audio drama. It's something to look forward to every Monday.

September

I am getting close to the end of the (first) run of this Undertale LP. I know to get the Pacifist ending you have to do a minimum of two runs. So presumably there's a fair chunk left.

This month the Remnants audio drama was amazing, especially episodes 9 and 10. I'm wondering at which point I should re-listen / marathon them.

In X-men 1992 we finished the Phoenix Saga. I figured that was a good point to take a break.

Tried this podcast / audio drama called Shelterwood. It's a suburban gothic horror story that is presented similarly to a true crime podcast. It's fascinating.

We caught up to what Netflix has available of Pokémon Horizons. Waiting impatiently for more.

I got back into The Magnus Archives. I don't like listening to it without taking notes which is why my progress is so slow.

I'm quite behind (as I've been prioritizing things like audio dramas lately_ but I like listening to stories from audio magazines. A few Cast of Wonders stories stuck out to me this month:

• All-Consuming by Taryn Rose Frazier, narrated by Dani Cutler. It's a story about having an eating disorder told via self-cannibalism.

• Flawless by Frances Hardinge, narrated by Kat Day, a fairy-tale-like story about double standards raising a boy versus raising a girl.

• Three Wishes to Save the World by Rebecca Zahabi, narrated by Anne-Louise Fortune which is about Individual Change regarding the climate crisis in a realistic and helpful way (despite the fact the story is about using a genie to fix the world) I honestly think a lot of doomers need to read this story. Maybe me using a grocery tote won't make a dent compared to Oil Companies doing their thing, but feeling hopeless and helpless hurts.

Dracula Daily / Re: Dracula is in full swing by this point. Sobbed at the September 20th episode like I did last year.

I listened to an audio drama series called Falling Forward. All of it over the course of two days. It's about a hacker trying to get revenge on a tech bro. It's very good, and the episodes are extremely short. I think it would take roughly 40 minutes to listen to the entire series.

And just yesterday, I managed to make it to the live-tooting Mastodon event “Monsterdon”. The movie was Invaders from Mars (1986 Version). I assure you I did not go into it planning to see the remake of my first Monsterdon movie, but it was a fun watch. It has Really good practical effects, the aliens in the movie were basically works of art. Since a key point of the film is both that the protagonist collects pennies and the aliens eat or need copper, I want to know if by the 80s, pennies were mostly zinc like they are now. I know it's not the right time period, but Tumblr's favorite historical figure, Ea-Nasir (Ea-nāṣir ) with his possibly subpar copper ingots, should have made a guest appearance. Also I've decided because this movie has the aliens stealing copper wiring, it's probably sponsored by those speakers with gold cables.

Things I'd Like to Work on (In General)

I'm hoping to finish the first season of The Magnus Archives by the end of the year. The main obstacle in that is that a lot of stuff happens in Dracula in October (and early November). So while I do want to listen to The Magnus Archives and listen to some of the million other audio dramas and podcasts I'm subscribed to, if nothing else it will require time management.

I try to listen to new music on occasion. I think it's good for me. Enrichment in my Enclosure if you will. I don't really jot down when I do it, but I wonder if I should, and add it to these round-ups (Which get ever longer). My main worry is while I like music I feel I don't really have anything profound to say about it. I'm not sure it'd be interesting to hear “I found a favorite version of Der Tod und das Mädchen and it's by Nathalie Stutzmann and I bought a digital version of the album immediately afterwards and listened to it on repeat”. I mean if you'd find that interesting by all means tell me.

Things I'm looking forward to (Miscellaneous)

Monsterdon will work differently for October. Last I heard it would be all Dracula or Dracula-adjacent movies. If I participate, I'm going to specifically make it a goal to not be a huge asshole about the differences between the movies and the novel.

I looked it up. I will get new Pokémon Horizons episodes in November. Gotta be patient.

I have no idea when new Pokémon Concierge episodes are coming, and that makes me sad, same with Delicious in Dungeon / Dungeon Meshi and I fear I may go into withdrawal despite the fact there are many good things to watch (presuming streaming services don't just throw them in a shredder as a tax write-off).

I still haven't watched Bridgerton or gotten back into Riverdale. There's too many things to watch!

And that covers most of the last 3 months. I hope you found it interesting. Let me know if there's anything you think I should get into, though give me a lot of patience because I am slow at listening to suggestions.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

I've been in a bit of an Art Funk, so I was going through one of Twyla Tharp's books: The Creative Habit. I had read it before, but maybe not as thoroughly. There's this part where you are to fill out your own “Creative Autobiography”, 33 questions that are supposed to help guide you. This is only partially about that.

Anyway, It took me days to fill out, because part way through I realized, I am not just a writer—I dabble in music, I obsess over the Fiber Arts. Such people Tharp thinks are cursed, as opposed to one obsession / gift to drive you. I understand why she thinks that. However, for someone with ADHD, juggling multiple plates like this suits me better. Part of this month wasn't spent writing, for a variety of reasons, but part of it was I needed to fulfill my musical creative yearnings, fulfill my fiber arts creative yearnings. I succeeded, not in the sense of producing much, but in listening to my needs. And magically, once I started paying attention to that part: I started being able to write again.

The Visual Novel Umineko no Naku Koro ni says the smallest amount of people needed to create a Universe is two. I think that's true of art as well, at least according to a lot of the answers I left. I wanted to be acknowledged. I wanted someone to respond to what I wrote or made. I was shouting into the Void, and I wanted the Void to at least greet me.

If you wrote and never showed anyone, and hypothetically, all evidence of these stories or poems were destroyed, and then you died, if no one saw the poems can anyone say you created art? This is a question I struggle with. If I don't call your work ”Art” in this case, it sounds like I am denying your work. Maybe I am? I am NOT saying The Industry ™ has to acknowledge you. I more mean, I would not know about Henry Darger if no one had discovered his work after his death. Was he content to keep his work to himself? I genuinely don't know. If you are: great. I am not. I want a Universe, even if it's a small one. And I have a hard time believing that's only true of me. If you wrote a fanfic and published it, are you really okay with no one else reading it? Not even kudos-ing it?

I think this is part of why I enjoy Tumblr's just leave a comment fest for commenting on works on Archive of Our Own (Ao3). An email notification that someone likes your story is wonderful. But an email saying someone left a fic on your comment, whether its key-smashing, or all caps unhinged yelling, or a thoughtful analysis, it's wonderful! The Void answered, if you will. And if you participate in that festival, YOU are the Void in this instance.

Even if I don't agree with Tharp about the idea of enjoying making multiple types of art, I very much recommend the book so far. It's given me a few ideas of how to proceed, and even for the writing, fortunately ”Be a Social Media Influencer” is NOT one of the steps I made thanks to this creative Autobiography. I may actually have to talk about my accomplishments more often but maybe it's good for me.

Anyway, if you'll excuse me, the summer comment fest is running through the 28th, I have some more fanfiction to comment on.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

Happy Anniversary to this fun idea. I hope y'all have enjoyed seeing me write these round-ups and had at least as much fun as I have had, and my journey to actually chart stuff I did. My Hobonichi Cousin is becoming a better record of my life thanks to adding notes about media that eases making these.

Games

April

I continued playing Stardew Valley 1.6 though I took a break after April. I plan to get back to it, not sure when though.

I also played Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising with the goal to beat it before Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes came out. I did not but that's okay.

As always I did some relaxation with Moonstone Island. One day I will decide who to marry in that game. I like most of the cast far too much to choose. I need more people to play this game so they can peer pressure me into marrying someone.

May

I beat Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising this month (and started Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes.) and did a little of the post-game stuff. It sort of seems like it may go on forever?

I beat Umineko Chiru: Episode 6. Solid episode. Furudo Erika is simultaneously so awful and the best. I LOVE that twisted girl. Though honestly, I think you could count the number of non-twisted characters in this game on one hand.

Possibly most important of all—my dreams coming true. I bought Ciel noSurge for switch (no region locking) and my brother and I are playing through it (very slowly). This means so much to me. I'd listened to the music before, but chills ran down my spine when I heard To the Songless Hill in game.

There was one slight problem though: We elected to keep putting my switch to sleep instead of saving and quitting, so I literally could not play anything else on that console until my brother agreed to save and quit. Which happened about a week ago as of writing this.

June

I just unlocked Fast Travel / Teleport in Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, I have some issues with the balance of the game (magic seems to not be worth it, for healing or attacks. Items are better, but you can't carry very many items at least to start with) but I'm enjoying it.

I started Umineko Episode 7. I forgot how much I love this episode. And Lion. And Willard. After I clear Episode 7, it's all new material for me from there (I will likely play Saku and Tsubasa next year,). Time to finally beat this saga.

I played a little of an Itch game I got from the Racial Justice and Equality Bundle called Secret Little Haven.

It's very nice, I love it, though I haven't beaten it because I'm not currently in the headspace to deal with the emotional abuse and gaslighting that features prominently in the game.

I played a little Coral Island. It's nice though with so many characters I'm having trouble keeping them all straight.

I played the Fields of Mistria demo. It's great. I love it. I am absolutely playing this when it releases.

We played a bit of Ciel noSurge and we are still not done with Chapter 1 but I love it so. But we saved and quit and I am playing switch games again.

Since I have my switch available again, I've been playing a bit of Pokémon: Scarlet and XenoBlade Chronicles I. I missed both these games.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Game-wise)

I definitely want to actually beat something soon. Probably XenoBlade Chronicles. And Pokémon: Scarlet. I'd definitely like to do more Ciel noSurge,

Things I'm looking forward to (Game-wise)

Drăculești, a romantic horror VN has a demo that releases the 1st of July. I've decided I simultaneously love Dracula the novel (Though I've only read the Daily / Chronological version) and hate all adaptations (more for what they do to the characters and who they remove) aside from Re: Dracula, but I love this concept, especially since it seems to star Renfield, who I feel needs more fleshing out.

The game Vampire Therapist is supposed to release. This was not on my radar at all at first, and then I found out that Cyrus Nemati, voice actor of Theseus, Ares, and Dionysus in Hugo-award-winning game Hades by Supergiant Games. And even if I wasn't a fan of the guy from his voice-acting, I really like the concept of providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to vampires, plus I've been a patient of that kind of therapy for years. Maybe I can prove I am as excellent at providing mental health help as I feel when applying it to my own life. That's Vampire Therapist, releasing on July 18th, please wish-list it

And Fields of Mistria releases in Early Access on August 5th. For some reason I thought it was July, but it is not. So I will play more Coral Island and Moonstone Island while I await the 90's anime-style Farming Sim

Books

April

I mostly read manga this month. I finished reading The Essence of Being A Muse. I quite liked it. Definitely belongs on people's shelves.

I started a reread of A Bride's Story. I got through eleven volumes.

I finished a Six of Crows reread, because someone on Mastodon was reading it for the first time and it reminded me how great that duology was. I have not started Crooked Kingdom yet though.

May

I caught up (in English published volumes) to A Bride's Story. I really want more.

I read and finished T. Kingfisher's Minor Mage. I must say, between this, Jackalope Wives and A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, I am becoming a huge fan of T. Kingfisher / Ursula Vernon.

I read Death's Country, a queer polyam take on Orpheus and Eurydice. Quite enjoyed it.

I started my reread of Lore Olympus. I got through four volumes this month.

June

I am caught up on traditionally published Lore Olympus, and also caught up on the WebToon, as it ended recently. I will miss it, but I have faith I will see Rachel Smythe's work again eventually. And until then, there's more volumes of Lore Olympus coming out.

I got through the Welcome to Night Vale audio-book. It's not bad, but evidently audio-books take an eternity to listen to. I had to renew it two times before I was done. Don't ask me why a 20+ hour playlist of podcasts is different to me, it just is.

I started my reread of Children of Blood and Bone since thanks to both ECTs and the passage of time (with no critique intended of Tomi Adeyemi for taking her time) meant I don't remember much of what happened, so I want both this and Children of Virtue and Vengeance fresh in my mind before I read Children of Anguish and Anarchy.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Reading-Wise)

I should probably have less books that I'm in the middle of. Like finish more, or start less. I don't know. Maybe next therapy appointment (since this is supposedly an ADHD thing) I can ask my therapist how to actually FINISH things. Or I suppose I could ask the internet.

Things I'm looking forward to (Reading-Wise)

It would be a lie to say I'm not looking forward to any books but I am trying really hard to focus on things. Like finish The Legacy of Orïsha series before I start any more fantasy. (Time will tell if I'm successful).

Miscellaneous Media

April

Continued watching X-men and Dungeon Meshi / Delicious in Dungeon. Watched some Pokémon Horizons. All of these are great shows.

May

Dracula Daily Started up again. I am listening to Re: Dracula and just using the newsletter to reference when I should listen to an episode. It's a really good podcast, I recommend it.

I was really psyched about the second episode of The Amazing Digital Circus coming out. I watched it twice in May.

As may not surprise anyone, I watched more Pokémon Horizons. It's a good show, even if I mutter “go, go, Fue-co-co!” to myself at times now.

June

We took a break from X-men for May, but we started watching it again.

Yes I watched more Pokémon Horizons. Is Dot a non-binary icon? I will probably watch more if only to find this out.

During a break / lull in Dracula Daily entries, I listened to the podcast / audio drama Temujin. Very nice! I recommend it.

Things I'd Like to Work on (In General)

I promised my brother I'd find a new TV schedule for us (like which days we play something or which days we watch something). He jokingly commented he's mad that he's still on the first Kuro no Kiseki game when the English version Trails through Daybreak is either out or coming out very soon. It was a joke, I don't think he prided himself on this (and if he does the answer to me is “Focus on Ciel noSurge. That's never officially coming out in English!”) but maybe he has to be more careful of spoilers? I dunno.

I'd also like to listen to more Audio Dramas when Re: Dracula / Dracula Daily is on break. Looking ahead at my podcatcher, it looks like aside from a couple episodes with Seward and Renfield, there's a lot of nothing until Whitby / The Captain of the Demeter's log. Probably a great time to get something in.

Things I'm looking forward to (Miscellaneous)

It looks like as I skim a couple sites there is no announced date for more Pokémon Concierge, or Dungeon Meshi / Delicious in Dungeon season 2. So I assume they're not coming particularly soon (the latter especially so). So I will probably focus on Pokémon Horizons and X-Men and hopefully some other stuff. I can't think of anything I'm looking forward to with a release date honestly.

I don't think my brother would be interested in watching this, but I have some mild interest in getting into Bridgerton. And eventually I have to watch Riverdale all the way through.

That's all from me. Let me know if you're looking forward to anything in the July through September Window. I hope to bring you another Quarterly report in September that has some great news to share.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

Maybe it's due to making these reports, but I've gotten better at tracking what media I enjoy. I typically add the media to my Hobonichi Cousin either the day of or the day after. I feel great that I don't need to rely on external sources as much.

Let's start with games.

Games

January

A great month for games. I continued my Umineko playthrough, this time with the Chiru / Answer arc. So naturally early in January I started episode 5. I love Furudo Erika so much, she's just so terrible!

I continued to play In Stars and Time I will probably never shut up about this game, I think it's truly one of my favorites of all time, but as you may have guessed: I love timeloop stories.

There were a few days I played Moonstone Island. It's so relaxing.

I worked on Pokemon Scarlet: The Indigo Disk DLC but I did not clear it before the epilogue came out. In fact, as of writing this? I still have not cleared it. I enjoy it, I do, I just don't want it to end!

February

I finished Umineko episode 5. Plenty of time to spare to boot!

I also finished In Stars and Time and fell into a funk afterwards. Despite taking my time playing (you can beat it in like 10 hours, I took at least 40), I missed a lot of content. you can bet I'll replay it in the future. Fanfiction has helped soothe my grief after beating it, but I still kind of want to restart it, but I've promised myself I'd wait at least several months before doing so.

More Moonstone Island and Pokemon Scarlet but not much to report. I sort of hate how the BBQ missions in The Indigo Disk work? Like, it feels like Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nook Miles + missions. The difference is, I found most of those missions in Animal Crossing you know, enjoyable. A lot of the Blueberry Quest missions felt tedious.

March

This may come as a shock, but I started Umineko episode 6. It occured to me, since like me, my brother has gone through all but episode 8, and he agreed to go through episode 8 with me, I would be playing on his schedule, not mine. So I need extra time for Episode 8, plus I remember Episode 7 being extremely heavy, so I will probably take a break after I clear that one.

I've played a little of The Indigo Disk but mostly only when I need a change of pace.

Since I want to beat it before the main game comes out (next month!) I started Eiyuden Chroncle: Rising. I'm currently taking a break from it because I hyperfocused a bit too much, but I'm confident I'll beat it before the main game comes out.

And of course, Stardew Valley: Version 1.6 Came out this month. I am thrilled. I am loving the new content. I elected to try out the new farm type that comes with chickens. It's great! No my character has not drunk any mayo. I can neither confirm or deny that I will marry Shane like I have every other file. I'm hoping eventually in a future patch there will be an ability to expand your silo instead of building, like, a million of them.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Game-wise)

My brother really wants me to return to playing Xenoblade Chronicles and I had planned on doing that this quarter. I just... didn't.

Of course next month I'll start Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes after beating Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising. I'll keep on track with Umineko Chiru. I promise nothing, but I'll try to get back to Xenoblade Chronicles, I Was A Teenage Exocolonist and I have a copy of Dragon Quest XI with my name on it, so I should give it a try.

Books

January

The 9th Wayward Children novella ( Mislaid in Parts Half-Known) came out, and I was excited about it as usual, though I did not tear through it like I usually do.

I finished Pride and Prejudice which I had started last year. I've read it before, but I feel I got more out of this time.

I started a reread of the Song of the Lioness Quartet. The ebook version I have has afterwords by Tamora Pierce from 2014, and they're interesting reads (though I'd love to hear her thoughts in 2024). I get frustrated with narratives (either with Queer characters or Gender Non-conforming Characters) where everything girly is bad, so I really appreciate that part of Alanna's character arc is learning Girly Things are not bad. Maybe I'm just sensitive to it as a Nonbinary person with a lot of “Girly” hobbies (relating to fiber arts).

February

This is the month I actually finished the Wayward Children Novella.

I read Ngozi Ukazu and Mad Rupert's Graphic Novel Bunt!. It's solid. You should get it. Maybe I should just make “Queer Sports Narratives” a thing I specifically seek out.

My hold on the final volume of I Think Our Son is Gay came in. It's a very nice manga.

March

I've been reading less this month. The main thing I want to shout is the Victorian WLW romance Don't Want You Like A Best Friend.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Reading-Wise)

It's nearly time to start spring cleaning. I want to reorganize my comics and manga. One of my shelves broke earlier in the year. Not like in a “haha you bought too many books” way, I mean, it was the same amount of books on the bookshelf and if anything it was missing books that it usually had, and it just.... collapsed. I was devastated.

As I've said previously I want to finish Babel. I've gotten a bit farther in it.

I've also been reading more literary works, I think I needed a change of pace, and sometimes I enjoy a book I can really chew on in a spinach sense (no canned spinach though).

Miscellaneous Media

I'm still years upon years behind, but I've started getting into Welcome to Nightvale. I've gotten back into The Magnus Archives as well. I know in theory you can listen to The Magnus Protocol without prior knowledge but I want to save it for now.

In celebration for the new series (and the fact this is just, you know, good) my brother and I have been watching the old X-Men cartoon. Enjoying it.

Early in January I watched all of Pokemon Concierge. It's adorable, I love claymation. I can't wait for the next season, but I also know not to get attached because Netflix is allergic to giving anything I like a 3rd season.

We started watching Pokemon Horizons when it premiered in the US. It's so cute so far, and affirms I was correct to choose Fuecoco as my starter.

And of course, our Thursday ritual has become to watch Delicious in Dungeon / Dungeon Meshi while eating supper. It's so good. I'm watching it in Japanese right now (because in most cases my brother prefers to listen to the original Voice track if it's available) but at some point I'm going to rewatch listening to the English dub, because the clips I've heard so far are Wonderful.

Things I'd Like to Work on (In General)

I'd love to list lots of goals here, but sadly I've been having health problems that take away time from a lot of things. I've been doing physical therapy for a few months now, and I am making gradual progress, but it's frustratingly slow.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

On Valentine’s Day, I woke up to the news that Yoshitaka Murayama of Genso Suikoden fame, writer of the upcoming Eiyuden Chronicle game, to name only two of his accomplishments, died last week, due to “complications with an ongoing illness” (Project Update 70 from Rabbit & Bear Studio).

I hope at the least, he was not in pain when he went.

I'm sure fans are happy to know he had completed writing of Eiyuden Chronicle before he passed.

I put on some Suikoden music thinking to honor him, and as soon as I hit a remix of “La mia tristezza”, I started crying.

Now, of course any artist (of high or low art, regardless of medium) dying is sad. I'm sure every death in the world is mourned by someone, whether or not they created or if you feel they deserve to be mourned, to use an example like Kissinger.

But, and this may be obvious, when someone dies, you really feel the sense of transience for every living thing.

When an artist dies (or a lighter example, a band breaks up with irreconcilable differences) the Finiteness strikes me. Like, yes, I am mortal, I can only produce Finite amounts of art, but while I am alive, it feels infinite. I'm certain it would feel different if I discovered I had a terminal disease.

And I feel that infinity with most art I experience. Until something happens that reminds me that life is short.

It's not like I've played all of Murayama's games. I haven't even gotten the good ending on Suikoden II yet. And of course Eiyuden Chronicle is coming out in a couple months, I will play through that and Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising really trying to absorb the story.

While I am sad, there is something I remember from the first book of Shusterman's Arc of a Scythe series, where the two protagonists are in a museum, looking at the art from the Mortal Era, and the art from their current, virtually immortal time, and it's clear the art from the Mortal Era is more moving, possibly because the artists had to contend with mortality (and poverty, and war, and so on). Maybe that is worth dwelling on.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

Things have been hectic, as I'm sure y'all have guessed. I'm going to use this to reflect on the end of the year, as I'm doubtful putting out a year-end roundup would be particularly interesting.

Let's start with games!

Games

October

Silent Hope came out. It's not that I hate it, I quite like it, in fact, but I got distracted by many other games so I haven't gotten super far. It was around this time I had a discussion with some friends about what ”Cozy“ or ”Relaxing“ games are. To keep this short: basically my favorite thing to do with games is to listen to podcasts while playing them, and not be deeply focusing on the games. This means I don't pay as much attention to the music, sadly, but it's a great way to relax. Silent Hope is great for this.

I of course started Umineko Episode 4 but I'm going to discuss that more in December.

I think I mentioned this before, but I got into Honkai: Star Rail partially as some first-hand research into Gachas, but I genuinely enjoy it (might help I haven't tried to pull for anything yet). I have to try some other Gachas for my research, but I have yet to do that. Maybe in 2024.

I've been playing some My Time At Portia. Quite like it.

Moonstone Island: I still love thee. I haven't finished the first year yet, but there's no rush.

November

So I was super excited (as I love time-loops) for the game In Stars and Time to come out. I did play it (though I haven't beaten it yet) when it came out, but I also wanted to play the (optional) prequel Start Again: A Prologue. As you may expect from a time-loop game, this is depressing at times (it hasn't gotten there yet, but I assume In Stars and Time will get to this point as well) and there's some self-harm. So while I absolutely recommend both games, make sure you're in a good place mentally when playing.

December

December was largely about hauling ass to finish Umineko episode 4. In case I hadn't made it clear, I had played most of the Umineko series before it was officially licensed, back when it was a fan translation. I have beaten Episode 4 at least twice years ago. But regardless, Episode 4 still emotionally destroys me. When I cleared all of it yesterday (December 30th) I was devastated and just listened to Discode on repeat.

There was also Pokemon. My brother wanted to make sure I cleared The Teal Mask before The Indigo Disk DLC came out. So I did work on that. I intend to at least get close to clearing Indigo Disk before the epilogue in January comes out.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Game-wise)

Other than some important games ( Hades II, Suikoden I & II and Eiyuden Chronicle ) that are coming out next year that I absolutely want to play, I think I want to beat at least one game from my backlog in the coming year. That should probably be Xenoblade Chronicles but I have many things I have half-finished, as has been clear from prior posts. Also, since Eiyuden Chronicle is coming out, I want to get back to Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising and beat that.

And of course, I want to finish all of Umineko Chiru / The Answer arc. I have to emotionally destroy my soul in 2024, I promised!

Books

October

I finished A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. I wish I had read this sooner, it's wonderful. Virtually everything else in October was a graphic novel, and overall I think I read less than usual.

November

In November, Dracula Daily ended (again), and of course, that meant Re: Dracula (the podcast audio drama version) ended as well. I cannot state how much I loved this. I may have to add an audio drama section to this report next year, because Re: Dracula got me really into listening to audio drama podcasts.

I also (finally) finished A Conjuring of Light, the final book in the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab. Apparently there's a new series taking place in the same world that just released.

And comics, once more.

December

In December I finally noticed I was in a book slump and needed a break from comics. Ironically, I started reading a buttload of comics this year because I was in a book slump from Young Adult fiction. This month, I've tried a little nonfiction and a little literature. I highly recommend Idol, Burning by Rin Usami. It's a good read, plus it's a novella so it doesn't take as long to read.

Finally, my hold on Bookshops & Bonedust as well, and that was a wonderful treat.

Things I'd like to work on (Books edition)

It's not like I need to read hundreds of books in a year. But I love reading, and I'd like to figure out what to read that will resonate with me. Right now, it appears to be literature (especially Japanese literature). But who knows what the new year will hold. Maybe I'll just ask people to tell me what to read.

I enjoy doing these reports, so I plan to continue this practice next year.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

As you may have guessed from the title: I still think it’s a good idea to have these quarterly reflections. I have improved on writing down when I play/read/watch/start/finish something. Sometimes it takes a few days before I remember to add it to the Hobonichi Cousin, but I’ve gotten a lot better about remembering, probably because it’s become a habit. Though personally? I’d still like Nintendo and Steam to give me more data, and not just at the end of the year. Maybe they will read this blog and go “you know what? That’s an excellent idea from a genius writer and we’re giving them free games (and localizing Mother 3) as a result”. I can dream, can’t I?

Anyway, there's a decent amount here, let's start with games, like last time.

Games

July

A great month for Cozy Games. Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life came out, and while I petered out playing it, I can confirm: If you buy the goat, it will not run out of milk: no more justification for murdering the goat!

Atelier Marie Remake came out, and you can bet as someone who played the Atelier series since they first came here, I was quite excited, I had always wanted to play this one. I decided to do an unlimited time run file. As you may expect, there are still annual events, they just recur however many times per year. Which is my current problem. I need Dunkelheits. Information in game seems to indicate they show up during an annual eclipse, and I’m so worried about spacing out (I tend to space out playing Cozy Games) and missing the Dunkelheit and having to wait another year. So it’s on hold until I’m “Ready”, whenever that is.

A new friend introduced me to Moonlighter, which is another game I can just put on a podcast to and relax. This is oddly specific and so Steam cannot help me with a dynamic list. I will have to come up with “lapis’ podcast and play” curated game list at some other point.

As you may have guessed, in July, I beat my first run of I Was a Teenage Exocolonist. I was so happy to start it again, so eager to right my wrongs. So far two less people have died. Though I have failed at preventing at least one death so far. I think I know how to avoid it next time.

I did in fact start Umineko: Episode 3 in July, and it took me until today (September 30th) to clear it. Not much to report, just picking up details I missed the first time around.

August

I learned about the existence of MOTHER: Encore. It’s basically a fan reimagining of the original, with sprites more like Earthbound and MOTHER 3, and some added functionality. I want to be clear. I LOVE the original MOTHER / EarthBound: Beginnings. Maybe it’s because I’ve played EarthBound / MOTHER 2 since before I can remember but collecting eight melodies holds a special place in my heart, despite all the bullshit and balancing issues the original game has. I played a bit of the demo, but I very much want to wait for the full game. A friend of mine, who has studied when Nintendo C&Ds something, is more optimistic than I that this will be made. Supposedly Nintendo’s C&Ds are entirely about Brand Confusion, so if they C&D’d this, it would indicate they probably did want to remake the first game. But anyway, you should check it out here.

I also did a bit of Honkai: Star Rail which I will insist is for a project I’m working on and not because I find March 7th really adorable. I have to check out some other Gachas for this project, and I haven’t progressed super far in the game yet.

I also did a bit of the Pokemon Scarlet postgame to make sure I was ready for the DLC.

September

Discovered a bunch of cool stuff this month. I started playing My Time At Portia at someone’s recommendation. Not much to say other than that I like it and should get back to it.

As you may know, Part 1 of the Pokemon Scarlet / Violet DLC came out, The Teal Mask. (Minor, vague spoilers for the main game and a bit of the DLC follow, skip ahead to Moonstone Island to skip it)

I don’t know if you have to have beaten the game to start it. Level-wise, I would say “yes”, but so far (and admittedly I’m not super-far in) I feel like it’s really mean to give Kieran a complex about how much he sucks at fighting you when you’re Champion-ranked. Like, this was Nemona’s character-arc, that she started holding back because she’s the only one that likes losing (and then she met you, and you let her go all out). I really hope it comes up, because as fun as it is to “bully” Kieran, it does feel really mean, he’s gonna need therapy at this rate.

Moonstone Island came out and I love this game so far. I think the reason some people don’t is they think it will just be another farming sim. So far the farming elements, while necessary, are light. I honestly wouldn’t mention the farming elements when pitching this game to someone. Say that the map is randomly generated after you complete the tutorial (which I suspect will lead to more replayability), and that while it seems to have less unique dialogue than a Rune Factory or Stardew Valley, I actually like how conversing works: you get a brief line, and then the option of Chatting, Joking, or Flirting with the person. These have different success rates and rewards (and presumably flirting is a requirement for dating someone). That’s right, you can make someone’s affection go down by picking “chat” and having poor luck. Also I like the battle system a lot, honestly: more than Stardew Valley’s.

A friend urged me to try the Silent Hope Demo that Marvelous / XSeed released. I love the system of time for crafting or other activities, and being able to switch characters (and getting a buff) in the dungeon. I’m quite looking forward to this game.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Game-wise)

I really need to get back to Xenoblade Chronicles I. It's like Eiyuden Chronicle and the Suikoden I & II remake delays were made specifically for me, but surprising probably no one that read this, I am really bad at staying on task and finishing games in a timely manner. At least I managed to clear I was a Teenage Exocolonist once... Unfortunately XBC will probably be delayed while I play Cozy Games. I will keep on top of Umineko Ep 4 though!

Books

July

I didn't write a review of it, but I wanted to highlight The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E. M. Anderson. This time the Chosen One hails from a Retirement Home. While there are sad and brutal parts of this book (it does not glorify them but it does not shy away from it, this book is basically “Trauma: A Fantasy Novel”) it is gentle and loving and I LOVE this book. Please buy it or request it from your library, the author deserves to do well.

I started Kimi no Todoke: From Me to You because my library got it in digitally. Unfortunately, though I checked out volume 16, it never showed up on my kobo (this apparently has something to do with updating files, but I have no idea what the issue is, but it made me sad because I really like the manga).

August

I caught up on Delicious in Dungeon / _Dungeon Meshi English Graphic Novel releases. The manga reached its conclusion the following month and you bet I read those chapters.

I finished reading What You Will: A Queer-er Shakespeare. You can see my review here. Jess Mahler, as always, does quite nice work, and I know in future writings, if I have a character transition during the story, this will be one of the books I study to make sure I do a good job.

I got through A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows during August, and the corresponding videos. As of writing I have about 20% of the final book left.

Because of the new zine, Madison, I reread all of Ngozi Ukazu's Check, Please! and Huddle! comics and zines respectively. I'm pretty sure it's not a MLM story, but I'm quite looking forward to her Graphic Novel Bunt! to be published in 2024.

People had been nagging me to read The God of Arepo and since I had a copy of it I finally did. I uh, see what the fuss is about (Yes I cried), and I'm glad it won an Ignatz. Reimena Yee is not responsible for the original story, but she does excellent art. She also made the Graphic Novel My Aunt is a Monster which I also happened to read this August. Solid work.

September

Less was read this month (besides trying my hardest to get through A Conjuring of Light). I read the comic Coven (Jennifer Dugan, Kit Seaton) and it was nice. My hold for My Brain is Different (MONZUSU) came in, and it was a great look at ADHD, Autism, and other such Neurodiversities in Japan. I recommend it (but it's a heavy book, dealing with bullying and suicide a lot. Take care while reading).

Around the same time I also checked out Shino Can’t Say Her Name (Shuzo Oshimi) and it was an interesting one. While not an anthology like the above, it is also only one volume. I recommend it.

Things I'd Like to Work on (Book-wise)

I absolutely want to finish A Conjuring of Light. I'm hoping if I'm lucky, once I do, my hold on R. F. Kuang's Babel will come back in and I can finish that as well. That new book written by Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes fame, The Mysteries is coming out in October along with a bunch of other comics. There's another Nagata Kabi book coming out in November (and a new version of My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness if you haven't picked that up yet) so I'm excited about that.

I really want to get back to Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi as well. It's my first Danmei as well as first Xianxia, so I think maybe rereading volume 1 is in order. I know I can grasp this stuff. I mean, I was certainly able to grasp a bunch of random facts about Japan I inhaled from manga in my peak Weeb period. Just because this is new doesn't mean it's impossible.

Things I'd Like to Work on (In General)

I joined an ASL class. I'm quite happy, I've been wanting to learn ASL especially in case I have another period where I go silent for whatever reason. But it's a really cool language and I'm loving what I've learned of the grammar so far. Wish me luck!

I've mentioned on Mastodon and Discord repeatedly that I plan on spending October improving my handwriting—not just for legibility, I think if I find a better position and grip it will help with my hand pain somewhat. I'm hoping to have something to report regarding that. I would love it if anyone else wanted to join in a 30-day (31st is for make ups and reflection) challenge of their own, it doesn't have to be handwriting.

I plan to do this again in December, possibly with an Annual Round-up too. I hope I will write a blog post or two before then though!

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

I felt it would be good to reflect on how I've spent my time. It's true, I came up with this idea in June, not January. And I discovered a couple problems.

• In my Hobonichi Cousin I tend to write down “Read” instead of specifying what I read.
• Nintendo doesn't give you an easy to read screen about when you played something.
• Steam only does so the first time you play something and when you get an achievement, though at least in the recent game section it specifies which month.

Anyway, doing research ( looking through chat logs, scanning my planner for the few times I did specify something, and checking book social media like BookWyrm ) I found a few things.

This is not an exhaustive list. I have been reading a lot of books and I'm only going to mention a few of them, for example. I'm also going to give a bit of a reflection.

Let's start with games!

Games

April

I played a lot of Harvestella and got burnt out on it. Like with Rune Factory 5 (Which I also haven't beaten) I like the farming so much I tend to focus on it instead of the story. Also fun Harvestella Fact: Because my brain is poisoned by EXA=PICO, there's a not-insignificant amount of times I've typed ”Harvestasya“ instead of ”Harvestella“.

I played more I Was A Teenage Exocolonist and I'm Extremely close to finishing my first play-through but I don't know if it's the ADHD or what, but I'm procrastinating because I don't want it to end despite knowing I will play through it more times.

I also finally cleared the Hades Epilogue. It's still one of my favorite games, and I'm definitely gonna start another file at some point, probably to help me get hyped for Hades II.

I happened to see the Volcano Princess Demo and gave it a try. Yes, I did notice the English translation wasn't the best, but it was functional, and I really liked the concept. I have not played the full game yet, but they claim they're going to improve the English translation among other fixes, so I'm in no rush.

May

While I played APICO before this, May was when I played some and elected to take a break, since updates are still coming.

I Got back to (for a brief moment) Xenoblade Chronicles I. I had to have someone remind me what was going on, but I grasped it . I then angrily put it down because I learned this whole time I could have been improving party members' relationships by exchanging GIFTS not just fighting together and doing quests together. I had been building Sharla and Melia's relationship for at least 10 hours, and it would have gone so much faster if I'd known about the gift stuff. I will get back to it. I like the game (despite that) and my brother agreed to play Hades if I played this, and he beat it completely, so I gotta do my part, fair's fair.

I happened to get Bad End Theater.. It's a short visual novel about choices and how the story plays out with 4 different characters .If you complete all of a character's bad endings, you get a letter. You can beat the game without it (you just need to see each character's ”True End“ to proceed to the end game) but you unlock the uh, True True Ending if you get and read all the letters. When I explained the concept to my brother, he said it sounded a bit like Triangle Strategy but I haven't played that yet so I have no idea.

One of my goals for this year has been to get through all four episodes of the Umineko no Naku Koro ni Question Arc. When Umineko was first released years ago (pre-Steam I mean), I got through Episode 7 and stopped. I regret that. I want to play through all of it, but frankly, with the fact that clearing Episode 1 took over 20 hours and the total word count of the series is longer than War and Peace I think 4 episodes is a good limit for now. I was hoping to do one episode every 3 months, but as you can see by the fact I' m mentioning Episode 1 in May I did not manage that. While I have not beaten Episode 2 yet as of writing this, I think I can manage to before June's over.

Also in May, I beat Pokemon Scarlet. While Gen V remains my favorite, this is a close second. I took a break from it soon after and I have not done the post game contents.

June

Other than Umineko I got back into Animal Crossing for a change of pace, and I also played a little Let's Build a Zoo.

Things I'd like to work on (Games Edition)

• Beating my first run of I was a Teenage Exocolonist. Maybe I just need an accountability buddy.
• Getting back to Xenoblade Chronicles I now that I'm no longer nearly as angry as I was
• Getting back to Harvestella and Rune Factory 5. This is probably not realistic as Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life is coming out soon, so unless I really hate it I'll probably focus on that instead.
• Keeping up the pace with the Umineko episodes.
• Trying new stuff and demos I get on steam more often.

Books

April

I am poisoned by The Locked Tomb. It took me months to get through Gideon the Ninth, and to be honest it probably helped that I was propelled forward both by enthusiasts and enthusiasts sharing spoilers. Harrow the Ninth was excellent and I want to read it again. I have read Nona the Ninth and I did like it, but the whole time I was like ”I wanna read Harrow again....”

If you follow me on BookWyrm or Storygraph you've probably noticed the majority of my reading this year has been comics and manga. It's just what my soul calls for. Anyway, I discovered this graphic novel series Fence. And I don't know if you know this about me: Despite the fact I can't stand to watch sports, I love reading sports memoirs. And evidently that extends to fiction. Especially really gay fiction! Like, I've read all five volumes (and I desperately need more) but the series started out pretty queer, and has somehow only gotten queerer with each volume which I didn't know was possible!

I signed up for a Substack book club for the 1818 edition of Frankenstein and then became afraid of my inbox and ignored it until April. I read all of it though.

I also started in on my Substack subscription to Periodic Pride and Prejudice.

While spring cleaning, I started (I'm not finished) reorganizing the bookshelves, and I rediscovered Vinland Saga. It's so good and I'm sorry I got away from it.

May

I read Belle of the Ball, which was great. I've been a fan of the author's webcomic Peritale (which I miss very much). Read Belle of the Ball and read Life of Melody!

A friend online recommended I read the manga Delicious in Dungeon. I love it so far, I'm waiting for the library to place more of them on hold.

Feeling left out after ignoring it last year, I started Dracula Daily. I worry a lot about my good friend Jonathan Harker. Also, I must say, if you haven't listened to the podcast Re: Dracula that follows the same release schedule, you have to listen to it. Every time there's an email from Jonathan Harker's Journal (Kept in Shorthand) I read that first, having gotten to the point where I can hear Ben Galpin narrate in my head, and then I listen to the episode, and go “Wow I sure do love the cast of this.“

June

As a new member of Jess Mahler's street team, I read and reviewed my free copy of First Came Trust. I'm really excited for some future releases.

My hold on All Systems Red (the MurderBot Diaries 1) came in. It took me a bit of time to warm up to it, but I'm a fan.

I finally got to start The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher, and I love it so far. It's about an Octogenarian Chosen One.

Things I'd like to work on (Books edition)

I Started R. F. Kuang's book Babel months ago, I loved what I read, but I could not finish it before the library wanted it back. So I placed another hold and am Semi-Patiently waiting.

My hold on The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet came in. I haven't started it yet, but I better start it soon, if I don't finish it I will have to wait another eternity to read it again.

Because I got away from the third book, and the fact V.E. Schwab is doing a read-along on Youtube, I really want to get back into Shades of Magic.

Things I'd like to Work on (In General)

This may be obvious, but I'd like to get more specific in my Planner. Maybe I don't have to note when I finish a book, but I should at least note What I'm reading or playing.

I think I'd like to do more quarterly roundups.

So, (hopefully) see you again with this in September!

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

A few days ago I asked my brother if by any chance anyone had managed to save my late-grandmother's Dill Soup recipe despite the fact I hated that damn soup. The answer (other than bewilderment at me caring) was “not really, Grandma didn't have a standard recipe.“ It sounds like attempts were made but none succeeded.

A few years ago, early in the COVID Pandemic, my maternal grandmother died. She was the last remaining grandparent I had. I don't believe it was due to COVID or the flu, I think it was natural causes.

Around 2017, I started bullet journaling. While I currently don't BuJo; right now I'm a Hobonichi Cousin planner addict, I've come to see the value in charting things. You think this would have occurred to me as soon as I started having ECTs but no, unfortunately, it took a few years. I am not always good at adding in details (I usually refrain from mentioning books because I chart those on BookWyrm and Storygraph) . I still like to think I'm helping future historians, whether they're human or alien. I do hope they don't write me down as straight though. That'd really piss me off. These three paragraphs are related, though not through direct causation.

I didn't care much for my maternal grandmother (I believe she is, in no small part, one of the reasons my mother is the way she is), but I still mourned her, despite the lack of positive memories. The closest I get is memories of making rosaries for the church (she always had me cover the knots in a layer of clear nail polish).

While I did grieve her loss, I more grieved the implications. The loss of information. The loss of Institutional Knowledge. It was something I had started caring about by the time I started Bullet Journaling, but unfortunately, by that point she had dementia, and I was told not to bother asking her questions about the past. Regardless, I wish I had asked.

What? What does that have to do with anything, you may ask.

My Paternal side is German, my Maternal side is Czech. I'm pretty sure my Dad's family didn't know German unless they learned it in school; they most definitely didn't celebrate German traditions and I suspect part of that was wanting to keep a low profile during World War II. There's another part I suspect, and I'll get to it in a bit.

On my Mother's side, my Grandmother and Grandfather knew Czech, but deliberately did not teach it to their children. Apparently this was because it made talking behind a child's back right in front of them quite easy. There are no dishes I remember (at least Wikipedia doesn't indicate anything about Dill Soup) from my time with my grandmother that I can find to be traditionally Czech: at least, as far as I know, serving Maruchan ramen noodle bricks doesn't seem to have originated in Europe. I don't believe I've ever had a koláč, let alone enough to turn into the plural kolache.

We have documents from her childhood that we cannot read, we think they're in Czech, we think they're religious, but that's about all we know. Admittedly, we could solve this by taking the time to learn Czech, and I've certainly toyed with the idea. But what about the broken chain of information? There seems to be no way to solve that. I suppose genealogical websites may help to some degree, but I don't want to give my DNA or other family members that haven't consented's information to third parties, just to be told “Hey you're Czech and German!!!” In short, to me, the chain of information is staying broken.

Why would both sides ignore their cultural traditions? To be honest, while I think this could be an essay in and of itself, I don't think I'm the person who can do it justice, regardless, I would feel dishonest if I did not donate at least a little space to it. But in short: I think it was the allure of Becoming White. Why do things that make you stand out as foreign, as an immigrant, when you can assimilate? Admittedly neither side became any flavor of Protestant, but I think both families successfully became white. I don't think I have to belabor the point anymore. I'm certain other, more qualified people have pointed this out more eloquently.

I personally don't think it was worth it, but I'm more an academic type, though perhaps a little lazy. The only reason I didn't minor in History in Undergraduate was that I didn't want to write a thesis. But to be honest: it's mostly my Anthropology degree that makes me feel links to the past.

I can't verify it, but aren't there political events we know even the slightest bit about because they were in Les Misérables? There are so many things we don't know about in particular time periods because society didn't want to talk about them.

Even a planner that lists you successfully did your laundry and went to the local election that day could be a boon (I voted by mail this is a fake example) to the future historians. This is why I keep all my planners and diaries. I will confess I did throw out some notebooks this month, but that's because I'm cleaning and I'm never looking at my Cultural Anthropology notes from ten years ago again. Sorry to future historians, I need the space for comics and manga.

Anyway, sometimes I get in a funk and don't keep up with my planner, but I always go back and fill it in to the best of my ability, because I remember both Future Alien Historians, and the sorrow I felt at my Maternal Grandmother's death.

PS: Future (Alien) Historians: I am not Straight I am not Cisgender please do not slander me even if our definitions of sexuality and gender change by the time you get this message.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social

I found a gray hair a few months ago. It was a shock to me, though it shouldn’t have been. My brother’s gray streak came in around the same age. My gray hair hasn’t propagated yet, but I’ve been through some hair changes regardless. When I was about 3 or so, my hair was so light that it passed for blond. It darkened as I aged a little, to a medium brown. I felt weird because my brother and my mother’s hair were so dark they passed as black. I think the medium brown possibly came from my father, but I have so few memories of him without gray hair that I can’t be certain. Now, my hair is so dark it passes for black. It irks me, but I can see my mother in the mirror. I also see my father, I have his nose. I supposedly have my paternal grandmother’s shoulders, but I barely remember her, so I have to take other family members’ words for it.

When I was in my 20s, I was deathly afraid of turning 25, let alone 30. I can pass for younger than I am, to the point that when I was completing my degree, there was a lot of shock even among older students to find out my age. So naturally, I simply let people believe what they wanted to about my age.

There's a Used Bookstore in town that runs an annual “Owner's 29th Birthday“ sale. The shop's been running it as long as I can remember. It's obviously a joke (though 29% off a book is no joke), but to some extent, as I approached 30, I could relate.

When I turned 30 last year, on social media, I decided to treat my birthday like a Final Fantasy sequel. I was not ”30“ I was “29-2”. I even wrote it in roman numerals to really get the effect.

But you know, on a personal level, ignoring the pandemic, ignoring the fact many fascists are trying to make my existence illegal and probably kill me, that sort of thing, being 30 has been much less awful than being 20.

At 20 I was even more depressed (though I hadn't started ECTs yet), I wasn't out to even myself, and I had just gotten diagnosed with Asperger's (now Autism Spectrum), and then in what was supposedly a support group (it was not a support group) shown videos of Autism Speaks comparing my brain to cancer or a car crash. Let me tell you, that does not make you feel good. Especially if after they show you this, they ask if you would take a cure.

At the time, I would. Most of my life had been misery for being different.

Now? Certainly not. My youth sucked, but Autism is a gift. Infodumping to people is a love language. On that note: this month outright ask your autistic friends to infodump to you about something, April is a hard month for Autistic people and we could use the support.

Basically there's something I was told by my therapist after my first partial hospitalization: “you have already experienced a lowest low, or rock bottom, and every time your mood dips, you will be afraid you are relapsing into the worst of it, but you aren't necessarily. You have tools now.“

That wasn't fully true at the time, because the medication-resistant depression got worse, and you know the rest.

But it's true now.

At 20 I couldn't imagine my life getting better, and I thought because I'd had to deny myself the joys of your 20s, that it was just downhill from there. I basically stopped writing around 19-ish for about a decade. I do regret that, but I know I can't change the past.

One: I'm too introverted to want to go out drinking all night anyway. Two: Yeah, I can't pull All-nighters anymore, but All-nighters were never that great, you know? I enjoy having a bedtime, even if I wish my spoons lasted longer so I could watch more movies with people online. Three: Even when I was in my 20s, I was never going to get on a ”30 under 30“ list. Being disabled and taking nearly a decade to get your undergraduate, while understandable, is not sexy to those lists. Plus I don't want to be an inspiration for simply being disabled and not being ashamed of it.

I'm told coming into your own in your 30s isn't as unusual as we're led to believe. Especially if you're Queer.

In some ways, my adulthood is like having the childhood I should have had. Like having leftover pie for breakfast because I can, who's gonna stop me? I need to eat something to take my medications anyway. The biggest change (aside from writing again) is that I now get excited about appliances. I was thrilled when we got our dishwasher. Later in the week I'm going to try our new vacuum (my dog destroyed the cord of the last one) and I'm practically looking forward to it.

Also, on the autism note from before? I cannot mask to save my life anymore. That could be a bad thing, maybe I'll regret it down the line, but I don't want to hide who I am, and I want to thrive as an autistic person.

On my birthday, I will update my age to say in plain text “31”, and I won't be ashamed anymore.

I heard from someone older than me that their 40s were even better than their 30s, so there's that to look forward to.

Feel free to at me on the Fediverse, please provide context though.

@lapis@booktoot.club

@lapis@bookwyrm.social