#caught up!

[lizard-reads-the-world]

Read in May-June 2026

In Repair by A.L. Graziadei ★★★★★ The author did a beautiful job of showing the character's struggles in a real way. I cried a lot.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei Brenyah ★★★★ Dystopian reality murder show mixed with real-life damning statistics of the US prison system.

Like We Were in Paris by Stephan Lee ★★★ Unapologetically sappy romance about a teen boy who wants to experience the romantic magic of Paris.

Blackout by various authors ★★★ A collection of interconnected stories during one night of a blackout in NYC, all by Black authors.

Checkers by John Marsden ★★★ Oh, shit. Spoiler: was the site 'does the dog die' made for this book? A short, gradually-revealed story with a killer (T_T) ending.

Alice Pung on John Marsden by Alice Pung ★★★★ An essay on the author of one of my favorite series. I enjoyed the dissection of the writer's works, even ones I haven't yet read. I should pick up more in this series if I can find them or similar writing-focused books.

Someone to Daydream About by Sydney Langford ★★★★ A fun romance. I especially enjoyed the Deaf/Hard of Hearing rep. Some of the tropes (the "evil" entertainment company, the MC's initial "I hate you because you're a celebrity" attitude) I found a little bland.

Monarchs in the Wild by Israel Moya ★★★★★ Coming-of-age of a teen boy and his vintage Mustang in rural California. I loved the realness of Cal's anger, his confusion, and the portrayal of a small town in the 90s.

The Call of the Friend by JaeHoon Choi ★★★ Short manhwa in a series of Lovecraft-inspired stories. Very minimalist and subtle, more vibes than anything, but the meaning comes through in the end and with the author's ending note.

Alien Gods by Lee Suhyeon ★★★★ Short story in a series of Lovecraft-inspired works, about a graduate student researching mudang (female shamans). I loved the theme here of "women's madness".

[empyrean11]

Sunday! Guys!

Buffalo lost 5-0, the only team in the org losing! Gallagher gave up the 5 runs without getting out of the 1st inning. A parade of pitchers followed with scoreless outings: Larkin, Yariel, Bowman, Chase Lee, Cellucci, and Juenger. The offense ... did not.

NH Cats won 5-4 in 11. It was actually tied at 1 going into extras.. NH scores 3 in the 10th, but, er, pitching?! Victor Arias drove in the winning run in the 11th. Eddie Micheletti jr had a HR for the first run. In the 10th, Hedbert Perez walked with the bases loaded for a go-ahead run, then Carter Cunningham singled to drive in 2 more. Danny Thompson jr started, pitched 5 scoreless.

Dunedin won 10-1. JoJo Parker had a 3-run HR. Dariel Ramon also drove in 3. Troy Guthrie pitched 6 innings, giving up the only run, and Luis Fonesca finished it out.

Vancouver won 9-5. Eric Snow had a 3-run HR, and Manuel Beltre and Peyton Williams each had a 2-run HR. Edward Duran had 2 triples!, scored twice.

⚾ ⚾ ⚾

Pirates won 8-6 vs rockies. the bullpen really tried to get swept, but thank goodness the boys kept hitting homers. Spencer had a couple hits, scored 1.

Mets lost 6-2 to Phillies. Bo was 0-4.

Marlins won 2-1 over giants. Otto Lopez had a RBI double. Caissie was 0-3. Chappy was 0-2 with a HBP.

Astros won 2-1 over guardians. Joey was 0-3.

Dbacks lost 4-2 to twins. Moreno walked & singled.

Padres lost 4-3 to texas. Will Wagner was 0-3 before being replaced by a pinch hitter. (when is Jano coming back?!?!)

Mariners won 3-1 over red sox. J-Naylor 0-3 with a walk.

[dykeleosteus]

juno steel

[imogenleewriter]

Hii Imogen :)

Do you think the next chap on YMAEWK will be out in the next week? Hope you’re well

Hey! Yes it should be! I'm still editing my fic for @bhficfest and for every part I edit, it ends up twice as long

so I'm doing the ymaewk chapter in my breaks - the breaks where I'm not playing the sims, anyway - and it shouldn't be too much longer!

[bobcatmoran]

Les Mis chapter 1.7.10, "The System of Denials," gets across how absolutely bewildering this entire situation is for Champmathieu - all this fuss over a broken branch on the ground with apples on it, which would be laughable except for the dire punishment he's being threatened with, and how people keep telling him he's someone he's not, keep telling him to answer questions that seem ridiculous, three whole months of being in some sort of hell for no apparent reason, on top of what was already a hard life.

Arai adapts this chapter from pages 122–128 of Volume 3 of the Japanese manga, soon to appear in the English translation's second omnibus.

His designs for Brevet, Chenildieu, and Cochepaille (right-to-left at the top of the page) seem to do a good job of following their Brick descriptions.

[fennecfoxdavid]

Day #486 of David Tennant as a Fennec Fox! @neil-gaiman

[vreliskriri]

My dear friend Jonathan Harker... *gently tucks into bed*

[ffxivaltstars]

FFXIVWrite2021 - Prompt 04 - Baleful

Iskar stared down at the spread of cards, long fingers slowly trailing from one to the next. Pulling The Tower in a reading was always a sign of strife or struggle, casting a baleful shadow over everything else. It made the Xaela sigh and look up at the woman who waited eagerly for him to tell her what he saw in the cards.

He could lie. It would be so easy to tell her exactly what she wanted to hear, to make up a story that had absolutely nothing to do with hardship or pain. But she had asked him so earnestly about the young man she had such affection for, he couldn't bring himself to be dishonest. In the end that would only make her suffer more.

"There is potential for you both, yes," Iskar said slowly, fingers still hovering over the cards. "A great love forged over time, yet... to get there will cost you both dearly." He already knew, from the mulish look on her face, that he should have asked for his payment up front.