schneefink

It's now been four weeks of the fitness class I signed up for, the most recent one was yesterday and I'm once again sore all over. Mostly my legs and stomach and back. The first two weeks I think she was taking it easy on the beginners but now... Turns out jumping jacks are a lot more exhausting than I remember them being from when I was a kid ^^

But I like the class a lot overall, there's a lot of variety and I can slow down or take a break at any time. Every time afterwards I felt very noodle-y but also very accomplished. I'm very happy I signed up (and already thinking about possibly taking a second class next semester, even though that's still months away.)

Heartfall - A Tale in Three Lives, a free Third Life visual novel rpg – I was very excited for this! A collective project by more than 60 fans, very cool. And it did not disappoint at all, so well done.
No knowledge of Third Life required, though some routes rely a bit more on canon allusions than others. (Would be interesting to hear how it actually plays canon-blind.)

I watched Grian play it before I did, he did

vague spoilers

the fishing route, of course he did, he fell for every lure the devs put in for him, it was great.

Then I finally had time to play myself! The game has 12 routes and 36 endings, I would like to at least check out every route, but that might take a while.

My first route was route 1, The Dark Forest,

very vague spoilers

in which I joined the Crastle.

My first route

The first time I played I had Grian build his own little base and decide to stay there even though it broke his promise to Scar – which led to Grian being invited to the Crastle! I was very excited about that, and also Etho was there a lot, my favorite team.
The plot with the mystic trees was very spooky, great growing tension, and then! Attack of the trees! Villain!Scar was so good. Impulse and Tango get Etho, who was always hard to pin down! And from there on it was just one bit of delicious angst after another. Telling Bdubs that Etho was not coming, Cleo saying that they don't know if they could bring themself to hurt Etho like this, as they are now, and Bdubs of course agreeing… The conversation between Grian and Etho at the rampart: Etho not quite gone yet, Etho saying he preferred building things for them, and that he can trust Cleo to take care of Bdubs… And then Red King Cleo! Who needs a Hand, to set the pyre on fire. Fantastic art too.
Bdubs saying that Etho will always focus on him, no freaking tree is going to change that, and using that to help Cleo and Grian get away…
Grian alone in the forest, thinking that at least he helped build something he wanted to protect, even though he didn't get to keep it. Then Bdubs and Etho showing up but they resist the trees for long enough until Cleo shows up to burn the whole forest, with Grian the only survivor, standing alone on the ramparts of the Crastle… so good.
Then I went back and got the second ending of that route, with worse affinity with Bdubs, which led to Bdubs and Etho catching Grian at the end and Cleo having to set all three of them ablaze as one last mercy. Beautiful tragedy. And have I mentioned the art is gorgeous?

Next, I played route 8, Music is Magic, and teamed up with

very vague spoilers

Impulse.

My second route

Next time I decided to help Impulse with his music box. Which led to finding Pearl! A wolf shapeshifter, exciting to find her, I clocked her immediately. This was a route with many mysteries, with the very explicit time loop – though that was left open at the end, I'm curious how much that'll show up in other routes. (Also, one of the books mentioned someone (Grian?) getting wings, veeery curious about that…) It was also a route with many side quests, and overall I think quite a bit longer.
It's cool how previous routes change impressions: Scar was alone in the desert here, too, and when Cleo and Bdubs quickly forgave him for his attack I of course immediately thought back to the trees… The shifting alliances in this one were a bit more confusing, and there were some details that I think would not have worked as well without having seen Third Life, but the ending was still very dramatic. I really liked the flowers growing where someone lost their final life (and of course Scar's were sunflowers.) And getting Impulse back with the music box was very nice :) (That was the second ending I got, the first time Grian and Pearl were killed by Bdubs.)
I will not overthink the implications of the time loop, Impulse and Grian both being on red at the end, Pearl not showing up in (some?) other routes…
I was surprised that they made a point out of saying Pearl has little memory where she came from, when as far as we know none of them do. They do evidently remember some things, like Grian saying he is a builder, but none of them seem worried about it. Though they are all shocked by the revivals, so it seems they all come from worlds where people only die once, probably.
Other thoughts: reinforcing an iron sword with diamonds is not how crafting works xD never mind all the other magic.

My third route was route 4, Ashes and Alliances,

barely spoilers

Joel's.

Spoilers

This route was very much a case of "I can see what you are doing but it's working anyway (mostly.)" Very deliberate invoking of loyalty & sacrifice tropes. Which I love, and I also enjoyed them here, but it did almost feel a bit too thick at times. It didn't help that I was frequently annoyed by Joel here at the beginning, and then felt a little railroaded. I think it would be less so if, after Cleo burned down the cabin, there had actually been a choice of joining Dogwarts instead – or at least a better pretense of a choice, since of course an actual additional path would take a lot of work. Because Cleo did just burn down the cabin and while Ren and Martyn have been very unsettling and threatening – great job with that – I was still very surprised that going to them at least for supplies wasn't even seriously discussed.
That said, overall I really liked the story of Joel pissing off Cleo for no good reason, Cleo wanting to pay him back but it goes wrong, and then Cleo apologizing and making amends. It was still funny how often it was later brought up that "Cleo took us in when we had nothing" when Cleo was the one responsible for that in the first place ^^ I also really liked Bdubs and Joel going from antagonism to all four of them being ~family by the end. And the final battle had especially cool music. All the music in the game is very good.
The first ending I got was the one where Grian dies – which I later found out was the least common of the three, according to Steam achievements, to my surprise. It had a nice "several months later" epilogue with all the survivors leaving happily in the castle together, which I think is the best ending I've had so far? (Again, let's not think about everyone on red or the time loop reset.)
Then I tried out the "leave" ending and it really hammers home that it's the wrong choice, possibly the worst ending yet.
Then I looked up a guide how to get to the ending where Joel dies which I was sure exists, and it does: Grian has to tell him he would sacrifice himself for Joel multiple times, and then Joel sacrifices himself for Grian instead, and as a result Grian loses it and kills not only Ren but also Scar and Cleo until he's the only survivor. Grian killing Scar was a shock! His sudden violence really surprised me. Tbf I picked the lines specifically to unlock the ending and was less thinking of the character, and they do show a more brutal side so it's not entirely out of nowhere.
Other thoughts:
Interesting how death always seems pretty painful & serious to Grian but to faze Scar much less, or he pretends that is the case. Hm. Will monitor further.
I was also shocked by Pearl attacking and killing Grian out of nowhere, and I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for her in other routes (don't remember seeing her in the first one but there might have been a wolf in the background.) Maybe the music box was really calling to her or something.
So far I'm 3/3 for Scar ending up alone in the desert – I wonder if there are routes where he teams up with someone else, or if it's really Grian or no-one for him. This time instead of being possessed by a mystic tree he just got really really into explosives.

Next I took route 2, Dog-Eat-Dog World,

vague spoilers

Dogwarts.

Spoilers

The longest route so far but so good. The writing was great. And just the right mix between choices offered and not, and of things happening in the background. Excellent route for people like me who have a terrible time with decisions xD I got the "Back Where It Started" ending on my first try, another beautiful tragedy.
I don't remember when I first started to suspect that Martyn might have caused Grian to fall from the bridge – possibly not until overhearing the conversation between Martyn and Ren at night, before that I thought it was likely that it had been an accident. I originally wanted to do a canon playthrough but turns out I probably should not have complained to Martyn so much ^^ I really liked Martyn and Ren in this one, and the contrast between them. Also Etho – poor guy got a very sad ending as well. The lone lavender and the burned-down ruin in the marsh :(
When I first saw the coneflower in front of the Castle I thought it was a sunflower at first and thought Scar could not possibly have died before another confrontation. (If this was the first route I had played I would not have known why there were flowers there and what they meant at all.) Fortunately I was right. But I did not expect that confrontation to start with Scar immediately killing Ren and end with Grian killing Scar! Only for Grian to then finally confront the truth about the murder on the bridge, confront Martyn, kill him, and then throw himself into the ravine.
I replayed the route right after that, starting from day 4 and this time supporting Martyn as much as I could – which ended with Martyn killing Grian at the ravine and the "All For Nought" ending, "refuse to remove your rose tinted glasses." Brutal. Without even any more words! I thought Martyn would at least try to justify himself again, but no, he took the cowardly way out.
There's two more endings in this route, but I didn't find a good guide yet so I'll probably come back to them later.
Cc!Martyn played this route, amazing. I watched it afterwards: he decided to back Martyn all the way and got a different ending, in which Martyn kills BigB before he can say out loud that it was Martyn who killed Grian. cc!Martyn repeatedly going "oh no, I'm horrible!" was very funny. Then Ren attacked Martyn in a fit of fury, accidentally killing him and also injuring Grian. Martyn blows up with Dogwarts (rigged to blow by Scar), Grian kills Ren for killing Martyn, Scar thinks Grian wants to come back home to the desert with him but Grian kills him instead. Scar is confused and doesn't understand, and says it's not fair because he can´t even be angry at Grian and he's glad it was him.

The next one I did was route 7, Welcome Home, Ally:

vague spoilers

a double alliance with Jimmy&Joel and Scar.

Spoilers

I wanted to join Jimmy, also allying with Scar was a misclick – but a fortunate one! Another route that is excellent for people who are so bad at making decisions ^^ This one really leaned into it, too. The repeated [Admit it!!] when being interrogated by Jimmy and Joel are a great effect.
The route started very light-hearted – the Bread Pirates and their bakery and their outfits! Impulse died because Bdubs has rabies and bit him *g*
Only to become a lot darker when Grian, confronted with his double-alliance being possibly discovered, chose to take drastic action and killed Jimmy. Holy shit, Grian. Then he leaves with Scar, who bakes him bread decorated with flowers – very sweet, like before that the drawing Scar made of them and the base – except the flowers are poisonous and they both die. *facepalm* On my first play-through I then tried to break the alliance with Scar, but it didn't let me go through with it after Scar told me how all of his plans revolved around him and Grian together… Joel then wants to burn Scar's house down, Grian decided to stop him, which led to the bakery burning down. (Will I ever get to see the volcano?) After Grian's confession of his double-dealings they decide to fake his death, but because of Dogwarts' trap Grian actually dies. Then there's a final battle. And on my first attempt I got the worst ending in this route: Scar died thinking that maybe Grian was never his ally, and then Jimmy and Joel abandon Grian as he lays dying because they don't trust him either. The achievement is called "What Else Did You Expect? Nobody has done it worse," very fittingly. (Not the worst ending, at least, since at least Jimmy and Joel survive together.)
I then went back to change some events to get different affinities and get all four endings. Of course I tried not killing Jimmy – and instead Jimmy tries to defend Grian from Scar, trips, and falls on his own sword *facepalm* (That does track better with Jimmy's surprising lack of hostility later.)
The ending where Scar dies thinking Grian has always been loyal to him, and then Grian still dies but at least with Jimmy and Joel's trust, is at least the nicest kind of tragedy. (Steam achievement: To Have Your Alliances, and Keep Them Too – Cheater cheater chicken dinner.)
Sidenote, almost twice as many people have the steam achievement rn for the ending where Scar trusts Grian but the other two don't, than any of the other endings ^^
Other notes: no Pearl in this route, again. The shifting alliances in the background were nicely done, especially Scott – did not expect him to try and kill Jimmy but it wasn't out of nowhere either. The surprisingly apt fishing advice throughout was also funny, and BigB just stalking everyone. And I also really liked the different conversations to tune into when walking with Scar – I was sad he didn't find his one singular cat.

Next I did route 5, You Should've Aimed for the Hand,

vague spoilers

with the Blue Sword Boys.

I started with the canon route again. This time I told Martyn that I was fine hanging out with Scar, and then agreed to commit crimes with him xD We burned down the library (and Grian collected an amethyst shard and mystic pearls, I knew they were going to come into play again later), and then Renchanting and the Desert even made a trade deal, free enchantments for free sand. Scar seemed a bit jealous of Grian's affections but he did build the tower himself! Then both Ren and Scar fell down the ravine.
The section after choosing to blame Scar for his own death felt pretty railroad-y tbh, which was a bit of a shame (especially the internal parts, I do understand that the external parts were to move the plot along.) But I finally got to visit the volcano! And go to a party, and had a nice beach conversation with BigB (…feels like I was missing something there. That, and the dancing, some weird things going on here…) and a Blue Sword Boys meeting.
Then! The next morning Ren is dead-dead!! Did not see that coming. Martyn killed Grian because he thought Grian did it – what a conclusion to come to, wow, how is Grian your first suspect, wtf. But he does believe him and Scar eventually, and then there's a whole detective quest! Gathering clues and collecting testimonies etc. etc., and thankfully getting the opportunity to become a bit closer with Scar again even if he is acting suspicious. Only for Impulse to burn Grian alive in the potion room after Grian found out it was him! Impulse makes for a good villain. (I thought for sure it was Tango for a little while because he mentioned tipped arrows after Grian only mentioned potions and I thought the knowledge he was not supposed to have was a clue, but maybe someone else told him.) And then there's an actual trial (with dramatic music throughout, great job with the tense atmosphere but did make it harder to think ^^) Ngl I didn't understand why Scar was so reluctant to reveal what he saw at the trial but at least he did in the end. Impulse was discovered as the real killer, but convinced Bdubs to break him out of jail later, only for Martyn to very dramatically throw the both of them into lava on top of the volcano. Grian, BigB, and Scar manage to escape, first into the Flower Valley and then fleeing from another trap into the cave – another new area to discover, very cool. BigB stabs Etho who followed them and then runs off – not sure where to, and I didn't see him again. (I might have missed his flower somewhere along the way?, I assume he died, too.) In the fight on the beach Scar and Grian kill Tango and Cleo, but Grian is mortally wounded. He asks Scar to take him back to the desert, planning to die in his arms watching the sunset, but Scar takes poison first so Grian flings himself off the cliff. …Scar making Grian watch him die is brutal. Maybe Scar planned to die inside while Grian bled out outside and would never know, but still.
Apparently there's only one ending to this route? Bit of a shame, I think for example a fail ending if you do not get all the clues and get convicted at the trial would have been a neat option. But it was a very cool route nonetheless! Very long. And I'm still wondering if there was something I missed, there were several moments that seemed to hint at a more, hm, mystic direction. Also, no Pearl again.

6 routes and almost twenty hours in and I'm having a ton of fun with it.
There are six more routes (and 22 more endings): some I know or am pretty sure how to access,

guesses

namely the canon route, cow heist, flower husbands, and fishing;

the other two I have no idea yet but hopefully I'll stumble upon them along the way. I look forward to it! I won't have that much time in the next week because I need to study for an exam but I do need rewards for study breaks...

Brief recap of my experience rereading the Death Gate Cycle books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman: I found out they have the series (in the German translation) at Vienna's SFF library (which is very cool and a shame that I only checked it out for the first time this year) and borrowed the first one to find out if it is as good as I remember it from when I first read it 20+ years ago. It was! So the next time I went to the library I checked out the rest of the series – which, inexplicably, did not include books 4 and 7. This is fine, I told myself, I will just buy them as ebooks when I get there.
I read books 2 and 3 soon and enjoyed them and wanted to buy book 4 – only to find out that there is no way to legally buy the ebook in Austria. (Either that or only in very hidden places and not in the several major ebook shops I tried.) Several of the others are available!, but not this one. A mystery.
Fine, I told myself, I will buy the fourth book as a paperback and then afterwards I will donate it to the library so other people won't have the same problem. (I did buy it in English though.) And I wanted to buy it through a local bookshop, but the small one near me couldn't order it so I ordered it from the nearest bookstore chain.
And then I waited. Quite impatiently, because I had a seven hour train ride coming up and I really wanted to read book 4!! …and this is how I, uh, downloaded a book for the first time in many years. (And even that was harder than I thought it would be!) I don't really feel bad about it under the circumstances tbh, just a bit awkward. But the paperback only arrived two weeks later and I'm very glad I didn't have to wait until then.
I read book 4 on the train, and then in the next three days I also read a book a day until I finished the series. Needless to add I got really into it. (Fortunately I could buy book 7 as an ebook, though it's badly formatted in places.)
I have, however, decided against donating book 4 to the library. That one is one of my favorites and it's now on my bookshelf.

On to the actual books!
I was too eager to keep reading to take notes during/after most of them, and then I was busy and now it's been three weeks, so I've already forgotten some of the details. If I had a time machine I'd happily reread them immediately, but alas.

#1, Dragon Wing
My short notes

#2, Elven Star
I remembered liking this one less than the first one, and I did this time as well. ( Barely any spoilers )

#3, Fire Sea
The first one that was completely new to me. ( Spoilers )

#4, Serpent Mage:
( Spoilers )

#5, Hand of Chaos
( Spoilers )

#6, Into the Labyrinth
( Spoilers )

#7, The Seventh Gate
( Spoilers )

Overall I had a great time reading this series. I might have to get more of the books for my bookshelf – as a bonus, many of them have very cool covers. (Though I'm even pickier with that now than before because in my old apartment I had two bookshelves, but in my new one I only have one, with two rows of books. I will get a second one eventually but haven't quite decided yet where and what kind. Not an urgent issue.)

My only experience with online TTRPG until now had been when my old D&D 3.5 group tried to switch to online sessions during the covid lockdown, but I didn't enjoy them nearly as much as in-person sessions (and I'm terrible at not distracting myself when at a computer) and concluded that online sessions are not for me.
But then recently I got a chance to play a D&D 5e one-shot online with friends and decided to give it another try. This time I enjoyed it much more, I had a great time. I think having facecam on makes a huge difference: it's much easier to stay engaged when you can see the DM and other players (and they you.)

( A short D&D tale )

This is also an opportunity to post an update on the state of my dice collection, because I got a few new ones since last time.

- The translucent green-blue-with gold set I got from Glasgow Worldcon 2024. This set and the green-orange one are what I used for Miyaki, my Stars Without Number character.
- The transparent dice with tiny turtles inside (!) were a birthday present from my TTRPG group two years ago. I barely use them because I prefer round edges, but they are so pretty.
- The frog and capybara dice I got from Fantasycon Vienna 2026.
- The opaque shimmery blue-and-green I also got at Fantasycon Vienna 2026, and I used them in the above one-shot.

Things I've been watching recently: a lot of Hermitcraft, mostly. Mostly videos, but also some streams. It's a very fun season! With gorgeous builds and great games and silly shenanigans as always. I've especially enjoyed Scar and Mumbo and Tango and Etho and Grian and Cleo, and also enjoy watching Bdubs and Gem and Cub and Joe and False and Pearl and Joel and Doc when I have the time, and sometimes others when they have a fun thumbnail or something intriguing is mentioned in the Hermitcraft Recap. Sadly only so many hours in the day...
I posted about three favorite recent episodes here. Some of my favorite builds this season (so far) are Scar's entire Star Wars-themed area and now especially the galaxy, Tango's vampire mansion, Etho's Scrapper Street, False's area and castle...

It's not a big surprise that I don't have much time to watch other MCYT series as well - though there's not many I currently find intriguing, anyway. I do watch MCSR Ranked playoffs and some other speedrunning tournaments, those are always exciting, and MCC if there's a team I like (which means most times) and sometimes other events like Tubbo's Last Stand. I also watched Cleo's PoVs on two shorter roleplay servers, Vampires SMP and Pantheon SMP, but I think I prefer less roleplay-heavy SMPs. I thought about checking out Lifesteal SMP because I keep seeing them in cool crossover things, but as a concept the server is too adversarial for my current taste.

Two other videos I've really enjoyed recently:
- Minecraft, but it's D&D, a one-off special of Charlie Slimecicle's TTRPG podcast JRWI in which his players are transported into a Minecraft world, where they meet Steve (Jack Manifold) and Alex (TommyInnit.) Tommy especially gets really into it and he's such a Minecraft nerd, I enjoyed it a lot.
- How 9 Yu-Gi-Oh cards bankrupted an entire company, a fun - well, entertaining - story about card games and fraud. I should watch more videos/movies about financial crimes, I often enjoy them, but I'm usually too lazy to look.

For September, have some DSMP (+1 OSMP) fantasy AU recs.

( 6 recs all featuring either Techno or Phil and most of them both, h/c-heavy )

I'm terribly behind on writing book reviews for here, and the longer I wait the more daunting it becomes. I often want to write more here than the few lines I write on Goodreads but then also the longer I wait the more I forget what that was, so I'm just going to (mostly) copy&paste to catch up.

A Parade of Horribles, Dungeon Crawler Carl #8, by Matt Dinniman
( Read more... )

Traitor, The Change #4, by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith
( Read more... )

Die Legende vom Tränenvogel, English: The Bird That Drinks Tears, by Leong Young-Doo
( Read more... )

The Starving Saints, by Caitlin Starling
( Read more... )

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, Maggie the Undying #1, by Ilona Andrews
( Read more... )

The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo
( Read more... )

To Clutch a Razor, Curse Bearer #2, by Veronica Roth
( Read more... )

The Poet Empress, by Shen Tao
( Read more... )

Shroud, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
( Read more... )

Kushiel's Dart, by Jacqueline Carey
( Read more... )

Himmelsstürmer/Dragon Wings, Death Gate Cycle #1, by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
( Read more... )

Platform Decay, Murderbot #8, by Martha Wells
( Read more... )

If you are curious about Vampire Survivors, there is currently a month-long charity drive where you can get a free copy of the base game + latest DLC with proof of a blood donation (or financial donation to a related organisation, or a post on social media) here: Blood for the Bloodmoon

It is a very fun, easy game for if you want to spend some time (or a lot of time) not thinking too much but getting the fun brain chemicals for killing more and more monsters with increasingly fancy weapons and characters. As a bonus, the bestiary is hilarious.

I've had an ache in my jaw for the last three weeks and I thought at first it was just a result of stress and then maybe an inflammation, but no, another root canal. Uuugh.

I have the least amount of money in my checking account since many many years but that's a good thing, I finally got around to investing most of it. When it comes to money it's very much "do as I say, not as I do" for me, because how many times have I told clients to do exactly that before... (I also haven't done my personal tax return in many years. It's fine, mine is not mandatory, but I would get some money back if I wasn't lazy. This year for sure, probably.)

My parents were here this weekend and helped put up the last shelves, I have a well organized storage room now and a lot more space, very convenient. Have I mentioned that I love my new apartment? With their help I also finally hung up the quilt I made with my family, and some prints I got at a convention (I even got a frame for them!, which I rarely bother with so it feels extra fancy.) My fandom display corner in the living room, full of figures and prints and pins etc., is looking great already; I'm still waiting for a couple more things I ordered but then I'll definitely post a picture.
Next step, organizing some things, especially documents, that got put into drawers in a big pile. I'll get around to it eventually. And putting up some more art - maybe a photo wall, like LB has? Still thinking about it.

I'm a bit behind on sleep, quite a bit of it self-inflicted because I was watching or reading things until late into the night, but I still dislike the consequences of my own actions. Boo.

I signed up for

ficinabox. I'm hoping to create things with some different mediums again, looking forward to it. Now I just need to finish my letter and the swap requests. ...but I should probably go to bed now.

Last day of the month still counts. Both time travel and outsider PoV are tropes I love so combinations are a treat.

The Stranger Inside My Son, by

Mademoiselle_A, Modao Zushi/MDZS
80k, gen with background canon pairings
Summary: Jiang Cheng goes back in time and decides there are a lot of people he won't give a damn about in this new life.
But Jiang Fengmian doesn't know that.
Why I like it: Jiang Fengmian is the last person to realize that Jiang Cheng changed. He has no clue what is happening, and seeing the changes through his eyes is a lot of fun, with all the things he has no chance to understand but the reader of course does. I really enjoyed the fix-it, too.

panoramic by

remrose, Project Hail Mary
10.8k, gen
Summary: "I'll keep you updated. In the meantime, go back to sleep. When you need to worry, I'll tell you."
"Heh." Ryland ran his hand down his face. "It's terrible you know that it actually makes me feel better. What would I do without you?"
"Explode at a colleague at a conference and get expelled from academia and become a middle school teacher." Eva said, promptly.
"Wow, you've thought about that way too hard." Ryland laughed. "Middle schoolers might not vape in class, though. Maybe I should switch."
"Let's not joke."
or: fourteen conversations where ryland grace doesn’t realize eva stratt is a time traveller
Why I like it: Ryland & Eva friendship <3 this was lovely. Do I think it is plausible, eeeh, but I enjoyed it a lot.

Guard by

CheshireSense, Bleach
18k, Ichigo/Kisuke
Summary: Later, Kisuke will remember and tease, "Were you really obsessing over me, Ichigo? Oh my, I have my own personal stalker!", and get an elbow to the face for his troubles.
At the moment though, all he can think is I've impressed someone, and I'm safe, and - looking at his new lord - Who are you?
Why I like it: Another wonderful thing about time travel + outsider PoV is that it often comes hand in hand with competence porn, and this one, where Ichigo is part of the Shihouin clan and takes Kisuke as his ward, has that in wonderful spades.

Hi! I'm very excited about FIAB and look forward to whatever you create :D

General likes: angst with a happy ending, strong friendships, intimacy, power differentials, complicated relationships, relationships forged under pressure/people who are friendly but not that close forced to work together and becoming close as a result, loyalty, sacrifice, forced to make difficult choices, dealing with awkward situations, emotional h/c, time travel and time loops, fix-it fic, canon divergence AUs, competent characters, adventures, hugs, non-sexual kink, missing scenes, additional worldbuilding, exploration of game mechanics...

General DNWs: tragic/hopeless endings, hurt no comfort, self-harm for mental health reasons, torture portrayed as "necessary" and/or effective information gathering, explicit on-screen sex, unwanted pregnancy or pregnancy scare, terminal illnesses in permadeath settings, non-reversible age regression, STDs taken seriously (crack is fine), crossovers/fusions with non-related canons, superhero AUs

MIO: Memories in Orbit (Video Game)
Solo: The Keepers (MIO: Memories in Orbit) Solo: Lura (MIO: Memories in Orbit) Solo: The Pearls (MIO: Memories in Orbit) Solo: Ati (MIO: Memories in Orbit) Solo: Mio (MIO: Memories in Orbit) Solo: Samsk (MIO: Memories in Orbit) Samsk & Tomo (MIO: Memories in Orbit) Solo: Shii (MIO: Memories in Orbit)

MIO

Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Botanical Illustration Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Comics Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Fanart Medium Opt-In: Art - Fanart Medium Opt-In: Art - Floorplan/Architectural Style Layout Medium Opt-In: Art - In-Universe Art Medium Opt-In: Art - In-Universe Technical Drawing/Diagram Medium Opt-In: Art - Isometric Room/Cityscape Medium Opt-In: Art - Point - Pixel Art Medium Opt-In: Art - Point - Voxel Medium Opt-In: Art - Ship Schematic (ship as in a boat) Medium Opt-In: Art - Stained Glass Style Art Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Video) - Animatic - With Canon Audio Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Video) - Animatic - With Music Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - Illustrated Fic Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Academic Publication Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Epistolary Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Exhibition Catalogue Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Instant Messaging Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Journal/Sketchbook Page Medium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Magazine Article/SpreadMedium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Mission ReportMedium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Newspaper Article/Front PageMedium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Religious TextMedium Opt-In: Combined Media (Art & Writing) - In-Universe Scientific DocumentMedium Opt-In: Instructions - Solo Journaling TTRPG rulesMedium Opt-In: Instructions - TTRPG rulesMedium Opt-In: Instructions - TTRPG SupplementMedium Opt-In: Poetry - BalladMedium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - AO3-style Choose Your Own AdventureMedium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Illustrated AO3-style Choose Your Own AdventureMedium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Illustrated Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Square User IconsMedium Opt-In: Video - FanvidMedium Opt-In: Video - In-Universe VidMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Classified DocumentMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Complaint FormMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Field ReportMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - In-Universe Official Workplace DocumentationMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Legal DocumentMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Medical ReportMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Mission ReportMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Personal DocumentMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Psychological Evaluation ReportMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Document - Scientific DocumentMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe EpistolaryMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe EssayMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Excerpts from a Character's Journal/DiaryMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe Excerpts from a Character's NotebookMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe MemoirMedium Opt-In: Writing - In-Universe RPFMedium Opt-In: Writing - Meta - Character AnalysisMedium Opt-In: Writing - Meta - EssayMedium Opt-In: Writing - Meta - Worldbuilding Essay

If you are unfamiliar with this game, I highly recommend it! Here is a short overview.

The story of the game spans centuries and I'm interested in all of it: from when they built the Vessel and came up with the concept of the Pearls, the stories of the very first Keepers, life on-board the Vessel and the Pearls that kept it alive; to the story of Noden's rebellion; to the fall-out and what happened after. And I'd also love to read/see more about so many characters during those events!

The Pearls: the Voices in general, but also those whose names we know in particular. How did things change for them, after what happened to Lura, and then of course after Asma found the right planet?
The Keepers: again, Keepers in general – how are they created, how are they and their purpose perceived, what are the relationships between Keepers of previous and new Voices etc. – and those we see. During the game none of them appear to have a close contact or a close relationship to their Voice anymore – what happened?
Lura: the whole Embedding is fascinating to me: who got chosen and why, how where they prepared, what did they think of it – and then of course what did happen to her, and is she really trapped forever…
Samsk & Tomo: a lovely friendship story that I'd enjoy seeing more of. I really like the theory that Samsk used to be Halyn's Keeper but then left.
Mio & Ati: Like Asma and Khlia, they must have been close at some point, but appear to have grown apart over many centuries. Their fight is a tragedy that could have been avoided so easily if only Mio hadn't forgotten Ember and the coordinates – and have I mentioned that I like happy endings? Ahem.
I'd also really like something about Mio & Mel, or Mio & Ember, or even two characters that didn't interact at all in canon (did Ati and Tomo work together in their respective searches at some point?) You can't really go wrong here.

Art likes: I love the game's art style, I love the designs of both the characters and the Vessel, and I love the color palette. I'd be delighted to see more of any of that. Something with multiple characters interacting would be cool, or something with a character in a specific place, or focused on the atmosphere of a specific area. Or schematics of different parts of the Vessel, maybe how it looked like before the overgrowth or places we haven't seen.
In general I like colorful art more than monochrome, though pieces in mostly one color with a few splashes in other colors can also be very cool, and I like light effects.

There's many cool options for in-universe documents: a report of what happened after Noden's rebellion, or much smaller issues, or articles about an upcoming Embedding or memoires of someone chosen, or reports by an underling of Dr. Halyn…

A TTRPG adventure on the Vessel would also be so cool! I've played different systems before (not a solo TTRPG but I'd be delighted to try that out too.) Or interactive fiction, or a vid, that would be amazing.

Fandom-specific DNWs: Asma and Khlia as twins

Hermitcraft SMP
joehillssays & ZombieCleo (Hermitcraft) Cubfan135 & GoodTimesWithScar (Hermitcraft) Solo: ConVex (Hermitcraft) Ethoslab & Grian (Hermitcraft) Ethoslab & ZombieCleo (Hermitcraft) Cubfan135 & GoodTimesWithScar & Joe Hills (Hermitcraft) Grian/Cubfan135/GoodTimesWithScar (Hermitcraft) Cubfan135/GoodTimesWithScar (Hermitcraft) Solo: ZombieCleo (Hermitcraft)

Hermitcraft

Medium Opt-In: Art - Comics Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Comics Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Fanart Medium Opt-In: Audio - First Person In-Character Narration Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - In-Universe Infographic Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - In-Universe Spreadsheet Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - AO3-style Choose Your Own Adventure Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3 Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Illustrated AO3-style Choose Your Own Adventure Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Illustrated Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3 Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Map: Any Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Web Weave - Collage Style Medium Opt-In: Video - Fake Trailer Medium Opt-In: Video - Fanvid Medium Opt-In: Video - In-Universe Vid

First of all, the fact that I had fewer prompts for this fandom initially does not mean I like it less than the others, it just means I started with the others and then life happened and I ran out of steam. But I love it a lot!
I just want to gesture wildly at the server and ask for more of that, please. So many wild shenanigans, unexpected storylines that often go way further than initially expected, different team-ups, people becoming closer by roleplaying their characters in truly wild situations… What if Scar decides to become an alien overlord next season who tries to conquer the server, and what if Etho and Cleo unexpectedly find themselves as leaders of the resistance? Or what if Joe Hills becomes a sea monster and Convex are delighted. etc. etc.
Or I would also love something a bit more angsty than canon. What if something bad happened and they had to help each other through it?, I would enjoy that very much. What if they were vulnerable together. What if they accidentally hurt each other more than intended and then try to fix it.
(I will add more prompts for the characters this week.)

Fandom-specific DNWs: RL references (e.g. Katy Bee and Mr Finnegan), major roles for Iskall, Stress, Skizz, or Impulse

Video Blogging RPF
Charles | Grian & Joe Hills (VBRPF)

VBRPF

Medium Opt-In: Art - Comics Medium Opt-In: Art - Drawn - Comics Medium Opt-In: Audio - First Person In-Character Narration Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - AO3-style Choose Your Own Adventure Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3 Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Illustrated AO3-style Choose Your Own Adventure Medium Opt-In: Unique Rules - Interactive Fiction - Illustrated Choice-Based IF Not Hosted On AO3 Medium Opt-In: Video - Fanvid Medium Opt-In: Video - In-Universe Vid

Fandom-specific DNWs: AUs in which they are not Hermits
About RPF "canon": I don't care about details like what kind of set-up they use or what their favorite food is etc., no worries about things that only came up in a livestream once and don't really have a huge impact

Grian & Joe Hills: These two are not at all on the same wavelength at any time and I find it fascinating. They are both very involved in server things behind the scenes and constantly busy, but the way they approach their content creation is very different. They have also had very different levels of success, which means e.g. changes in viewership impact them to very different degrees. Grian delights in playing different characters, Joe insists he is always himself. They have so many friends in common and somehow still manage to rub each other the wrong way constantly.
Please imagine them in a get-along-shirt: force them to work together, to solve a crisis or to help a friend or to escape a cave-in. Or show how their relationship developed/develops over a longer time and how they eventually get to some kind of better understanding despite their different opinions. Or maybe an in-game conflict gets out of control and spills over and they have to manage the fall-out eventually – or the opposite, a behind-the-scenes conflict spills over. Maybe Scar and Cleo or others are nearby facepalming and/or trying to nudge them along and/or trying to contain the damage.

Mentioning past server controversies is fine, but I would prefer no focus on the current Skizz stuff.

My mom invited LB, my cousin, and I to see "Tosca" at the St. Margarethen Quarry recently. I love open-air operas, they can do such cool things with the stage. This one had an actual cannon on a cliff that at one point shot a signal high over the stage and made a statue fall down, and then several more cannon shots later, very cool. And also the altar and the church and and and, and of course the music - it was a great experience.

I looked for good pictures of the stage (maybe I'll upload my own later) and instead found a full recording on Youtube, but tbh it only looks a fraction as impressive. I think the closer focus is probably a big part of that; at one point my mom offered me her opera glass but I only tried it out for a little while and then gave it back because I liked seeing the entire stage much better than being able to make out the singers' expressions.

I didn't know much about Tosca before and was surprised how many current themes there were, love vs other convictions and abuse of power and sexual coercion and betrayal etc. I joked with LB afterwards that as far as operas go this one was one of the less tragic ones:

spoiler

at least Cavaradossi was happy when he died...

Trying to list all operas I've seen live (though certainly not in this order, and not counting operettas):
- Aida, at the Arena di Verona
- Carmen, at the St. Margarethen Quarry
- Eugene Onegin, at the Vienna State Opera (pretty sure it was there, at least)
- Boris Godunov, at the Bolschoi Theater in Moscow
- The Troubadour, at the Lake Stage in Bregenz
- Cinderella, in Paris
- Tosca, at the St. Margarethen Quarry

I thought it'd be more, but if so they don't come to mind right now. I've seen several more as recordings, like Madam Butterfly and Der Freischütz, mostly because of my mom because recorded operas just don't feel the same.
I think I've also seen Die Zauberflöte live when I was little?, I think I remember snippets but I'm not entirely sure. I'm almost certain I've seen at least parts of it live, but it might have been at the children's opera or some other kind of adaptation.
And barely any at the Vienna State Opera, too, I might have to keep an eye out for a good opportunity. ... Actually upon further thought I'm almost sure I saw "Eugene Onegin" at the Volksoper (ETA: LB thinks that is unlikely, but that it might have been at the Theater an der Wien), which would mean I've never seen an opera at the State Opera. Definitely need to remedy that eventually.
We also wanted to go to "The Flying Dutchman" at the quarry last year but unfortunately it rained that evening. But we're already planning to see "Rigoletto" there next year, I look forward to it.

( Getting the true ending )

( Getting to 100% )

What a great game, I had so much fun with it. It's gorgeous, with good music too, and the exploration was fantastic. Combat was good too and the platforming at times challenging but enjoyable, the abilities are cool, and the story was intriguing; I already started watching someone else's playthrough for all the hints I missed the first time., and it is fun to see the exploration in a different order.
Definitely recommended if you enjoy metroidvanias!
I also want to request&offer it for

ficinabox, so I will write a letter and before that ideally a promo post, too. (ETA: done, at least a short one.)

Once I got back from my vacation I finally started playing MIO: Memories in Orbit. The trailer looked very promising and I'd seen many positive reviews, but I suspected it would take a while so I waited until I knew I had more time for it. That was a good decision, because as always with metroidvanias it's important to keep track of things and that's easier if it hasn't been too long.
I've been playing for two weeks now and I'm having a great time. It started a bit slow but then opened up massively. The game is gorgeous, the exploration is very satisfying, the abilities are fun to use, and the story is finally starting to unfold in more detail. (I already look forward to watching someone else's playthrough afterwards.)

Watch on YouTube

( The first 38.5 hours, full of spoilers )

I've always found it very hard to motivate myself to cook anything not-basic for just myself. So it's extremely convenient that I now live in the same building as my brother and we can cook together on weekends :) This evening (because during the day it is too hot to cook and/or eat a full meal) we made roasted meat with potatoes and chanterelle sauce, which turned out delicious, and as a bonus we still have leftovers for tomorrow.

Today is the seventh day in a row of my challenge to myself to go to bed before midnight - usually 23:55 but still, before midnight! I haven't managed to get up much earlier but I'm pretty sure I have been less tired, so that's nice. (A bit hard to say because work has been somewhat frustrating and we entered another heatwave.) Maybe I'll manage another week, even. Or five out of seven, something like that, we'll see.

Back to MCYT recs this month, category "not Hermitcraft or Life series" (though I did sneak one Hermit RPF fic in there.) Most do not require canon knowledge I think.

( Under the cut: Vampires SMP poetry, 2x MCSR fic, Hermitcraft RPF fic, Philza RPF fic, SMP Earth art, Lifesteal SMP spreadsheet, Rats SMP art, DSMP fic )

Last year in early July, so almost a year ago, I made an AO3 stats post, so here is another one.

Fanworks: 134 - it was 120 last time, and once again most of the new works were for exchanges, and most of them Hermitcraft fics.

Words: 286.286, heh, nice number. (Not including the DO2 game.) A plus of 17.875. The average fic length is 2.136 words.

Fandoms: 47 - one more than last time (namely VB RPF.) I now have a total of 30 Hermitcraft fics, which is over a fifth of my total posted fics.

Total
Hits: 75.846 (+8.277)
Kudos: 8.093 (+967)
Comment Threads: 558 (+52)
Bookmarks: 1.300 (+184) - interestingly a larger rise in bookmarks than comments compared to last year
Author subscriptions: 45 (+7) - that one makes me especially happy.

I haven't really written anything since MCYT Battleship ended in March; tbf I was pretty busy with an exam and then moving. Now I'm at a point where I would like to be writing in the abstract but don't have any particular strong impulse or idea yet. It'll come eventually, I'm sure :)

Cheers for me making the monthly rec post not in the last week :)

Have some SGA fantasy AUs!
(I knew I wanted to rec the first two and then I went looking for more featuring John as Damsel in Distress at one point, but sadly they either were not fantasy AUs or no longer accessible online.)

A Clear and Different Light by

sholio and

naye
85.4k (+32k sidestories), fantasy AU, McShep + team
Summary: Rodney McKay, raised by a pod of telepathic whales. John Sheppard, mage with fae blood. Teyla Emmagan, rune-scientist. Ronon Dex, winged soldier. On the waystation of Atlantis, they're about to become embroiled in an age-old war against a brutal enemy.
Why I love it: Whaleverse!! I love the whaleverse, and I can never be objective about it; my first posted not-commentfic was an epilogue for it, Respite, because I wanted even more of the beautiful h/c. That was great and also the plot with scary enemies and the worldbuilding and the team feelings.

The Bearskin Cloak by

HorridPorrid
59.2k, fairy tale/fantasy AU, Ronon + team
Summary: After everything he's ever known has been destroyed, Ronon stumbles into the magic-thick forests of Atlantis. When he accidentally frees two strangers from a cruel trap, he realizes old enemies still spin their wicked plans. An enchanted prince, a cursed city: Ronon's fight has just begun. (Inspired by: The Traveling Companion by Hans Christian Anderson)
Why I love it: This is such a good fairy tale and adventure, with scary enemies and desperate plots and daring rescues, always a joy to reread.

A new history of Captain John Sheppard, HM Aerial Corps, and M. Rodney McKay, Esq., FRS, with the Captains Emmagan and Dex, late of the West Indies by

sheafrotherdon
15.7k, McShep + team, Temeraire AU
Summary: . . . composed from a great number of actual surveys; and other materials regulated by many new scientifick observations of their Affections and Masculine Virtues. Drawn up from the Journals which were kept by the several Commanders, And from the Papers of M. Rodney McKay, Esq., FRS; In One Volume, written by A Lady of Quality.
September 1811, Halifax, Nova Scotia: His Majesty's Aerial Corps stand ready to welcome new additions to their number; an expedition late of the Antipodes.
Why I like it: Very good fusion/crossover, and I love the warm atmosphere.

Damper by

michelel72
25.6k, ~urban fantasy AU, Teyla & Rodney
Summary: Teyla Emmagan (C.W.El.E., L.W.M.) and Dr. Rodney McKay (C.W.El.F., Ph.D., Ph.D.) are hired to investigate an anomalous geological development, but they soon learn much more is at stake.
Why I like it: Teyla & Rodney are such an underrated pairing, and this was one of the fics that made me realize that. I really like the character voices, the element-based modern magic system, and the adventure. The epilogue A Few Small Repairs is also great and very warm.

I made a friend in Hermitcraft fandom. After many months they got into a new fandom, one I wasn't familiar with.
Me, not thinking, trying to tempt them into writing more HC: You could write a crossover!
A few months later, they start writing a crossover, I volunteer to beta. So of course to understand the story I need more information, and they start sending me links and stuff...
Me, finally: oh. This was a trap. /o\
xD

After I was recently reminded of the vast treasure trove of SGA fic, I spent some time updating my bookmarks with working links where possible, and that of course led to me rereading many fics, and suddenly the month is almost over before I could get a proper list together, so just have some of my favorites. Still themed though because I'm not in the mood for the effort it would take to shut up the little voice in my head saying that's required for a proper rec list: Stargate 'verse crossovers with significant pre-canon canon divergences. These also happen to be some of my favorite SGA fics.

Retrograde series by

LtLJ
107k (main series) + 22k of extras, mostly gen, SGA/SG-1 crossover, canon divergence AU
Summary: The Atlantis expedition has been lost for three years. SG-1 goes to find them, and arrives just a little too late.
Why I love it: I love (real and perceived) betrayal stories so this was already catnip to me - something which applies to all of these, come to think of it. Also some good old-fashioned whump, action, rescues, bonding, plot, comfort... So, so good. Very high up on my list of favorite fics I've read.

Gypsies, Pirates, and Thieves by

auburn
372.2k, John/Rodney/Vala, SGA/SG-1 crossover, canon divergence AU
Summary: Vala Mal Doran and her partners, renegades Jehan abd-Ba'al and Meredith McKay, hijack the Tau'ri ship Prometheus and leave the Milky Way behind in search of the Lost City of the Ancients, Atlantis.
Why I love it: Action, rescues, bonding, plot, this time with a touch more past trauma and codependency and a larger cast. The second part in the series is my favorite (and the one I've reread most often, though that's also because it's significantly shorter then the others.)

Raiders of the Seven Systems by

LtLJ
32.2k, gen, SGA/SG-1/Firefly crossover, canon divergence AU
Summary: John Sheppard leads a crew of Athosian space pirates in the Pegasus Galaxy. They rescue Earth refugees Rodney McKay and Sam Carter, but then things get complicated.
Why I like it: Space pirates! Also Zoe Washburn is there. This is kind of the space pirate!John version of Retrograde, at least vibes-wise, and I am here for it.

Unnatural Selection by

auburn
164.4k, John/Todd & John/Rodney, SGA/SG-1/SGU crossover, canon divergence AU
Summary:Human error, operant conditioning, survival instinct and evolution as horror. An examination of the SGC's failure to anticipate and prevent the losses of Atlantis and the Alterran survey ship Destiny. One year after the first, the second Earth Expedition to Wraith-occupied Atlantis is diverted to an Ancient ship and struggles to survive with no way home and enemies within, while John Sheppard, considered a traitor by everyone who once knew him, tries to hold onto what humanity he has left and save them all.
Why I like it: Featuring the horrors of being marooned on a space ship that's falling apart with people you can't trust and struggling to survive, Wraith xenobiology and worldbuilding, transformation/body horror, and much more in a delicious mix.

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Recent Entries

Morning movements

Heartfall - a Tale in Three Lives

Death Gate Cycle

D&D one-shot in hell

Recently watched: lots of MCYT

September recs: DSMP fantasy AUs

Books read since June

Blood for the Bloodmoon

Teeth and money and shelves and bed

August recs: 3 time travel outsider pov fics

Fic in a box 2026

Tosca, live at the quarry

More MIO: Memories in Orbit

Discovering MIO: Memories in Orbit

Lazy weekends are great (am hiding indoors because of the heat)

July recs: 9 not-Hermitcraft-or-Life-Series MCYT recs

AO3 stats update

June recs: 4 SGA fantasy AUs

Typical fandom problems

May recs: more SGA fics, this time SG-1 crossover canon divergence

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