💯

I want to clean up some of my notepad docs so, here we go, an exchange wrap-up! Because I've been feeling burnt out over the last year, I don't really have any recs compiled (I lied and did for FIAB, but I deleted the notepad after copying my bits over, so, RIP). I think I may move away from creating rec lists as I'm not quite sure how used they are and they take so much work that they're becoming unfun.

Anyway! Onto the good stuff.

candyheartsex 2024 -

I wrote -

myrtle
ENOLA HOLMES | Enola/Tewkesbury; Teen; 1.5k

"What?" she barked.

"What?" he repeated dumbly, blinking dumbly, too.

She rolled her eyes. "Not this again!"

"Enola," he said with a low laugh that ruffled the butterflies deep in her belly, "I haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about. What gift?"

"My gift!"

*

Enola gets Tewkesbury a gift. Perhaps that's the problem in itself.

I really enjoy writing their banter.

My gifts -

Card Goat by McBangle
GRISHAVERSE | Jesper & Milo | Gen

Jesper and Milo play a friendly game of poker.

Really funny art.

*

'effable Spirit by Synergic
THE GREAT | Catherine/Peter; Mature; 1.4k

On an unprepossessing day in May two years after her husband’s death, Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, put out a hand for her morning cup of tea-laced vodka and received a letter instead.

I thought this was brilliant. This universe is so easy to get wrong, but Synergic makes it look so easy.

smut4smut 2024 -

I wrote -

we can chew through my bracelet
GRISHAVERSE | Zoya/Nikolai; Explicit; 3.8k

Elizaveta was gone, and the demon remained. Juris was gone, and yet she felt him stand beside her. But why hadn’t Nikolai come back to himself? They’d done everything that was expected of them—

Except she knew, deep down, that the obisbaya required more than being pierced by the thorn wood.

-

With Elizaveta dead and the obisbaya stopped, why does Nikolai stand before her as his demon?

I wish I had the guts to make this dirtier lol. I enjoyed getting to write my OTP for a lovely recipient!

*

just for tonight own me
GRISHAVERSE | Zoya/Nikolai; Explicit; 4.1k

"We can prolong it, Nikolai," she murmured as she hovered over him, effortlessly holding the chains between her hands like they were the bridle for his horse. He felt like one at times, although one that was whipped even when he behaved well. This was the penance for surviving the war. The Darkling ensured to leave his mark on Ravka. "Pretend we’re an old married couple, if you like."

"Go on, wife," he said, not looking away. He wanted them to play this game, and so they would. "Let’s pretend for a little while."

-

Nikolai likes it when he's bound to his bed and Zoya sits on his face.

What can I say? I got to write my OTP being playful. I really enjoyed s4s in 2024 because people requested my favourites!

My gift -

Not Your King Tonight by InsectKin
GRISHAVERSE | Zoya/Nikolai; Explicit; 3.4k

At the beginning of Rule of Wolves, Zoya and Nikolai debrief after visiting the revived Darkling in his sun prison. Nikolai shows Zoya that his demon can exist outside of himself, and the demon removes the ribbon from her hair.

In this fic, the demon keeps going.

I loved the whole concept of this. THIS IS WHAT WE DESERVED IN CANON.

fandom5k 2024 -

I wrote -

between the world and you
THE WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY | Vasya/The Bear; Mature; 8.1k

When the kikimora brings Vasya the one person she wants most, the chyerti suffer nightmares as a consequence.

I really enjoyed writing this. Grief is something I always gravitate towards, and this fic was no exception. The Bear/Medved is always so difficult yet fun to write, and I remember really enjoying writing this. I wish this fandom was bigger.

My gift -

Dark Mirrors by GalahadsGurl
CHARMED | Chris & Piper; Teen; 5.6k

Chris Perry missed his mother, but Piper Halliwell was not his mother.

Right?

This was a fun expansion on season 6's plot with "Who is Chris Perry really?"

rarepairexchange 2024 -

I wrote -

dreamers are selfish
THE HUNGER GAMES | Katniss/Finnick; Mature; 2.1k

When the rebellion fails to catch fire at the 75th Quarter Quell, Finnick and Katniss are left to pick up the pieces. Katniss is glad Finnick lets her be there for him for once.

I love writing Katniss/Finnick. This was meant to be a lot bigger than what it was, but what I ended up with was what I felt was a nice moment of a grander world that you still get a good pulse of.

My gift -

the siren call by aelisheva
READY OR NOT | Grace/Daniel; Teen; 1.7k

Daniel let out a shaky breath. “You’re not the real Grace Le Domas.”

Not-Grace stared him down again, and all over his skin and bones grew cold. She tilted her head, blinking innocently. “Is that really such an issue? I’ve seen into your mind, Daniel, thanks to Lord Le Bail’s help. I know how much you covet your brother’s widow.”

She leaned in until their heads pressed together. “I could be her, if you wanted it,” she said in a low voice. His breathing shuttered at the suggestion.

***

Grace has won the game, and Le Bail offers to bring back Daniel as a reward. But only if they both realize why her life force is still tied to his through a soulmate bond...

In a fandom overrun by time loop fics, this was very, very neat to receive. The concept was fun to watch unfold.

highadrenalineexchange -

For 2024, I wrote -

belonging
BRIDGERTON | Kate/Anthony; Teen; 10.5k

Kate struggles to find her place amongst the Bridgertons.

I wanted to explore Kate's relationships with the other Bridgertons and got to dabble in a few of those with this. It's not what I had wanted it to be, but I still enjoyed the end result.

My gift -

Through Midnights Pass by goblins_riddles_frocks
THE WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY | Vasya/The Bear; Unrated; 10.6k

Vasalisa Petrovna and Medved traverse the Midnight road.

I loved the exploration of grief and death. The banter between Vasya and The Bear was spot on. (I loved Ded Grib the most in this, though.)

For 2025, I wrote -

V1. The Lovers
AGATHA ALL ALONG | Agatha/Rio; Mature; 17k

Before Rio, there was Death. Before Death, there wasn’t Rio.

She tried to separate them, once.

*

When a witch hunter starts killing witches, Agatha and Rio begrudgingly team up to take them down.

This idea was a lot bigger than it had any right to be for a fortnight turnaround and I wish that the end result was reflective of that, but I'm still happy with it because I had a lot of fun exploring Rio's relationship with death and grief in this. I was inspired by some of the cards I like (and dislike) playing in Marvel Snap, and wrote some of those characters into this. I wish this story got a little action during the anonymous period, but I knew when my name was on it that it would find its audience, and I'm glad it did. :)

My gifts -

Hollow Heart by Major
THE MUMMY | Evelyn/Rick; Teen; 10.7k

Rick accidentally activates a curse that traps him and Evy in an apocalyptic time loop.

They've had better days.

This was a super cool concept, and I really, really loved Rick's voice throughout this. I feel like he's a character who appears easy to write but is truly difficult not to write flatly. Major did a fantastic job getting his dry wit and absolute dedication to those he loves down.

*

Annadóttir, Black, & Flamel, "Circular Reasoning: Applied Temporal Philosophy in Alchemaical Metaphysics," Journal of Magical Cosmology, 1645 (2001): 19–32. by avocadomoon
HARRY POTTER | Hermione/Sirius; Teen; 89k

"Science has its limits," Dumbledore said. "As does magic. And time. And everything else there is to see and touch and hear. But it is not a matter of fate, dear, no matter what the druid mystics say." He nodded at her wand. "When you throw a handful of petals in the air, can you control exactly where they fall? And would they always fall the same way twice?

It's not safe baiting avocadomoon because sometimes you end up receiving a mammoth of a gift. I only request Harry Potter when I see it in the tagset and have a feeling avocadomoon will participate. This was a wild ride, a fantastic, in-depth exploration of time travel and the consequences of time turners. Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite book/movie of the franchise, so to get a story that's based on that concept and seeing the concept of time turners fleshed out was so enjoyable. This was a delight to read.

fffx -

I wrote -

Ace
CHALLENGERS | Tashi/Art; Mature; 10.5k

Patrick didn’t call.

Sometimes, when she imagined it, she’d forgive him. Sometimes, she made him work for it over several weeks. Sometimes, she didn’t say anything at all.

Her phone didn’t ring for weeks after she popped her knee, and Tashi told herself she didn’t care. Why should she? She had Art, and Art was a good friend to have by her side.

Tashi/Art is a guilty pleasure of mine and I was thrilled I got to explore this pairing through a Tashi character study. She was so much fun to write and I really enjoyed how this story came together.

My gift -

negotiation by santanico
CHALLENGERS | Tashi/Art/Patrick; Explicit; 10.6k

“Yo,” Patrick said, and his eyes swept the main living space so quickly Tashi almost could have missed the widening of his eyes when he saw the oversized 8k TV or the double-sectional couch - in all creamy white, as if to make a point, Tashi thought - if she hadn’t been paying very close attention. He was dressed in jeans that fit him too loosely, a t-shirt with a button-up on over, as if that was somehow going to paint an illusion of professionalism to the look. He kicked off his shoes and handed her a bag.

“Chocolates,” he said, by way of explanation when she looked inside.

“I can see they’re chocolates,” she said, mesmerized by his choice of Ferrero Roche hazelnut chocolates. Maybe they were meant to be funny.

“Don’t judge,” Patrick said, brushing past her with intent and popping his head into the kitchen where Art was characteristically hiding. “Hey.”

This was a great exploration of the three of them post-movie and how they still are quite dysfunctional and shit at communication. I like that it didn't try to wrap them up in a pretty bow, and offered the implication that they aren't exactly going to work out long-term, but they might if they keep their heads in the sand.

ficinabox -

I wrote -

In the Middle
CHALLENGERS | Art/Tashi/Patrick; Explicit; 6k

She liked it better when he allowed them to be them, as they were. Her with her scarred knee, Art with his nervous tic of playing with his wedding ring, and Patrick… Patrick stayed the same. He rubbed his hands against his thighs, scratched the back of his neck, and laughed too much. His laughter was too loud, but it fit in their room, littered with wedding photos. Nothing in this room was his, but he fit. He was theirs.

Straight up smut lol.

*

what do you get your superhero best friend for their birthday?
MCU | Carol & Kamala & Monica & MJ & Peter & Ned & Nick & Pepper & Goose; Teen; 2k

r/SUPERBESTPETSANDTHEIRHUMANFRIENDS posted by u/KAMALACANDO

sooooooo i (18F) want to get my super duper best friend a birthday gift but i 1) don’t know when her birthday is and 2) don’t know what to get a man-eating cat when i don’t know her age. SO I DESPERATELY NEED SOME ADVICE because i want to show her how much she means to me!!!

Even though I had some strife with the coding (div tags hate me), I had a lot of fun creating this. I think it's funny.

*

Homemade Hot Chocolate
GRISHAVERSE | Inej/Kaz; Teen; 2k

Inej’s Homemade Hot Chocolate
Please note that this is not for the faint of heart.

Just Kaz and Inej being a little silly and heartsick. I wanted to try something a touch different to writing a straight fic.

My gifts -

rising up like the sun at dawn by Fleetling
GRISHAVERSE | Inej/Kaz; Teen; 1.2k

Kaz doesn't answer her, because that's not what she wants, and because it's not something he can offer.

A sweet post-canon Kanej where Inej returns from some of her adventures on the sea and Kaz ensures she's comfortable. when Kaz wakes in the morning it'll be to Inej, having risen with the sun, sitting in the window and talking to the crows. It can't get anymore perfect.

*

[fanmix] deuce by hearteyesfordays
CHALLENGERS | Art/Tashi/Patrick; Unrated

I have never gotten a fanmix before. This was so cool and perfect.

*

[Art] Katherine Pierce by QueerIntentions
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES | Katherine; Gen

An iconic Katherine Pierce, enshrined in stained glass.

I can't believe I got Katherine artwork.

*

hurt by kitsunerei88
CHALLENGERS | Tashi; Tashi/Art, Tashi/Patrick; Mature; 1.2k

Tashi's life is not what she wanted it to be.
Or: A character study about Tashi, her injury, and her relationships with Art and Patrick.

A really great character study that explores Tashi's resentment toward both Art and Patrick.

*

Poisoned Glory by Alley_Skywalker
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON | Aemond & Criston; Gen; 1.4k

Aemond had thought Rook's Rest would make him a hero, but instead, even the people closest to him seem to be pulling away.

A great character study of Aemond post-Rook's Rest, giving more depth to Aemond and Criston's relationship that we should've gotten in the show.

*

horror and wild by cacowhistle
GRISHAVERSE | Zoya/Nikolai; Teen; 1.2k

It is late this evening in Os Alta. There is an ominous air to the palace, and an evacuation of the king’s personal wing has been put in place.

You can never go wrong with demon!Nikolai. I love how this shows a glimpse of how Zoya, Tamar, Tolya, Genya, and David work together to try to keep demon!Nikolai under control. This should've been a scene in the book.

*

some kind of miraculous bind by cacowhistle
GRISHAVERSE | Zoya/Nikolai; Mature; 1.3k

It goes like this: Nikolai is the one to propose, but Zoya is the one to ask him to marry her.

This contains my favourite line She is a hurricane, and Nikolai lets himself be her eye and center. He is the calm that comes before her storm.

*

there is nothing in-between by cacowhistle
GRISHAVERSE | Zoya/Nikolai; Teen; 3.6k

It is the night after the obisbaya, and Nikolai cannot sleep.

A moment between Nikolai and Zoya on their travels back to Os Alta post-obisbaya. Nikolai's perspective is really well done, and come of the dialogue feels like it leapt right out of Bardugo's head.

*

[ MURDLE ] THE CASE OF THE PRODUCER ON THE PILLOW by swirlingvoid
THE HUNGER GAMES | Finnick, Annie, Johanna; Teen

A logic puzzle excerpted from the Panem Gazette. Which Victor killed again?
(Any resemblance to real events or persons living or dead is a coincidence, the paper claims. This is just a game.)

An in-universe Murdle in Panem is very cool and so very meta. This was so good.

trickortreatex -

I wrote -

go
GRISHAVERSE | Inej/Kaz; Teen; 600

Stay, he says, and Inej can do nothing but heed him.

I wanted to try a different style while keeping it in a tight word count of 600. I think it works.

My gift -

Tonight and the Rest of My Life by anr
BUFFYVERSE | Cordelia/Angel; Teen; 605

A thin curl of sweet satisfaction.

(aka, Five times Cordelia dreams of Angel.)

This filled me with so much nostalgia.

yuletide -

I was lucky enough to receive two gifts for yuletide 2024. I really enjoyed my time in this exchange (I had a rough go of it in 2022 with the gifting side and the Yuleswaps side, so I took a break in 2023). I think this was the exchange I had the most fun in.

I wrote -

Mother
AGATHA ALL ALONG | Agatha/Rio; Mature; 11.3k

Agatha closed her eyes. Swallowing thickly, she felt a stone within her throat shift. "How long will this last me?"

This was how it always went. Agatha would ask, and Rio would never respond. Agatha would always have her answer in the dread coiling low in her belly.

If Death wouldn’t help her, dark magic would.

I am so proud of this one. I had an easy time writing it. I really enjoyed the themes and I just loved how it all came together. This is set pre-canon, with Nicholas, and explores Agatha, Rio, and Nicholas, and how death haunted them all. I feel like it could've been longer, but I think the story is one of my best, and I was certainly proud of it when I wrote it.

My gifts -

to haunt a house nobody lives in by Twilfitt6
AGATHA ALL ALONG | Agatha/Rio; Mature; 3.9k

Agnes doesn't remember why she hates Rio. She doesn't remember that they've had this conversation before. Rio at her door with a peace offering, conversations about the case, the evidence sometimes differed but the case and the corpse were always the same, and they'd talk about these nothingnesses and then, as always, Rio would lean forward and ask.

"Do you remember why you hate me?"

Agnes never does. She remembers Rio's face, she remembers her name, she remembers the way her hands used to feel around her waist, but she doesn't remember what had happened between them. The memories had faded beneath Maximoff's spell but something still remained.

This is Agatha/Rio stuck in a timeloop during 1x01, while exploring how they came to know one another, get together, and split apart. I particularly loved the exploration of Rio's identity throughout this. Perfectly done. It has a nice rhythm to it.

*

All a wild heart needs by Dolorosa
WINTERNIGHT TRILOGY | Vasilisa/Morozko; Teen; 1.5k

Vasya has already transformed Morozko, but now her unpredictable magic has started to transform the world around them, as well.

The maturity between these two! This explores the concept of winter/spring in a quiet moment between the two of them. I was super thrilled to have gotten a gift from dolorosa_12. ♥

littleblackdressex -

I wrote -

my heart beats heavy
THE VAMPIRE DIARIES | Elena/Elijah; Teen; 1k

"Don’t you wish you had a scar?" she asked.
*
Elijah and Elena speak about mortality.

I missed writing Elijah/Elena.

pine4pine -

I wrote -

falling gracefully
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON | Baela/Jace; Teen; 1.7k

When Baela falls from Moondancer, Jacaerys doesn’t leave her side.

I won't lie, writing pining is a lot harder when you actually have to make sure it's heavily in the story in order to comply with an exchange's theme. I think I had intended to write this from Baela's POV (I was getting comfortable writing her thanks to DWRP), but because of the freeforms, I decided to challenge myself with writing Jace, which was a fun exercise.

No battleshipex or voiceteam as they have their own dedicated wrap posts. (I am not even going to bother wrapping what I missed for 2023.)

That's all, folks. :)

Dear yuletide writer,

I'm buries and finnicks.

This is my third Yuletide. This letter will give you tl;dr detail regarding my likes, dislikes, and prompts. I've included prompts to help you have an idea of what I like, but please take what you like from this and don't feel like you have to take my prompts at face value. As long as it doesn't hit a DNW, I will enjoy it!

I'm happy to answer any questions via the mods. I welcome treats! (I have likes/dislikes in my letter for these.)

Thank you for creating for me! ♥

Letter completed 20-October 2024. If you find any contradiction with my DNWs between my sign-up and this letter (there should hotpefully not be!), please go with the sign-up.

( tl;dr )

This is my experience with the moderator team at rubilykskoye, something to which I alluded to in my SOTRP Plurk, posted 30 July 2024 AEST.

I originally wrote this draft on 24 January 2024 and completed it in August 2024. Please note all times/dates in screencaps and in this post are AEDT/AEST.

I've tried to keep this as concise as possible, but there's a lot of shit that's happened. I wrote this because I always intended to share these PMs. I've dropped because the game environment became too toxic for me.

( cut for length. )

I'm glad to be done with this game. Buh-bye! ✌🏽

My third year of Battleship is over! :D I was on Team Mermaid this year and I had a beaching time with my team! Even though we didn't win, it was one of the best social experiences I've had in this game, and I'm so glad that I not only got over my creative burnout and managed to create over 25 things, but I got to make some new friends, too. (D'aww!)

Things I want to brag about that are personal accomplishments:

• I ended up writing approximately 40k of published works (not including the two WIPs that share 10k that I'm still working on), which I think is great. In 2022 for the Frost era I wrote 50k and in 2023 for the Tower era I wrote 9k (can you feel the burnout?). I'm back, baby!


• I collaborated with peasina! This was my first collaboration ever! We bonded over tarot and peasina asked me if I'd like to do a reading and sent me the most beautiful Pokemon artwork. She would give me the cards and I got to decide which order they'd sit in the reading. A lot of the Pokemon puns are her work.


• I hit work caps for Boards 1 and 2, and really enjoyed the rush of creating triple drabbles so we could clear our board and move onto the Bosses. I love the rallying the most in Battleship.


• All the challenges we did as a team were so much fun! I really enjoyed the Rockpool Bar and am so glad everyone was game to participate in that. peasina came up with a comment bingo that made the work reveals period less quiet and lonely. (In case you didn't know: my team was orcawesome!)


• I got two amazing podfic of my works! :O I also listened to a lot of podfic this year!


• I wrote for new fandoms and converted myself into a shipper! I wrote for Challengers and House of the Dragon (and made myself ship Helaena/Aemond), and revisited a very old fandom in The Vampire Diaries. I did not write MCU or The Boys this year despite some really great requests (I have some superhero burnout).


• The worst thing about Battleship is I struggle with titles at times. This will never change lol.


• Last year I didn't go through the collections because I was burnt out, so I'm glad to say that I managed to get through all of the teams' collections and really enjoyed a lot of the works that I was familiar and unfamiliar with.


• I lost for the first time! But I really enjoyed how my team members were always so encouraging and enthusiastic, and how some of them even ventured into new mediums for this round. Seeing others try podfic for the first time and having our veteran Mermaid podficcers help them out was really cool. That's what Battleship is all about imo.


• This will sound lame but I MADE NEW FRIENDS and that is the reason why I participate in battleshipex!


• Next year I'd like to contribute art, so I need to… get practicing… I'll be surprised if I try podfic. I don't think I have the reading voice for it lol.

When (not if!) I finish those two other fics, I'll update this list…

Anyway, here is what I wrote. (I did save all my tags in Scrivener… I wonder if it's easy to figure out which tags inspired what fics?) I asterisked my favourites…

( BRIDGERTON )

( CHALLENGERS )

( GRISHAVERSE )

( HOUSE OF THE DRAGON )

( THE HUNGER GAMES )

( POKEMON TAROT READINGS )

( THE VAMPIRE DIARIES )

I don't feel like doing a real life update, so have some stuff I've enjoyed and not enjoyed -

TELEVISION

Baby Reindeer - This show was a lot. It was great (that feels like an understatement)—the actress playing Martha was phenomenal—and it made me feel really uncomfortable eight minutes into the first episode. (Nothing bad happened! It was the intensity of Martha and how I felt it was very reminiscent of some experiences I've had with strange men wishing to talk and bond with me when all I want to do is exist quietly.)

It's a very raw exploration of abuse and trauma response, and it really showed how fucked our [ GENERAL OUR ] legal system is when it comes to harassment. I disliked his prop comedy (one of the few things I disliked the most, which really is such a non-thing, given that's not the point of the show!). I caught myself victim-blaming Donny and then realised why I was doing it. (I found those I spoke to about the show also found themselves doing it.) It shows an imperfect victim, which I think we need to see more of in the media. I watched it in two days. I won't be rewatching it.

I'd recommend this if you don't mind fictionalisations of true stories. Please be aware that there's sexual assault (it's not what I would describe as overly graphic, but it's uncomfortable and present on the screen yet not prolonged), grooming, stalking/harassment, transphobia, and victim-blaming. There are warnings at the beginning of the episodes that contain the heaviest content.

Sent from my iPhone

The Flash - I forgot how much I loved this show. Seasons 1-2 are the best and the show never, ever reaches that level of writing and performance ever again.

The show begins to fall apart in season 3 because of how they disrespect Flashpoint (WHY WAS THIS NOT HALF OF SEASON 3?). The constant dogpiling on Barry was a lot, and I felt it depicted his friends as being rather callous towards someone with bad grief coping mechanisms and reacting from a traumatised place. ( season 3 spoilers. )

I remember being on Twitter when the last scene of season 3 was being filmed. I remember the on-location photos and everyone's theories. I miss being in fandom sometimes.

I want to get to season 9… Matt Letscher's Thawne comes back in seasons 7 and 9 lol. I'll do anything to see this man's version of Reverse Flash.

MOVIES

Challengers - THIS IS MY BRAINROT SO I WILL KEEP THIS SHORT. IT'S SO GOOD. I took the day off to see it and LOVED IT. The trailers do not do it justice! It's not a movie about threesomes and sex (though, the tennis is the sex). It's a character study of codependency, toxic relationships, and how tennis connects these three people together. It's so good; I've enjoyed reading people's theories and breakdowns on the movie and characters. The performances were phenomenal. The slowmo was a little overused, but I can look the other way because I'm still thinking about this damn story. This is a love triangle where all corners touch. I'd definitely go see it again.

Ghosted - We watched this for Friday night movie night and I wanted to include it to say that I remember being excited by the trailer. This movie was a dud. Chris Evans should do more comedy. Ana de Armas was okay! Their chemistry did not pop like it did in Knives Out. I think it was tonally confused, and that's why I didn't enjoy it.

BOOKS

How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell - I found this on my bookshelf after we watched the movie. I believe kids books can be some of the best books you read, so I wanted something fun and light. It's definitely silly, but I felt that it was a bit long and overly tedious. It was not for me. I'm definitely donating this to a street library dedicated to kid books.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield - I cannot stop thinking about this book. It's a slowburn soft ocean horror with a sapphic romance at its core. I considered DNFing it, but Leah's POV was really interesting to me in the beginning because she gets trapped in a submarine for six months, so her POV explores her time there, while Miri's explores the aftermath of her return. I don't want to give too much away because it's such a thoughtful book that covers the themes of grief and letting go. The ocean imagery is beautiful, and the characters are well done. The romance is a priority on the page, and you really feel the love between these two women.

I cannot stop thinking about the last two pages—I was very emotional about the ending. I borrowed this book from the library and have considered buying my own copy. I looked into the theories about this book. Some call it an allegory. It's dual first person POV, with the tenses changing depending on the narrator.

I would recommend this if you don't mind a slowburn unravelling of a mystery. It's not heavy-handed in the horror; if anything, I feel the horror really kicks in towards the very last quarter of the book, and even then, the romance/relationship is still the priority. It's one that will leave you thinking afterward.

Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin - I skimmed Aegon's Conquest and read this for the Dance of Dragons section so I could be ready for House of the Dragon season 2.

I only got up to God's Eye because I was really tired of the threats of rape, impregnation to punish women, and calling women (especially Rhaenrya) "whore" (while Aegon II is just "The False King"). Quite possibly the bloodiest war in Targaryen history, and it's written really dully. It was a bit tedious, and I didn't care about a lot of side characters (something I feel GRRM fails at keeping in check). I wanted to read about Aemond, got there, then decided that I wasn't enjoying myself because the sexual violence against women (even the talk of it, or Mushroom's lies about it) was too much for me given the current climate in Australia when it comes to violence against women. Unfortunately, I picked this book up at the wrong time.

I just think if dragons can be real in your medieval world, violence against women can cease to exist, too.

Definitely a must for ASOIAF diehard fans. I am not a diehard fan, so I am okay with not reading anymore of it.

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison - I listened to the audiobook. This was a lot of fun. Aurora is bitten by a werewolf and turns into one while she's back in her childhood town to support her pregnant twin sister, Scarlett. It's a fun story about body transformation and your inner monster. It's written in first person, present tense, and I find it works well. The romance happens quickly, so there's no "will they or won't they?". I suspected one of the twists from the beginning, and felt satisfied knowing I was right.

I'd definitely recommend it if you don't mind graphic descriptions of shapeshifting/body transformation, some gore, and pregnancy.

*

I'm reading my annotated version of Six of Crows, which is AMAZING. I love Leigh's notes! I ordered the King of Scars annotated edition and cannot wait to get my grubby little hands on that.

I'm officially on my four-day long weekend, so there was no better time to offer this than now! If you'd like a tarot reading for April, let me know!

If you're interested in asking a question, we can see how I go with doing a reading for one (but if I don't feel comfortable with it, I'll default to my "What does X need to know for the next month?" question instead). No questions about finances, please. Open-ended questions work best, but if you can only phrase your question as close-ended, I'll workshop it to suit something more open-ended.

What you'll most likely get in a reading: A tarot deck + Oracle card + Listen Bitch affirmation. (I can throw in a Shadow card, which I use to call out a specific trait I may be ignoring/suppressing to work on. It's part of my shadow work. If you want this, let me know; otherwise, I'll leave it out.)

Disclaimer: I'm still a newbie! You can drop in at any time during the month for a reading—just know I'll do it when I am free and have the energy.

scytale asked for Little Women's Amy March.

The Amy March I'm familiar with is the Amy March from Little Women (2019). (I've bought the book, but in true me fashion, I haven't read it yet.)

( AMY MARCH RULES! )

(You can bet your butt I'm doing a Zoya meta. The Ianthe one will have to wait as I'm stuck in the book and haven't met her yet!)

This was a lot of stream of consciousness. I hope someone enjoyed reading me waxing questionable poetry about Amy!