1 movie with stars, 1 game with magical animals, and 2x2 books
Apr. 9th, 2026 02:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
schneefinkSome reviews of recent media before I hopefully disappear into a metaphorical cave for a week to study before my next exam; I say hopefully because I already made dumb decisions like staying up late to read fic the last two nights. Ah well. I do need breaks at some points, and I plan to get regular fresh air too.
I watched Project Hail Mary in a theater with friends on Tuesday: two of us had read the book and the other three knew nothing at all about it, which made it extra fun to hear their reactions afterwards. I read the book a few months ago, and unlike the book the movie did live up to all the good things I'd heard about it. That was great. I really like how they adapted it (yes they cut some fun stuff/good additional info but overall I thought they did a great job), I liked the designs and the visuals, it was at times very exciting and dramatic and emotional and funny, and I had a fantastic time.
I've already seen some great fanart on Tumblr and look forward to more of it, fingers crossed.
Only four people of my TTRPG group had time two weeks ago so for a few hours we tried out Sunderfolk (Steam link), a multiplayer turn-based tactical RPG where you play as animals.
I had a lot of fun! I played an arcanist raven with teleportation powers, I loved that. I could do damage as well but my most effective moves were teleporting my allies (a rogue (weasel), a pyromancer (salamander), and a vanguard (kangaroo rat)) into better positions. The story so far is rather simple, you defend the settlement against the ogres, do side-quests and help gather resources for the rebuild; I'm not sure how much I'm meant to think about the implications (like that the animals came from above and with their bright lights took away living spaces from the ogres that are now starving) but I look forward to seeing where it goes.
We're only halfway through act 1 chapter 2, but we already have a date set for next time. This time we had three of us on the couch and one joining online, next time all four will be able to attend in person, even better.
About a week later, same scenario, only four people from my TTRPG group had time – different people this time so we started a new campaign. This time I played the bat bard, and they're absolutely adorable. Gameplay-wise unfortunately I enjoyed the bard much less; we only got to level 3 so maybe it gets better later? The other player who played for the second time also enjoyed his second choice (antelope ranger) much less than his first (pyromancer). There are currently no active plans to continue, but we might if we happen to have that group again.
Dragonoak by Sam Farren #1 + #2, The Complete History of Castelir and The Sky Beneath The Sun:
Rowan, exiled from her village since they discovered she is a necromancer, runs away with a dragon knight and becomes entangled in conflicts spanning multiple kingdoms and races.
My (now ex-)gf recommended this trilogy to me, so I wanted to like it; and maybe that puts it into the category of "would have liked it more if not for my high hopes/expectations," idk. There were parts I liked, prominent among them the amount of queer characters; unfortunately it was neither the pacing nor most of the characters.
( Spoilers )
The Dementia Cascade by L. Lynn Gray (tassosss) #1 + #2, The Dementia: A Space Adventure and Surviving Peace:
Four generation ships fly in formation, still several generations from their target planet; when there are suddenly massive technical issues, solving them requires cooperation, which is made difficult by social and political conflicts.
Like many books with multiple PoVs book 1 had some I enjoyed a lot, some I was neutral about, and some I liked less (I'm currently quickly frustrated by characters with ideological blinkers.) I liked book 2 even better: fortunately for me it focuses on my favorite characters from book 1, and also the most difficult political situation. Namely, Jacks and Antony on Peace, that had a violent uprising deposing a corrupt authoritarian leader in book 1 and the consequences of that in book 2. ( Spoilers )
I watched Project Hail Mary in a theater with friends on Tuesday: two of us had read the book and the other three knew nothing at all about it, which made it extra fun to hear their reactions afterwards. I read the book a few months ago, and unlike the book the movie did live up to all the good things I'd heard about it. That was great. I really like how they adapted it (yes they cut some fun stuff/good additional info but overall I thought they did a great job), I liked the designs and the visuals, it was at times very exciting and dramatic and emotional and funny, and I had a fantastic time.
I've already seen some great fanart on Tumblr and look forward to more of it, fingers crossed.
Only four people of my TTRPG group had time two weeks ago so for a few hours we tried out Sunderfolk (Steam link), a multiplayer turn-based tactical RPG where you play as animals.
I had a lot of fun! I played an arcanist raven with teleportation powers, I loved that. I could do damage as well but my most effective moves were teleporting my allies (a rogue (weasel), a pyromancer (salamander), and a vanguard (kangaroo rat)) into better positions. The story so far is rather simple, you defend the settlement against the ogres, do side-quests and help gather resources for the rebuild; I'm not sure how much I'm meant to think about the implications (like that the animals came from above and with their bright lights took away living spaces from the ogres that are now starving) but I look forward to seeing where it goes.
We're only halfway through act 1 chapter 2, but we already have a date set for next time. This time we had three of us on the couch and one joining online, next time all four will be able to attend in person, even better.
About a week later, same scenario, only four people from my TTRPG group had time – different people this time so we started a new campaign. This time I played the bat bard, and they're absolutely adorable. Gameplay-wise unfortunately I enjoyed the bard much less; we only got to level 3 so maybe it gets better later? The other player who played for the second time also enjoyed his second choice (antelope ranger) much less than his first (pyromancer). There are currently no active plans to continue, but we might if we happen to have that group again.
Dragonoak by Sam Farren #1 + #2, The Complete History of Castelir and The Sky Beneath The Sun:
Rowan, exiled from her village since they discovered she is a necromancer, runs away with a dragon knight and becomes entangled in conflicts spanning multiple kingdoms and races.
My (now ex-)gf recommended this trilogy to me, so I wanted to like it; and maybe that puts it into the category of "would have liked it more if not for my high hopes/expectations," idk. There were parts I liked, prominent among them the amount of queer characters; unfortunately it was neither the pacing nor most of the characters.
( Spoilers )
The Dementia Cascade by L. Lynn Gray (
tassosss) #1 + #2, The Dementia: A Space Adventure and Surviving Peace: Four generation ships fly in formation, still several generations from their target planet; when there are suddenly massive technical issues, solving them requires cooperation, which is made difficult by social and political conflicts.
Like many books with multiple PoVs book 1 had some I enjoyed a lot, some I was neutral about, and some I liked less (I'm currently quickly frustrated by characters with ideological blinkers.) I liked book 2 even better: fortunately for me it focuses on my favorite characters from book 1, and also the most difficult political situation. Namely, Jacks and Antony on Peace, that had a violent uprising deposing a corrupt authoritarian leader in book 1 and the consequences of that in book 2. ( Spoilers )
(no subject)
Apr. 6th, 2026 09:13 amlakeeffectgirlI should probably hit pause on all my Pitt WIPs, as we have only two weeks left and last week's episode [we need a new word for "canon events have contradicted what I was writing" because I refuse to use the previous option] the entire setup I was working for a Robby/Jesse. Although I could definitely re-write the setup parts, since I've only got a thousand words which isn't much to have to retool - but again, I might as well wait until we know how Robby's day actually ends and if there are further updates on Jesse's situation. And I have a lot (A LOT) of WIPs that involve Samira, and so should wait to see how her storyline wraps up as well - even if I end up simply ignoring it entirely.
As I am not me if I don't write something entirely contradictory at least once, I spent the last two weeks writing nearly 10k of NSFW Santos/Langdon, if I cause a commotion. I kind of can't believe I managed to buckle down and finish it - I get enough confrontation at work, I don't need it in my fanfic, so writing characters actually dislike each other and argue was a stretch for me.
( Thoughts on some various Pitt things (spoilers through 2x13). )
As I am not me if I don't write something entirely contradictory at least once, I spent the last two weeks writing nearly 10k of NSFW Santos/Langdon, if I cause a commotion. I kind of can't believe I managed to buckle down and finish it - I get enough confrontation at work, I don't need it in my fanfic, so writing characters actually dislike each other and argue was a stretch for me.
( Thoughts on some various Pitt things (spoilers through 2x13). )
state of the me(dia) - mar 2026
Apr. 3rd, 2026 10:19 ammarianasWATCHING
🏒 The Sharks - keep giving me hope then breaking my heart. my favorite tol russian child is back tho!
READING
💻 more fic. just. so much fic. also I'm following ten gazillion heated rivalry wips, but the ones I drop everything to read when they update are: good on my own accord (in which shane is a goalie) and Boston Boys (in which shane was traded to boston)
📖 Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers - started it while drinking a flight by myself at a Magic the Gathering wine bar. not very far in yet, but the humor of it is hitting for me so i'm excited to see where it goes.
.
🏒 The Sharks - keep giving me hope then breaking my heart. my favorite tol russian child is back tho!
READING
💻 more fic. just. so much fic. also I'm following ten gazillion heated rivalry wips, but the ones I drop everything to read when they update are: good on my own accord (in which shane is a goalie) and Boston Boys (in which shane was traded to boston)
📖 Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers - started it while drinking a flight by myself at a Magic the Gathering wine bar. not very far in yet, but the humor of it is hitting for me so i'm excited to see where it goes.
.
from all other nights
Apr. 3rd, 2026 12:29 amrogaSeder ended up being really nice! There were only two alarms around 5PM for us, after all of us had already made our way home so none were caught on the road or in traffic. The rest of the evening we had no alarms in our area, so were able to get through a whole (admittedly rushed) seder and excellent food. There were lots of flowers, and all of the important foods, and my aunt's rice was a little burnt* but it actually made it taste better - it's this really good recipe of oven-baked rice with mushrooms and chestnuts that I really have to try sometime.
(*one of many downsides to alarms is figuring out how to handle anything cooking while you're going in the shelter for an unknown amount of time. Do you turn off the oven? Do you keep it on and hope for the best? Tough decisions must be made.)
Since I was put in charge of the seder itself, I went over the hagaddah in advance and made a cheat sheet of which parts we'd read/sing/skip in advance, printed out a few copies and placed them on the table, just to have everyone on the same page. It ended up going really well, adults were appreciative, we basically sped through the reading and singing in like 20 minutes before getting to the food.
Sisters and I spent the night there; there were some tensions at some point but situation's got people on edge; overall had a really nice time. My sister and I drove back to Tel Aviv this evening; it was the first time an alert caught me on the road (technically, two). Drove till I found a part of the road with a wide enough shoulder to pull over, got a blanket from the trunk and spread it on the ground by the road to sit on, took a coat since it was drizzling a little. The air was misty and bizarre and apocalyptic just because it happened to be a day with really weird weather, every streetlight enveloped by an enormous halo, and pretty soon we heard the booms, saw some dim lights, saw one interceptor on its way through the mist. My sister had a much more visceral reaction than I did to the sounds and the sights, but then unlike her, I didn't spend the first few months after October 7th constantly going in and out of a war zone on reserve duty :( We sat there, munching on some cucumber-flavored Lays chips my dad brought from a recent trip to China, on the ground with a coat pulled over out heads and yellow flares in the sky, just a surreal little moment. When we got back in the car after, Graceland was playing on the radio.
(There was a second alert about 10 minutes later, but at that point we were already in the city; we just found parking and went inside a nearby building to use their shelter if we'd need to, but it ended up being one of those times where the "heads up" alert never converts into a real alarm.)
When I got home, logged on to participate as a beta in a virtual lecture about the science of BtVS (in preparation for the now-virtual local SFF con taking place next week), which was super fun, and then watched Shrinking, which, my heart, I can't believe next week will be the last episode of the season boo.
This weekend I am planning on:
-visiting grandma
-meeting friends
-IDK, XO Kitty season 3 perhaps?
-writing?? finally?? will it happen?? maybe mentioning it will make it so.
(*one of many downsides to alarms is figuring out how to handle anything cooking while you're going in the shelter for an unknown amount of time. Do you turn off the oven? Do you keep it on and hope for the best? Tough decisions must be made.)
Since I was put in charge of the seder itself, I went over the hagaddah in advance and made a cheat sheet of which parts we'd read/sing/skip in advance, printed out a few copies and placed them on the table, just to have everyone on the same page. It ended up going really well, adults were appreciative, we basically sped through the reading and singing in like 20 minutes before getting to the food.
Sisters and I spent the night there; there were some tensions at some point but situation's got people on edge; overall had a really nice time. My sister and I drove back to Tel Aviv this evening; it was the first time an alert caught me on the road (technically, two). Drove till I found a part of the road with a wide enough shoulder to pull over, got a blanket from the trunk and spread it on the ground by the road to sit on, took a coat since it was drizzling a little. The air was misty and bizarre and apocalyptic just because it happened to be a day with really weird weather, every streetlight enveloped by an enormous halo, and pretty soon we heard the booms, saw some dim lights, saw one interceptor on its way through the mist. My sister had a much more visceral reaction than I did to the sounds and the sights, but then unlike her, I didn't spend the first few months after October 7th constantly going in and out of a war zone on reserve duty :( We sat there, munching on some cucumber-flavored Lays chips my dad brought from a recent trip to China, on the ground with a coat pulled over out heads and yellow flares in the sky, just a surreal little moment. When we got back in the car after, Graceland was playing on the radio.
(There was a second alert about 10 minutes later, but at that point we were already in the city; we just found parking and went inside a nearby building to use their shelter if we'd need to, but it ended up being one of those times where the "heads up" alert never converts into a real alarm.)
When I got home, logged on to participate as a beta in a virtual lecture about the science of BtVS (in preparation for the now-virtual local SFF con taking place next week), which was super fun, and then watched Shrinking, which, my heart, I can't believe next week will be the last episode of the season boo.
This weekend I am planning on:
-visiting grandma
-meeting friends
-IDK, XO Kitty season 3 perhaps?
-writing?? finally?? will it happen?? maybe mentioning it will make it so.
week 5 & 25
Apr. 1st, 2026 10:30 amrogaI really need to start looking at life in a way that isn't just counting! Growing tired of my own unoriginality, sheesh.
( Life, war, etc )
( Seder logistics )
SIDENOTE: politics and the rest of this country - a shitshow, everything is depressing and dispair inducing, well aware. There are still lots of people and groups and even politicians, doing amazing work. And many who are doing everything they can to lead to this country's downfall. So. Fun times! Hoping for the best. Not really writing about it.
( Pregnancy )
I was hoping to write fic for Passover but, as usual, writing without a mandatory yuletide deadline is hard. But maybe at some point during the holiday I will manage something! We shall see.
I have started watching Rooster, which is nice enough though not amazing, and also started Bait which so far I've really been enjoying.
Chag sameach to anyone celebrating! May this be a quiet, boring holiday, and may next year's just be normal.
( Life, war, etc )
( Seder logistics )
SIDENOTE: politics and the rest of this country - a shitshow, everything is depressing and dispair inducing, well aware. There are still lots of people and groups and even politicians, doing amazing work. And many who are doing everything they can to lead to this country's downfall. So. Fun times! Hoping for the best. Not really writing about it.
( Pregnancy )
I was hoping to write fic for Passover but, as usual, writing without a mandatory yuletide deadline is hard. But maybe at some point during the holiday I will manage something! We shall see.
I have started watching Rooster, which is nice enough though not amazing, and also started Bait which so far I've really been enjoying.
Chag sameach to anyone celebrating! May this be a quiet, boring holiday, and may next year's just be normal.
March recs: 11 MCYT Battleship works
Mar. 30th, 2026 09:10 pmschneefinkI've only begun to read through the massive MCYT Battleship collection (all ages collection, 18+ collection) and new works are still being posted. And I got wonderful gifts! (Separate post for these later.)
Some early recs in late March: 3 art pieces and 8 fics, mostly Hermitcraft/Life Series but also Emduo, Vampires SMP, and MCSR RPF.
Worldhopper by![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/b164c54b26e4/-/archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
bookwyrminspiration, Hermitcraft/Life Series/Empires/VBRPF
Art, Gem-centric
Summary: oops all geminitay! a digital spread of the many lives of gem :)
Why I love it: This is incredible. Nine different Gems, all in different lives with different outfits and worlds, and they all look fantastic.
( 2 more art pieces + 8 fics )
Some early recs in late March: 3 art pieces and 8 fics, mostly Hermitcraft/Life Series but also Emduo, Vampires SMP, and MCSR RPF.
Worldhopper by
Art, Gem-centric
Summary: oops all geminitay! a digital spread of the many lives of gem :)
Why I love it: This is incredible. Nine different Gems, all in different lives with different outfits and worlds, and they all look fantastic.
( 2 more art pieces + 8 fics )