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Review: It Will be Hard graphic/visual novel

Itch.io is an indie games storefront that has also become a haven for indie self-published writing, especially for trans, nonbinary and other marginalised writers. The site is not without its drama, but that's not the point of this review.

I recently worked my way through the Curated Collections About LGBTQIA list which has hundreds of games, visual novels, short stories, books and zines.

There were a few works that really shone for me. These are all also available to download for free, with an option to pay. I like to come back and spend money on works that I really enjoy, like these.

It Will Be Hard by Art and story by Hien Pham, codes by Amos Wolfe
Genre: Fantasy, romance

Description: It Will Be Hard is an award-winning interactive graphic novel telling the story of Arthur and Harold - two men, with two polar opposite sexualities, working together toward one mutually fulfilling relationship.

With queer people of colour at its center, the gentle, optimistic, and optionally erotic story touches upon gray-asexuality, polyamory, and the importance of communication between partners.

It Will Be Hard is presented as a digital comic with light choose-your-own adventure mechanics the player can use to create their own reading canon. The story stays linear, but the branching moments and memories explored go deeper into the two protagonists’ pasts and characters.

Review: This is a beautifully written and illustrated work, exploring polyamory in a fantasy setting that both mirrors and nurtures this relationship. The format itself embraces choice and freedom - you can enjoy the story as a visual novel with branching moments (that don't affect he plot) or a graphic novel, either with or without a spicy scene. I feel like this approach supports the messages in the book, that you can enjoy the story in whatever way works best for you.

I love the soft and cozy vibe of the characters, and their diversity. They all look like real, organic people and come in all shapes and sizes. There's even people with visible disability using utterly adorable fantasy animals to get around.

Warmth and light just radiates through the art. The whole story feels like a warm hug. It's very much a character piece, with the plot being secondary to that, but the characters are believeable and fallible. The ending is not a happily ever after but is hopeful for the future.

RIP (Read In Progress) Wednesday

It's Wednesday! What are you reading?

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Why to Watch Julia

Given that WGBH is now trying to raise an enormous amount to keep the station running, I thought it would be a good time to urge others to watch a show that features its early days. At least as the show "Julia" presents it, WGBH is the public television station that she made a success.

What Sorts of Things Happen in This Show?

Season 1 begins with Julia Child having published her first cookbook and then moving to Boston because her husband was pressured into retirement. However it soon becomes clear that Julia's life is about to start a second phase, and she has to maneuver a great many people into helping her achieve her goals.

In this, she has a co-conspirator, best friend Avis, and the brave and dogged Alice at WGBH who manages to get Julia onto a show as a guest and eventually into her own show. Julia also has the unwavering and in-person support of her editor, Judith Jones, who has to fight her own battles in her support for a less than highbrow book series.

The first season gives us a variety of looks at what life is like for even the educated and upper middle class women who are in Julia's circle (past and present) in a time where women are still very much struggling for financial independence and job opportunities. Julia's own role as a role model for women gets questioned at various points, even as the show makes clear throughout how easily and often women's contributions are erased or overlooked.

The tone of the show is clearly established as walking a line between being humorous and uplifting, and presenting more serious issues with a light touch. ( Read more... )

The Elevator Pitch

While food certainly is present in the show (each episode is titled for a dish), the show wants to both present the force of nature that was Julia Child, as well as how she created a large crowd of supporters from workmates to viewers. Her story also reflects challenges women faced in finding respect while pursuing their dreams in the mid 20th century. It ends up reminding me most of a less talky Gilmore Girls which focused on Stars Hollow.

Julia can currently be viewed via HBO Max in the U.S.

Additional Information:
• IMDB
• Wikipedia

Wednesday 08/10/2025

1) a yum salad for lunch

2) reading during lunch break

3) a nice hot shower this evening

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Book Review - Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill

Title: Our Hideous Progeny
Author: C.E. McGill
Genre: Horror, historical fiction, gothic fiction

The cover of the book Our Hideous Progeny. Around the title, various shells, bones, and other parts of animals are arranged. From the center, one reptilian eye stares out.

“I loved it. From the moment I first met its strange and terrible eyes, I loved it.” - Our Hideous Progeny, C.E. McGill

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit suspicious of retellings and spin-offs by nature. There are some great ones out there, sure, but generally my opinion is that if you really want to make a story your own, you should be twisting it out of its original shape enough to fit a new mold. Not unrecognizable, but not reliant on its original form to survive on its own.

I'm happy to report that Our Hideous Progeny fulfilled my expectations in this sense. Billed as a feminist, queer spin on Frankenstein, its protagonist is Mary Sutherland, who carries on the ill-advised legacy of her great-uncle, Victor von Frankenstein himself. While the concept is fun enough, what caught me from the beginning was the cover. It promised one thing that catches me hook, line, and sinker: prehistoric, hideous beasts.

( Read more... )

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Sanders' Union Speaker

Sanders' Union Speaker: Containing a Great Variety of Exercises for Declamation, Both in Prose and Verse by Charles Walton Sanders

Another collection of extracts for the scholar. This differs from his Union Readers and New Readers in that it is, overtly, aimed at performance before crowds. Some have directions on how they are to be staged, down to the observation that the poem about being a man is more comic when told by a young boy than an older one.

Many more comic pieces. Also, the time of publication is clear, since many pieces directly address the war. More speeches and poems and fewer essays. But its selection does cast quite a light on the times.

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TV Tuesday: Getting Your Attention

Although it’s still possible to see shows ad-free, this not only costs more but some options are ad-only. So how do you deal with ads?

Poll #33698 Ad Free TV

This poll is anonymous.
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 47

How do you feel about ads in your TV programs?

View Answers

I don't mind them
5 (10.6%)

I dislike having ads
14 (29.8%)

I hate having to see ads
21 (44.7%)

I like watching ads
1 (2.1%)

It depends on the ads
3 (6.4%)

It depends on the shows
3 (6.4%)

How many ad seconds per half hour are too much?

View Answers

Any
23 (52.3%)

10-20 seconds total
3 (6.8%)

Up to 60 seconds total
5 (11.4%)

Up to 120 seconds total
10 (22.7%)

Up to 240 seconds total
2 (4.5%)

Up to 360 seconds total
1 (2.3%)

Over 360 seconds
0 (0.0%)

Have you ever gotten personalized ads when watching shows?

View Answers

Yes
6 (13.0%)

No
13 (28.3%)

Not sure
27 (58.7%)

Would you prefer product placement to ads?

View Answers

Yes
3 (6.5%)

No
15 (32.6%)

Depends on how intrusive the product placement is
24 (52.2%)

Depends on the show
3 (6.5%)

Depends on the products
1 (2.2%)

If you don't like ads, what makes them intrusive?

View Answers

Takes time to watch/forward through
26 (59.1%)

Too much repetition of the same ad/product
35 (79.5%)

Interrupts the narrative too frequently
31 (70.5%)

Jarring shift from show to ad
31 (70.5%)

Ads are louder than shows
29 (65.9%)

Causes technical problems
7 (15.9%)

Something else I'll mention in comments
3 (6.8%)

Are there ads you would like to see?

View Answers

No
30 (66.7%)

Yes, if they featured products I like
1 (2.2%)

Yes, if they featured people I like
3 (6.7%)

Yes, if they were funny
6 (13.3%)

Yes, if they were emotional/enjoyable
5 (11.1%)

Yes, if they were for other shows I might like
10 (22.2%)

Yes, if they were for tie-in things to the show I'm watching
3 (6.7%)

Yes, if they were gamified
0 (0.0%)

Yes, if the product connected to the show in a fun way
4 (8.9%)

Yes, something else I'll mention in comments
3 (6.7%)

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Book review: One Dark Window

Title: One Dark Window
Author: Rachel Gillig
Genre: Fiction, fantasy, romance

Minor spoilers below

( Read more... )

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Recent Reading: One Dark Window

Minor spoilers below for One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

I didn't pick this book up so much as had it breathlessly thrust into my arms (along with the sequel) by a dear friend who I couldn't disappoint by refusing. I swore to give it a real chance, despite the fact that she and I frequently disagree about what is quality writing, and initially I was able to sink into the conceits of the story. I enjoyed the Nightmare and his relationship with Elspeth (although I suspected I would be disappointed that he did not end up being the love interest, and I was right about that), the general mystery of Blunder, and the way even the characters themselves seem to know little about how the magic of their world works.

The initial set-up chapters were the most enjoyable; once the real plot reared its head, the book started falling apart for me.

A significant part of that is the romance, which had me rolling my eyes at various points. You could make a drinking game out of how often Raven--sorry, Ravyn--is referred to as "the captain of the destriers" instead of his name. I don't mind that Elspeth and Ravyn's romance is telegraphed early and clear--sometimes you're into someone from the get-go--but as a love interest, Ravyn is a surly, controlling killjoy who believes he has the right to demand other people behave the way he wants them to. He intentionally keeps information from Elspeth and then gets angry with her for acting without that knowledge. Then again, maybe they fit, since they both seem to immediately dislike most other people around them.

The book wants Ravyn to be sexy with his competency and knowledge, but he often comes off as infuriatingly patronizing and Elspeth embarrassingly infantile. The hissy fit she throws when he doesn't want to pretend to be courting her was cringe-inducing. Girl maybe it's just not about you, a woman this guy has known for less than 48 hours.

The writing itself quickly becomes repetitive, and the author lives in terror we might forget a single character's eye color. The rhymes which begin each chapter get old, as they themselves are internally repetitive, and not very clever.

None of the characters are ever allowed to do anything embarrassing, because that might render them marginally less sexy. Elspeth is, as are so many female main characters in romance novels, a klutz, which gives her plenty of opportunity to be cutely embarrassed over absolutely nothing without doing anything that might actually be embarrassing.

Blunder is a mishmash of European cultures and time periods without taking clear inspiration from any of them, which I could almost let pass, except that at any of the times which lend inspiration to Blunder, Elspeth would have scandalized by repeatedly and openly spending time alone with single adult men and no chaperone. The book clearly takes vibes inspiration only.

At the halfway mark where I ended my journey through Blunder, our little gaggle of card thieves does not seem particularly competent, and I can't say I have any interest in how their adventures resolve. I'll have to tell my friend they're just not for me.

Tuesday 07/10/2025

1) nice weather to cycle. Good to be at work and see all my colleagues

2) a teambuilding this afternoon. We're going to make mocktails ^^

3) a very very very lazy evening

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Monday 06/10/2025

1) physio appointment, I hope he can work on the headaches

2) delicious tea and a hot water bottle and an electric blanket *grins*

3) no plans this evening. So I hope I have enough energy and focus to work on my crochet project

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Book review: The Star Diaries by Stanisław Lem

Title: The Star Diaries
Author: Stanisław Lem
First Published: 1957
Genre: Science fiction, satire, philosophical fiction

Summary:

Ijon Tichy, Lem's Candide of the Cosmos, encounters bizarre civilizations and creatures in space that serve to satirize science, the rational mind, theology, and other icons of human pride.

Review:

The Star Diaries is the first collection of stories that chronicles the exploits and adventures of space explorer Ijon Tichy, who travels across time and galaxies.He is once caught in a time loop with multiple copies of himself, representing the Earth to petition for membership to the United Planets meeting, getting into troubble in a planet where people lived with water right under their noses, and was recruited by his future self to steer the history of humanity. Tichy is competent, accident prone but honest about his failures. It's fun to see how he tries to dig himself out of various crisis (not entirely his fault). I really love his narrative voice. Infused with dark humour, the stories explore complicated philosophical issues, satirize human nature and politics. It's impressive how he managed to pass the satire under the communist censors' radar. Even today the stories are still refreshing and enjoyable.

Tichy has further adventures in The Futurological Congress, Peace on Earth, and Observation on the Spot. They are all stand alone to read..

The Virgin and the Swine Review – A Swing and a Miss

Continuing the Mabinogion Tetrology discussion started here.

Walton's adaptation of the Fourth Branch of the Welsh Mabinogi is her first major book, written in the 1930s, and this may be why it's a bit rough. It also inherits an oddly structured, complex story and navigates it faithfully. It's an ambitious attempt at adding modern psychological depth and realism to this tale, and it's a great idea but not successfully executed, in my opinion. For me as a non-Welsh, lay reader, this is an endeavor that deserves to be redone. The potential is there, but the story falters for two main reasons: too much telling vs. showing and the fact that it's just hard to write a compelling story about unlikable characters.

See my previous post for a spoilery summary. Spoilery thoughts follow... ( Read more... )

Current Mood: calm

Posting again.

Name: C.K. or Chester, if you like.

Age: 36.

I mostly post about: Linkin Park (specifically the 2000-2017 era, before the band became a cult puppet show), wrestling (classic SMW, WWF, the always sexy Jim Cornette, and my own very cursed WWE 2K25 Universe where I resurrect promotions and pair people based on vibes and trauma), Culture Club/Boy George fic, chaos, conspiracies, and timelines that make Doctor Who look basic, my OCs, who are so deeply real to me I've fought people in my head about them, Witchcraft, spirit work, folk healing, moon rituals, grief magic, retro gaming, random emotional overshares that sound like a journal entry from a possessed poet with too many piercings

My hobbies are: Writing fic that's 70% emotional breakdown, 20% worldbuilding, and 10% people getting railed in a meaningful way, hexing cults with sigils and sass, collecting music like it's my religion, drawing OCs, editing cursed screenshots and organizing old files like I'm preserving the Library of Alexandria, going to work like a normal person, coming home, and spiritually becoming a haunted glitter goblin with eyeliner and vengeance

My fandoms are: Linkin Park, wrestling (SMW, WWF, WCW -- but mainly the universes in my head), Culture Club (I write a huge fanfic AU for them), t.A.T.u., Verka Serduchka, obscure Eastern European pop acts with synths and trauma, Star Trek AOS (specifically Into Darkness)

I'm looking to meet people who: are too weird for Reddit, too raw for Instagram, and too smart for Twitter/X, overshare about their OCs like it's their religion, are into long-ass posts, rambling, and crying over character development

My posting schedule tends to be: Erratic. Sometimes I post a lot, sometimes I disappear for three weeks and come back with stuff.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Racism, ableism, transphobia, homophobia, antisemitism, or being a dick in general, "Hamasniks", Scientology apologists or people who think Mike Shinoda is evil because they saw an Instagram reel with eerie music behind it (or buy into a certain someone's heavily cherry-picked posts), anyone who says "you still like Linkin Park?" or "isn't wrestling fake?"

Before adding me, you should know: I'm trans. My pronouns are he/him and they/them. I am autistic and ADHD. I write the "controversial" fanfic trope of mpreg a lot. I am very defensive of my faves. I am a Zionist, and hate how the term has been turned into something it's not. I am pro-AI, and use it a lot to make AI song covers. I find it fun. Also, I smoke weed, lol.

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Book Review: The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan

Title: The Countess Conspiracy
Author: Courtney Milan
Genre: Historical Romance
ISBN-13: 978-1937248208

The cover image for "The Countess Conspiracy" by Courtney Milan.

The cover image for "The Countess Conspiracy" by Courtney Milan.

Today I am reviewing The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan, which is a historical romance that takes place in England in 1867.

Folks, it is brilliant. Utterly brilliant, and perfect, and just wonderful.

I've been reading romance novels since I was a teenager. The ones I read back then were pretty predictable: hero and heroine meet and fall instantly in lust but dance around each other for a time until they finally come together. There is a lot of banter and fun conversations, but usually the hero denies his feelings for her (sometimes the heroine is in denial, too, but usually it's the hero.) Then the damsel gets in distress and shoot, the hero realizes how much he loves her and rescues her and they live happily ever after, the end.

They're fun for escapism, but I don't think I could really tolerate them today, mostly because of the damsel in distress trope. But also: there is nothing in the books to really convince me that the couple is in love with each other, other than the author says they are.

Contrast that with Courtney Milan's books. The Countess Conspiracy is a romance novel, so yes there is a certain amount of sexy stuff going on, but it's really a book about love. Halfway through the book I was thinking, "Of course he loves her, look at all he's done for her! Look at how she sees him. I would be in love, too, if someone saw me the way she saw him." And the same goes for the heroine, who has her own reasons to love him that are just as believable.

One of the things I really love about Courtney's books is that there's not just the main plot of "heroine and hero get together" but also, at the very least, a B plot, sometimes with a bonus romance happening. The B plot usually involves character(s) that are important to the heroine or hero, and really helps to flesh out story and characters. You get the sense that these are real people with their cares and concerns and yes, flaws and foibles.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I'd suggest reading the other books in the series first as the heroine and hero of The Countess Conspiracy are introduced in the earlier books: there's a pre-quel novella that's a great read, called "The Governess Affair"; it's not as required for enjoying The Countess Conspiracy but is a good read on its own. Book 1 in the series is The Duchess War and book 2 is The Heiress Effect. The Duchess War is really good; The Heiress Effect is super fun and I loved it for its nuanced characters (and what a cast of characters it has!). And I didn't think it possible, but The Countess Conspiracy got even BETTER.

By now you're probably wondering just what The Countess Conspiracy is about. If you read the other books in the series first, then when you read The Countess Conspiracy, your jaw will drop at a revelation early in the story. I don't want to give it away, so I'll just say the book is about smart people doing brilliant things and being the odd ones in their families. I will warn that the book's blurb on Amazon gives away what the "conspiracy" is about; I'm glad I didn't know that going into the book because the surprise was quite fun for me.

There's also some overcoming of past trauma. Some folks might be upset by that trauma, so I'll put it in a cut.

SPOILERS but content warning for medical trauma

So Violet (the heroine) was previously married; at the minimum, her husband was a selfish jerk. She gets repeatedly pregnant, but suffers from some really traumatic miscarriages. Folks with medical trauma might be upset with this, so read with caution.

I've read a bunch of Courtney's books by now, and they've all been wonderful in their own ways, but The Countess Conspiracy is by far my favorite. I hope you give it a try.

I haven't done this in a while

I'm trying to be on here more than LJ because I'm paying for a lot of userpics, so I figured I would try again.

Name: Chris

Age: old

I mostly post about: My life and interactions.

My hobbies are: going to rock concerts, camping, kayaking, stand-up paddle-boarding, drawing badly, reading and writing fiction.

My fandoms are: I don't really know that I'm into any specific franchise enough to count other than bands. I don't watch TV or see many movies. Some peculiar nerddoms: I have long been interested in the history of passenger aviation and shipping although I do very little about it these days.

Who I want to connect with: I am curious about people's lives which are different than mine and I am glad DW gives me a chance to experience them. Thus if our interests don't seem to align don't let that be a show stopper.

When I add people, my show-stoppers are: No drumpfreich apologists. I am also not particularly interested in following "celebrity" bloggers who are only on here looking for an audience. I like for my connections on here to be a two-way street.

Before adding me, you should know:

Currently I have two things consuming a lot of my non-work time, which has meant less time to read and write. I'm doing my best to keep up and do not want to fall out of the habit. Accordingly...
When I am pressed for time, I may make more of an effort to read/comment the people who also more frequently engage with my posts. This doesn't mean we shouldn't be connected if you can't be constantly be lavishing me with attention.
One of the two distractions mentioned above is I am currently in a leadership position in my small, progressive/inclusive mainline protestant church. Although i do post about it, it's more in the vein that people post about their work life. I do not use my blog to proselytize. Also, I am not in the least bit uptight or prudish, or here to judge your life choices, and--as you would learn--I would be on thin ice if I did. It's just another thing that i do.

My posting schedule tends to be: I was doing a post for every day, sometimes a few days behind, until the aforementioned plus being forced to commute 5x a week again changed things a bit. Right now I am trying to keep up with weekly.

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K-Drama Update #18: October Releases

Watch on YouTube

Romantics Anonymous (Japan-South Korea co-production) | October 16

Chocolate shop president Sosuke (Shun Oguri) can't touch others due to trauma. Ha Na (Han Hyo-joo), a genius chocolatier, hides her identity at the shop due to scopophobia. After they meet, they overcome relationship issues through the magic of chocolate.

Read about more K-Drama releases at Soompi.com.