Stuff.

[netgirl_y2k]

Just had a lovely walk with Freya around the park. Met a dog called Elmo, a dog called Fenrir, and a dog called Gus, which cover all three of the platonic ideals of dog naming, 1) this is a muppet, 2) this is a wolf, and 3) this is an elderly human.

Freya and I also took a little trip last weekend up to Inverness to hang out with tamoline and her wife who were on holiday up there, which was a lot of fun, not least because Freya accidentally tobogganed down their stairs, got herself trapped in their kitchen, and then decided that she wanted to live with them. If you are ever meeting online friends for the first time and are worried that it might be a little awkward I can highly recommend taking a stupid wolf with you as a conversation starter.

I happened to mention to my mum later that I'd gone up north to spend the day with some online friends who were up from England, and after a long pause she said '...I thought your internet friends lived in Germany?' To which I indignantly pointed out that I'm personable, people like me, I have more than one friend; this was met by a more sceptical look than you want from your mother.

We watched the series finale of Doctor Who, to which my reaction was, and still remains, holy, hail Mary pass, Batman! I am generally of the school of thought that spreadsheet dorks are a curse on most forms of entertainment, but I also kind of want to go to the pub with a Disney accountant just so that after, like, three drinks I can go 'So, Doctor Who, how's that math mathing?'

I also have gripes about how heteronormative the finale was, but that's increasingly the new normal, isn't it? I love living through a time of enormous backlash to any and all social progress orchestrated by history's greatest fuckwits.

In gayer news, here are some books that I have been reading:

The Unlikely Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Linz McLeod - Publishing a series of lesbian romances about Jane Austen characters is God's work, so I don't want to criticise it too harshly, not least because as a f/f regency romance it is perfectly delightful, but as a piece of Austen fanfiction it was, eh, Charlotte Lucas felt really true to character, but Mary Bennet could have been anybody, she felt half author's OC, half thinly veiled Lizzie.

That said, I will be picking up next year's The Miseducation of Caroline Bingley as soon as it comes out because God's work.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh - I was so excited for this because Tesh's previous facist punching novel Some Desperate Glory had easily been my favourite of that year, so I was kind of bummed that I didn't like this one as much. Maybe it was the genre change, instead of sci-fi it was magical realism set at a contemporary magic school; maybe it was my class chippiness, I'm not entirely sure that private school pupils don't deserve to be eaten by demons; maybe it was that it was heavily talked up as having a central f/f relationship, which honestly felt kind of tacked on, while much more time was spent on the het relationship with a dude that the reader realises is the villain, like, a hundred pages before the protagonist.

Like, it's fine, it's good even, my expectations were just a bit out of control. Also, go read Some Desperate Glory.

The Vengeance by Emma Newman - Pirates, and werewolves, and vampires, and lesbians, oh my! Our protagonist has spent her life at sea during the golden age of piracy when she discovers her "mother" is no such thing, and embarks on a fish out of water road trip through pre-revolution France, running from werewolves, kissing girls, and fighting vampires.

Is it a lot? Yes. Is it totally awesome? Also, yes!

Comments

[chestnut_pod]

I would read a children's book about Elmo, Fenrir, and Gus solving some kind of minor doggy mystery or conundrum.

Re: The Incandescent, I agree about the relationship, and would add that when the "enemies to lovers" dynamic it's going for has the "enemies" part predicated on a practical and moral disapproval of having armed police officers on school campuses, then it's kind of difficult to come back from that! Nothing about the realities of the situation changed, just the personal view of the situation!

[netgirl_y2k]

Yep. Also, most of the "enemies" stuff happened before the book started, the love interest was off page for, like, 80% of it, and then they got together almost as an afterthought at the end.

Which is fine, the romance wasn't the point of the book, but I am a bit baffled by how much I saw it talked up on bluesky, including by the author herself.

[lareinenoire]

Have you tried Molly Greeley's The Heiress yet? I am normally a grumpy nitpicker when it comes to Jane Austen expansions, but I ended up loving that one.

And, yes, A+ dog naming conventions. By that logic, Gwen should probably be named Miss Piggy, but it's short for Guinevere and she is the queen of the house. As for Walter, he is perfectly named.

[netgirl_y2k]

There is a small child in the house opposite me called Freya (her equally small brother is called Odin) leading to much hilarity.

I have reserved The Heiress at the library, looking forward to it!

[netgirl_y2k]

That was an excellent book, cheers for the rec!

[lareinenoire]

You are most welcome! She's written another historical novel set in the court of Catherine de' Medici that is also quite good, though I think I prefer this one.

[adafrog]

Cool dog names.

lol Freya at your friends'. Also, lol your mom.

[fitz_y]

You should come visit those internet friends in Germany again!!!! It's been so long. (To be fair, we haven't made it over to your neck of the woods in forever, either....) These recs sound amazing, thank you! Will be on my to read list.

[netgirl_y2k]

Those were some good times! i can't believe how long ago it was (I am aprox. 360 years old.)