Health Talk CW: Chronic Pain, Menstruation, Mental

Being a person who menstruates has been so rough the past few days. I took about two days to rebound from the booster+flu shots and then my period started. Of course I was back at work and the labor of my job really exacerbates my aches and pains. Ugh. My hands and shoulders are so sore, I woke up this morning dreading going into the office (even tho I love my clients.) Managed okay, just... feeling disoriented being home and seeing what needs to be done and knowing I can't do all of it, even if I was capable. Being frustrated at myself for hurting isn't good for me but it's still a hurdle I'm tripping over.

Recently I've been writing a to-do list of daily/weekly goals where I draw a checkbox next to something I can do and it's helped give me direction when I feel lost/worried I'm forgetting something. It's set up as a list of options which has done wonders for not pressuring myself. I started writing one out for this week and it's helping me calm down - that I won't "fall behind" whatever made-up metric is behind the anxiety smog in my head.

The plain and simple answer is I'm tired, in pain, and need to slow down, and do a little here and there, but mostly rest. I still feel guilty for resting, especially when I see the sun shining outside, and idk. I thought it might help to admit I've been having a tough time and that it's normal, and it's okay to talk about it.

Misc.
The Boulet Brother's Dragula: Titans S2 Cast Reveal Dropped and I've watched it twice already <3_<3

The only thing I was hoping for was there would be no cast repeats from the first Titans season but honestly I can't complain that it's Abhora and Evah. Abhora's cosmic angel eater look is still one of my favorites to this day hhh and I was always crushed Evah never got to the final stage.

SO PUMPED ABOUT DISATERINA AND PRISCILLA CHAMBERS. We got to see Priscilla in Resurrection and I've been hoping to see her settled in her skin on Dragula again. Honestly same with Jade and Dollya (who I hadn't even recognized hooo), really happy to see them.

My favorite look from the trailer was honestly Jay Kay's, the suit and overcoat with that makeup omggggg.


Last year I found out Bonne Maman does an Advent Calendar so this year I ordered it early and we're saving it for December. I buy all sorts of jams/preserves but they're a favorite of mine and getting to share them with Lovey is my favorite present <3_<3


Foods I made recently:
&; Seafood noodle stir-fry with zucchini and egg.
&; Ground meat tomato sauce with okra over rice.
&; Green Hibiscus Iced Tea.

Hello dreamwidth, it's been a while! I have been reading a lot of books lately, and back when I used to use LJ as my main means of communication with my friends, I used to put all my book reviews there. Well, all those friends have moved on to other platforms and my IRL-linked account no longer has anyone reading it, so I figured I may as well move content here, where perhaps one or two people will see it but at least I'll be able to find it.

I do find it very interesting that what used to be my obscure niche of literary interest is now commonplace, likely along with the rise of fanfic in pop culture and the transition of fic writers to pro writers. It means there are a lot more books out there for me to read, but it also means there are a lot more books in this genre niche that are just...not very good. It's like the difference between a small fandom with mostly good fic and a huge fandom where there's a lot of good fic but you have to wade through the not-so-good fic to find it? Though at least the grammar is generally okay in published books.

I found a post from 2005 where I summarized some features that fantasy books I liked had in common:

• some element of queerness (in 2005 I wrote "genderbending or alternative sexuality" but "alternative sexuality" sounds weird and dated 20 years later lol)
• focus on character development as much as or more than the plot itself
• plot involves some amount of political drama
• characters who are spies, thieves, prostitutes, assassins, etc.
• good worldbuilding in a way that makes the fantasy world seem more real and less fanciful
• some element of romance
• female characters who don't suck

I think these days, there's a lot more character-driven fantasy including female characters who are more than just stereotypes and which have romance and queer characters. When I was looking for books like this to read in 2005, the queer characters were few and far between.

In any case, the point of making this post was to write about some books I've read recently, and I will attempt to do so without spoilers. They'll be written in the order I read them.

( A Court of Thorns and Roses series (Sarah J. Maas) + a fic rec that is better )

( Iron Widow (Xiran Jay Zhao) )

( Empire of Sand (Tasha Suri) )

( The Folk of the Air series (Holly Black) )

And I think that is all I have to say about books for the moment. I need a real life book club where I can read these sort of books with other people and then actually have in-person conversations about them, especially because when I look at the discourse online so many people are just plain Wrong.

Yesterday was all good, got my shots in the morning. I'm now dealing with full body aches hhh and chilling at home. Slept in after getting food and meds, then woke up to find out there was a new Nintendo Direct and some of my wishes came true!!!

Nintendo Direct 9.12.25

Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave
New Fire Emblem sighted!!!!! It's looking like a prequel(??) or at least related to the lore Fire Emblem Three Houses introduced and I'm ready for a main title FE again aaa. The only bummer is it's exclusive to the Switch 2 and IDK if I will be able to afford getting it by launch. Historically I don't buy "new consoles" until they've been out a couple years... so as exciting as this news is, I probably won't be playing it when it comes out. Oh well, we'll see o/;

HADES II
BUT EVEN MORE EXCITING IS HADES II COMING TO CONSOLE RELEASE AAAAAH. I've been patiently waiting for this <3_<3 I'd seen sneak peaks of it from early access but waited to play until a Switch release. Digital will be out earlier but I prefer physicals so I'll wait for November c:

There were other games I found interesting (and I was flush with affection over the DQVII REIMAGINED reveal) but these two were the key points for me.

I feel like there was something else I wanted to mention... but my brain is such soup right now, hurg. Gotta try to sit up a little longer before I go lie down again.

Finally scheduled my vaccine and flu shot for Thursday morning - won't have to be back at work until Sunday. Expecting it to wallop me like last time tbh, and have planned accordingly.

Things I'd like to do:

[] Catch up on my DW reading list (+comment!)
[] Work on finishing another batch of cards for Point of Pride
[] Make notes for a post on Slay the Princess

( Food pics under the cut! )

Otherwise, highlights:

[] My first postcard through Postcrossing made it and I got a thoughtful response c: I'm now eligible to receive a postcard! And I have an open slot to send another one while the rest are still traveling.

[] We started (re-)watching the X-men movies after watching Matt Baume's latest video. Last night we watched First Class (which I hadn't actually seen!) and it was Wild. Like watching a speedrun lmao. The scenes that were good were SO good but there were sooo many short scenes stuffed back to back there was really no build up? But I will say, it felt good to watch a movie call Nazis Nazis. Planning to watch the first X-men movie tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward to o/ I watched it a lot as a child.

[] I've been writing fanfic again... Feels good.