It's May! Yay...

Hi hello, readers of this newsletter/blog! I know it’s been a while and I did not leave you with a dope beat to step to, but hopefully I can make up for that!

It's May 2024 and the year is... a year, so far. A little vague, I know, but it's also election year in the US and I'm already tired. Truth be told, I was tired last year, but now I just wanted the election crap to be over with already.

Things new with me: not much since the start of the year, I’m afraid. I’ve played some games (mostly one game recently), tried to read more regularly (with mixed results), tried to write more (lmao), mourned and grieved and raged about the current atrocities happening in Palestine, Sudan, Congo, Haiti and other places that don’t even make the smaller news outlets, and witnessed/currently witnessing the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar.

Current Events!

Obviously, the genocide of the Palestinians is still happening, along with the atrocities happening in Congo, Sudan, Haiti and probably more I'm missing. At this point, if you're still calling this a "war," you just aren't paying attention or you don't care. Here are some links to help out, if you can.

Games!

First, let’s mention the games I’ve played this year, mostly being Stardew Valley. I’ve tried playing Stardew several times since buying the game, each time constantly stalling, since I’d hit a wall and give up. However, a patch came out and all of my friends were raving at how nice the new content was, so I decided to give it another shot. And this time? I downloaded an auto fishing mod. Well, that was the catalyst for me finally playing the game and I love it?! I’m genuinely surprised at how addictive the gameplay was for me; every other game basically took backseat while I played. And honestly, continue to play. I’m slowing down a bit on playing and will probably start a new game before the next newsletter/post (which will be a bit more frequent, hopefully) but for now? I’m just enjoying playing the game.

Other games I’ve been playing or played before I was hit with the Stardew bug: Jenny LeClue: Detectivu. This is a cute puzzle game, with really fun writing and I love Jenny, even though she’s kinda terrible. This was a game I was streaming and I plan to get back to that when my internet situation is less fraught.

I’ve also been playing Hades (not the new one in Early Access, although I hear good things about it) and Dead Cells, mostly to practice speed running. Loop Hero is a nice game to play while listening to podcasts/audiobooks and the lore itself is very intriguing. Wingspan and Wyrmspan is a great game to play with friends (or solo, but only Wingspan has an online app designed for it; with Wrymspan, it needs to be played on Tabletop Simulator). I love the art and I like birds and dragons, so I definitely vibed with the game.

Luna the Shadow Dust is another fun puzzle game, although no voice acting and it’s treated as more of a traditional puzzle game compared to Jenny LeClue. I love the art and design of the puzzles and they are pretty intuitive so far.

Yi Xian: The Cultivation Card Game is another game I liked a lot, although I haven’t gone back to play it because of Stardew, but it’s a fun deck builder auto battler game that is really fun to play, although it can be quite brutal. I definitely lost many more matches than I won, even on easy mode.

Another party game I love to play with friends? Tower Unite. It’s like hanging out at the mall, but online.

This isn't really a game to me, but a productivity tool with gamify affects: Spirit City: Lofi Sessions. It really helped me get a lot done, especially with writing this post.

I’ve been replaying older games I love as well, like Kingdom Hearts (I’m still at the final boss battle of the first one and took a break because the boss is so unnecessarily hard) and Mass Effect. Since Gamepass is trash with save files, I have to basically restart my Mass Effect trilogy stream from the start, which is not ideal. But at least this time I can use mods and have the hair I want.

Books!

Some of the books I’ve read this year:

Poison Ivy Vol. 2: Unethical Consumption by G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, and Arif Prianto. This series is really good and as a huge Poison Ivy fan, I'm loving what this team is doing with her story wise. Definitely should give a read.
Don't Call it Mystery (Omnibus) Vol. 3-4 and 5-6 by Yumi Tamura. This series is so good so far and I'm constantly intrigued at the twists and turns this plot takes. There's something obviously bigger going on and I can't wait to see how it all unfolds.
Opus by Satoshi Kon. I really liked this, but I'm also disappointed I'll never know how it ends, since it was cancelled, and Satoshi Kon died way too young. But if you like his work, I recommend give this a shot.
Tim Drake: Robin Vol. 1 by Meghan Fitzmartin with Riley Rossmo (Illustrator). As a Tim Drake fan, I had to check this book out, especially since I'm one of the ten fans that actually likes Tim/Bernard? Anyway, I thought it was a cute book and I'm sad that this wasn't popular enough to continue the series, since I thought it had real potential to become a great run and really entrench some of the villains into Tim's roster. I also liked the art, which I know is an acquired taste, but I find that style compelling and sometimes technically well done art can be a bit bland and samey. Idk, I recommend giving this book a shot. You might just like it.
Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color by Christopher Soto. Very solid anthology of poems by queer authors/poets.
Blue Lock, Vol. 1 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro with Yusuke Nomura. I'm a huge fan of sports shounen manga/anime, so I had to give this a shot. Especially since a friend loved the series a lot. I like it so far; the main character is interesting and engaging and the supporting characters and the premise is interesting. Definitely giving this series a full read.
Ice Cream Man, Volume 9: Heavy Narration by W. Maxwell Prince. This is an anthology series, which means the stories will obviously be hit or miss sometimes. The volume had more hits than misses, which is always great, and I'm finding myself fascinated by the plot??? story??? linking the series together.
Where Black Stars Rise by Nadia Shammas and Marie Enger. This is such a great way to highlight eldritch horror and mental health and I wish more writers incorporated mental illnesses in horror in a way that doesn't make the mental illness a joke nor treat it as a glib thing that's easy to work with. Definitely give this a read.
Vixen: NYC Vol. 3 and 4 by Jasmine Walls. This series continues to bring me great joy. Vixen is such a great character and seeing so many black heroes in a book is such a nice feeling. I will continue to shout to the world the greatness of this series. Here's hoping it gets a cartoon adaptation (I know, I dream big and impossible). Vixen definitely deserves it.
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare Vol. 1 by Yuhki Kamatani with Jocelyne Allen (Translator). So I thought I read this already, but it turns out I only read the first two chapters before. So, this time I read the entire book and it's pretty good, although it's very realistic, so it can hard to read. But now I want to finish the series and see how it ends.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn with Mike Mignola (Illustrator), David Hornung (Illustrator), John Workman (Illustrator), Eduardo Barreto (Illustrator), Steve Oliff (Illustrator), Willie Schubert (Illustrator), P. Craig Russell (Illustrator). This book had a lot of artist working on it, I see. But I recently reread this, wondering if I still liked this story and turns out, yes, I still think this is a solid AU of the Batman mythos. I also like the art a lot.
Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki with Sawa Matsueda Savage (Translator). This is a nice book to read about being ace in Japan and being ace in general and what that means for everyone, since it's not a static thing or even universal among asexuals. Everyone's experience is different and what defines asexuality differs accordingly. Definitely recommend this book.
Zatanna & the Ripper Vol. 2 by Sarah Dealy with Syro (Illustrator). I'm liking this series so far, although I wish Zatanna was a little less, idk, teenage-y? I know the target audience, but she feels so much younger than her actual age and it's a little disappointing.
Abbott by Saladin Ahmed with Sami Kivela (Illustrator). I've finally finished this book after 84 years and I liked it. The mix of the surreal with the politics of the 1970s, especially wrt the Black woman protagonist was well done.
A Vision of Moonlight & Other Stories by Tamara Jerée. I really liked this short story horror collection and I'm eager to see more work by this author.
Futaribeya: A Room for Two Vol. 2 by Yukiko with Katie McLendon (Translator). This series is cute, but not one I'm eager to finish quickly. It's in 4-koma style, so reading it like Peanuts or other comics strips works fine for me.
The Second Stop Is Jupiter by upfromsumdirt. I really liked this collection of poems, which feels like an epic adventure through space and still talks about black ass stuff. It's dense, but I like that in poems, so I recommend this book.
Hirano and Kagiura, Vol. 4 by Shou Harusono. This spin-off series to Sasaski and Miyano is cute, but I admit I prefer the OG more. Still, if you like the dynamic between Hirano and Kagiura, I definitely recommend giving this series a shot.
Taproot: A Story About A Gardener and A Ghost by Keezy Young. This was a cute story about a boy and a ghost and their love story. It's really sweet and sometimes you need a nice, sweet love story.
Maiden Railways by Asumiko Nakamura with Jocelyn Allen (Translator). Hm. I liked some of the stories in this anthology a lot and some were... kinda there? Idk, the premise of the train connecting all the stories together was more interesting than some of the stories themselves.
I Cannot Reach You by Mika with Jan Mitsuko Cash (Translator). This series is so cute! I didn't expect to like it so much, but after the first volume, I had to continue. Definitely looking forward to the next volume to come out.
The (Pet) Detective Agency by noji. Honestly, give this one a pass. It's not that interesting and I've read this premise done better in other manga/comics. The art is nice, though.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa. Rereading this series because I forgot I never finished it. (I read it when it was still being written and never got back to it when it finally ended). I forgot how much I love Ed and Al. Such good characters.
Given, Vol. 7 and 8 by Natsuki Kizu. I really like this series and the anime and didn't realize I never finished the series? So I'm doing that now and I'm remembering how much I loved these characters and this story.
How Do We Relationship?, Vol. 1 by Tamifull. Now this is an interesting premise, although not a new one. It's nice to see what happens after the couple gets together and it's not forced drama to keep things "interesting." Definitely will be reading this series in the future.
Delicious in Dungeon, Vol. 1 by Ryoko Kui with Taylor Engel (Translator). I literally laughed out loud while reading this, which is a good sign for this being a series I stick with. Laios is ridiculous and seeing him playing off the other characters in the party is delightful.
King in Limbo Omnibus 1 by Ai Tanaka. I'm so intrigued at what's happening in this story. Definitely a mystery and definitely well written so far. Also, the art is nice.
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 1 by Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe. I love Frieren so much, she is so relatable. And I love the slice of life nature of the book and the premise: what happens after you save the day?
Sarazanmai: The Official Manga Anthology by Kunihiko Ikuhara, Asumiko Nakamura, Misaki Saitō, Lily Hoshino, Isuzu Shibata, Akiko Morishima, Miggy. It's an anthology book, so the stories vary in quality, but I enjoyed myself enough with it. Reading it before watching the anime will leave you very confused, though. Hell, even watching the anime can leave you confused.

I probably read more and reread even more, but this list is long enough.

Celebrity Shit!

Obviously, I have to at least comment on the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, as an old school Drake hater and a rap/hip hop fan. Experts on the topic have brought up better points than me, but I will say I feel validated as a Drake hater and a bit in awe that someone hates Drake that much. I hope no one ever hates me as much as Kendrick hates Drake. Here's a playlist if you want to listen to the diss tracks in order.

That's it!

That's all I got for now. Hopefully, the next newsletter will be sooner than 5 months; I'd plan for this to be monthly, but, lmao, that did not work out. Still, I want it to be an update of what's going on with me, so I want to make a more concerted effort to actually update this.

You can find me on bluesky, tumblr and cohost, although I'm mostly on bluesky nowadays, since my ability to create has plummeted a bit. Or you can just visit my site to see all my socials and works.

And now? A dope beat to step to until the next one:
Willow's empathogen album