OmegaMouse

I've been going to a queer book club, and we're currently looking for books with trans characters to read next month.

Ideally we'd like a standalone book (not part of a series), and a story where trans identity is a significant part of it.

Thank you :)

I'm not quite sure where else to post this, but hopefully it'll encourage some fun conversation in any case!

So I saw Killers of the Flower Moon is on offer on Kobo. And just out of interest I scrolled down to the review section, to be met with some very confusing posts.

The Bloom review almost sounds like a response to something. It sounds like some kind of treasure hunt? What's going on with all that weird code?

The Sorry review has a similar feel to it, with the l33t speak stuff going on. I feel like I've wandered in to some kind of alternate reality game from the early 2000s. Or something from Hypnospace Outlaw.

Can anyone enlighten me as to what the hell is going on here?

Don't get me wrong, it's still a good game. But I'm not sure it deserves all the hype it got last year.

It does some very clever stuff in terms of gameplay, with each character having their own unique battle system that synergise with the others.

And yes, the soundtrack is incredible.

In terms of the story, whilst it was interesting, the way the game drip-feeds you knowledge in the first two acts quickly became frustrating. There were multiple cutscenes where characters speak in such a vague, superficially poetic way. In reality it just felt pretentious.

Major story spoilers:

Perhaps this is an unpopular opinion but I found the game aesthetically quite ugly. Many landscapes had a feeling of copy pasted Unreal assets that looked so same-y at points they became confusing to navigate (especially given the lack of a mini-map). The characters had these blank, uncanny stares half the time and the designs for some of them (Esquie in particular) just didn't look good to me.

Oh and I'm really not sure why the devs decided to add entirely unnecessary platforming elements!

I found certain enemy attacks to be inconsistent and not well telegraphed, leading to some frustrating encounters were you had to memorise the parry timings rather than learn them from a valid cue.

I think the game deserves good reviews, but I'm not quite sure how it won so many GOTY awards. Perhaps it just wasn't the game for me.

I spent the last few months working on a fursuit head for my sona :3

For a first go, I think he came out pretty good! But I have a list of things to improve for next time.

I might have a go making a friend's head soon (they're a cat)! Although maybe some paws and a tail would be nice to have along with my own head first.

I've got Steam keys for the following:

Paradise Killer

Blair Witch

Please comment on which you'd like and I'll choose at random by next Monday.

For fun: what's your favourite pokemon?

Is this more common with the latest pack?

This is my PRIVATE content please do not look at this content or engage.

I suppose when I say 'modern' I mean anything from the mid 20th century to the present day.

At some point in years to come, certain books will stand the test of time and continue to be commonly read, held above other novels as the best this century had to offer. What makes a book a classic? My guess would be the impact it has had and the overall quality of its writing. But it's probably quite subjective!

One book that springs to mind is Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It's just unlike anything else I've read, with some beautiful visions of the American landscape contrasted with brutal depictions of the worst humanity has to offer.

There's a small coffee shop in my city that puts a lot of love into their drinks. They have a couple of seats at the bay window by the entrance, which I always find a relaxing spot to read whilst I'm savouring my coffee. And the best part - the café has a really cute dog that'll occasionally come up to you for some pets :) Just sitting there, with relaxing music playing and the sound of people chatting in the background... I find that to be a charming place to read.

I also have fond memories of sitting by a pool when I was younger whilst on holiday with my parents. I'd devour the latest Alex Rider or Lemony Snicket novel sitting in the shade. Has been a while since I've last had that experience, but it's a sunny day here today, so perhaps I'll sit outside on my lunch under a tree.

Do you have any particular places where you like to read?