dhampyresa

I need a Shakespeare scholar

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:38:59 GMT

What's the proportion of sluts vs non-sluts in Hamlet?

Call that the ho ratio.

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DNF?

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 21:53:00 GMT

Was recently attempting to reading a book and found myself dreading picking it up again (just... so slooooooow). DNF (Did Not Finish) it is! (I actually gave the book more of a chance than I usually would, on account of: (a) i got it at an event where I got it signed/met the author and (b) it is a beautiful physical object.) Now I'm curious what "rules", if any, people have with DNFs? Are there things that make you read more/less of a book before you decide to drop it?

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Short PSA

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 00:19:59 GMT

A book being slow-burn doesn’t mean it has to be slow.

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Slay the Princess!

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 22:47:40 GMT

I've finished a play through of Slay the Princess. I really enjoyed it! I will now try to go after all the achievements héhéhé

I had to turn off the parallax and the ambient sound so I wouldn't get nauseous. Something to keep in mind if you're sensitive to motion sickness and/or vertigo.

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Slay the Princess?

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:34:17 GMT

Has anyone played Slay the Princess? There appear to be two versions on Steam, which one should I get? Do you need any sort of reflexes or coordination at any point?

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Someone stop this man!

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 22:40:30 GMT

Over course of the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms the main character's name goes from "Dunk" to "Ser Duncan the Tall".

At this rate, the last episode will just be him introducing himself.

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Whose idea was this?!

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 22:31:43 GMT

I've borrowed the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 artbook. I've not finished it yet, but the art is very pretty so far. The writing, however, is fucking unreadable on account of being white on matte gold.

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Mini book review

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 22:27:09 GMT

Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat, by Julian Walker, Matthew Remski & Derek Beres

The central idea of this book is that the underlying principles of New Age philosophy and consipracy theories are very similar: Karma = "nothing happens by accident"; Illusion = "nothing is at it seems" and Interdependance = "everything is connected". An interesting and well-argued read.

I read this book early in 2025, at roughly the same time as The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care, by Rina Raphael (it was fine) so I'm not sure which of the two -- or even the Decoding the Gurus podcast I was bingeing at the time -- had this additional tidbit: part of the appeal of alternative medicine is the personalised aspect of it. You're not special, getting the same vaccine as everyone else, but this homeopathy is tailored to you specifically/this diet aligns with your astrological chart/etc.

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Not really a snowflake challenge entry

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 22:14:03 GMT

Prompt 8 for this year is "Talk about your creative process." which made me realise it's been a while since I've had a Story Song. Usually when I have a story I'm working on I have a song that goes with it, that echoes some aspect of the plot, setting or character (dynamics) and yet lately... Nothing. Maybe that's why everything has been feeling so empty and been so hard to write?

ANYWAY all this is a long-winded way to ask for music recs.

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Leech, by Hiron Ennes

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:35:38 GMT

I was so disappointed by this book.

Part of this is on me: I had somehow gotten it in my head this was modern day and was looking forward to seeing how "hivemind took over the entire medical profession undetected" aspect of the premise would play out. The setting is not modern day, it's set some indeterminate amount of time (over 500 years) after some sort of apocalypse (fair, and an interesting setting itself) and people are aware to varying degrees aware that there is Something Wrong TM with the Institute.

The main part of the disappointment is that the book keeps bringing up concepts and then... Not Doing Anything with them. Spoilers from here on out. Our PoV character loses access to the hivemind fairly early on. Helen's miscarriages and/or the twins having supernatural powers never goes anywhere. The baron seems aware that he is hosting pseudomycota and even might be working with it? Let's never speak of this again! The idea that "If you’re born in Verdira, you die in Verdira" is brought up and we get told what happens is someone born there tries to leave, but that goes nowhere. /End spoilers

It is so disappointing and frustrating. It all just goes fucking nowhere!

Also I found the written accent annoying.

I did enjoy the hivemind parts, I guess.

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Bye 2025

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 20:52:42 GMT

Gave blood/blood products four times!

Looking at my 2025 storygraph extract, about 80% of what I read was fiction comics and I basically have nothing to say about any of it. In fact I have very little to say about my reading this year in general. Not sure if it's because almost everything I read had no substance or if I had no substance. Possibly both.

My resolution for 2026 is to breathe fresh air every day, even if I can't make myself go outside.

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Short TV show review: Andor

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 22:54:00 GMT

I really enjoyed watching Andor, overall. I did think there were a few places where the pacing dragged a bit and it wasn't as mindblowingly great as the hype made it sound like it would be, but it was still very good! The bits on Ghorman were kind of annoying because the Ghor language sounds so much like French but isn't French, I felt like I was taking crazy pills hahaha. Favourite episode was either the prison break or the Kleya flashbacks episode. I agressively Did Not Care about Syril or his mother, but every other character was at least interesting. I love Cassian, Vel and Cinta, but I think Kleya might be my favourite. I want to rewatch Rogue One, now.

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Bibliographies for fiction

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 23:12:58 GMT

A novel I recently finished reading ¹ has a bibliography at the end. It's a couple pages long, divided into sections ~~and the first book on it is Marx's Kapital, lol~~.

¹ "Paresse pour tous" (Laziness for all) by Hadrien Klent

Have you ever read a novel with a bibliography? Do you read the bibliographies in general?

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A(o3)lphabet

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 21:00:28 GMT

Meme taken from fiachairecht

Rules: How many letters of the alphabet have you used for [starting] a fic title? One fic per line, 'A' and 'The' do not count for 'a' and 't'. Post your score out of 26 at the end, along with your total fic count.

A — Apotheosis (Secret Wars (Hickman/Ribić 2015 mini-series); Doom & Strange; gen; 1k)
B — Between the Devil and the Dust (Star Wars, sequel, prequel and original trilogies; Rey, Luke & Anakin; gen; 7k)
C — Coming Forth by Day (MCU Black Panther & Ancient Egyptian Religion; Shuri, Killmonger & various assorted gods; gen; 25k)
D — The Devil Went Down to New Jersey (Hamilton musical; Burr; gen; >1k)
E — Every Heart That Beats For Liberty (Rogue One; Jyn & Ensemble; gen; 4k)
F — Five people on StarKiller Base who didn't listen to Anakin Skywalker (and one who did) (Star Wars, prequel and sequel trilogies; Anakin & Force Awakens ensemble; gen; 3k)
G — God Games (Ambition (ESA Short film); Apprentice & Master; gen; >1k)
H — The Hawk and the Bat (Marvel 616 & DC comics; Steph Brown & Kate Bishop; gen; 7k)
I — If at first you don't succeed... (Try. Try again.) (Ancient Rome RPF; Original female time traveller; gen; 4k)
J
K (I do have one piece of art, but the meme specifies fics)
L — Lies told by firelight (Loki Agent of Asgard; Verity & Loki; gen; 2k)
M — Mirage (Star Wars sequel trilogy; Rey; gen; 3k)
N — Nameless (Ancient History RPF; Hannibal Barca/Scipio Africanus; >1k)
O — Out of the Cold (Captain America and the Winter Soldier; Original female penguin scientist; gen; 6k)
P — The Public Thing (Star Wars Clone Wars; Rex/Riyo Chuchi; 30k)
Q — Qabârum (MCU & Ancient Mesopotamian Religion; Gamora & Natasha Romanov; gen; 3k)
R — Retrograde (Marvel comics; Valeria Richards; gen; 3k)
S — Strange Aeons (Marvel comics; Victor von Doom; gen; 7k)
T — The Tale of Lightsabre the Blue (Star Wars sequel trilogy; Rey & Ensemble; gen; 3k)
U — The Uncertainty Principle (Marvel comics, Young Justice cartoon & thought experiments; Cassie Lang & Wally West; gen; 3k)
V
W — We built this city on rock 'n' roll (Sucker Punch movie; Rocket; gen; 1k)
X
Y
Z — Zero Sum Game (Secret Wars (Hickman/Ribić 2015 mini-series); Victor von Doom; gen; 1k)

21/26 (116 fics on ao3 -- I have 122 works on there but 6 are art)

I THINK I MIGHT LIKE GEN

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Is there an Ennead I don't know about?

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 19:16:40 GMT

In episode 3 of the Moon Knight TV show, there is what is explicitly called "a meeting of the Ennead". Also explicitly, the following gods are present: "Horus, Isis, Tefnut, Osiris and Hathor". Now, I know the Ennead occasionally includes Horus the Elder, so sure, why not.

But Hathor?

Afaik, the Ennead is Atum; Shu and Tefnut; Geb and Nut; (Horus the Elder), Osiris, Seth, Isis and Nephtys. Am I missing something? (Probably.)

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FUCKING CLOWN COUNTRY

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 20:03:31 GMT

*plays La Marseillaise on the kazoo*

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Aten't dead

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 21:19:34 GMT

Wish I could blame being tired on giving platelets earlier this week, but no, it is La Maladie TM. And the less said about that the better.

Things I've been enjoying recently:

- L and I finished watching Arcane recently and now I have brainrot.

- T and I are watching Andor (currently on s2e3). It's fine? With occasional moments of great, but somehow I expected more. Hype got me, mea culpa.

- The colours of K-Pop Demon Hunters made my brain go brrrrrrrrrr.

- I've fallen back into the SCP Foundation hole, to no one's surprise. My hole, made for me, etc. I wonder if I could make a rec list?

- The pilot for Knights of Guinevere was fun!

- The first 5 seasons of the White Vault podcast (I've not listened to more yet). I'm not sure it does anything new with eldritch beings but it is well done.

- Did I ever do a proper rec post for the music of The Mechanisms? I should.

- October means it's Short Box Comics Fair. As ever I don't know where to start.

- The two issues of the Sing O Muse zine.

- The Missing Madonna is a true crime podcast mini-series that's not about murder.

There should be more. But alas.

Anyway, soon the yuletide tagset will be out and that's kind of like a rec list, innit?

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Oh hey I can make polls!

Sat, 06 Sep 2025 18:35:01 GMT

Update: I can create polls, but not make them useable (I have a free account which means I shouldn't even be able to do this much, if I understand this correctly).

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My Khepri amulet is in my other pants

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 19:39:50 GMT

I've been sitting on this fic for far too long and at this point it is melting out of my eyes. Hopefully posting it will give me back brain power.

Coming Forth by Day (24977 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Black Panther (Marvel Movies), Ancient Egyptian Religion
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Erik Killmonger & Shuri
Characters: Shuri (Marvel), Erik Killmonger, Bastet (Ancient Egyptian), Set (Ancient Egyptian), Tanit (Carthaginian Religion & Lore)
Additional Tags: written before Wakanda Forever, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:
Shuri and the others don't go to the Jabari following Killmonger's murder of T'Challa, and the gods take a more active role.

This fic was started shortly after the first Black panther movie came out and I have ignored all MCU canon since. Nothing but the movie and myths, babey!

This fic is, to me, "Shuri vs the gods of pre-dynastic Egypt", but that's not entirely accurate. The existence of Bast is attested since at least the IVth dynasty (Old Kingdom). I thought it was prior to Narmer's unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, but I can no longer find the source. I've chosen to interpret this, in the context of the MCU, as meaning she was brought there by Wakandans.

Additionally, predynastic Egypt has kings known as Scorpion, Double Falcon and Crocodile, a list of names in which "Black Panther" would fit perfectly.

Seth dates back to Naqada III (predynastic Egypt), Neith to the Irst dynasty (Thinite period), as does Khnoum.

I have also chosen to use the French names of the gods because I'm French ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The gods of Ancient Egypt, with very rare exceptions, are associated with one or more animals. These animals are all real and known animals.

Except for the sha, Seth's animal.

There are several theories as to what animal the sha is meant to be. The one I most believe in and have chosen to use for this fic -- under the name "seteshin" is that it is a (sub-)species of canid, gone extinct in Ancient times, as happened to Ovis longipes palaeo-aegyptiacus, itself linked to Khnoum.

I'm sure I'll close this window and be reminded of something I meant to say, but alas I have a headache and must away.

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Grump grump

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:58:29 GMT

1. I feel like if you're chronically ill you should get exempt from being non-chronically ill.

2. I thought I was better, but then I got irrationally grumpy over a book review having the "The Art and Making Of Arcane" in their background. It's no one's fault the French edition is out of print, I just wish I had that book.

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Katabasis

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 22:40:55 GMT

I've mentionned a couple times on this journal that I was writing a pair of Natasha and Gamora fics about them escaping the Soul Stone via different afterlives, and now here they are!

Once More to See the Stars (9759 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Natasha Romanov (Marvel), Gamora (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Inferno (La Divina Commedia | The Divine Comedy - Dante Alighieri), Body Horror, Fix-It
Series: Part 1 of katabasis
Summary:
Natasha died on Vormir and awoke in the Suicide Wood of Dante's Hell. With Gamora's help, she made her way out.

Qabârum (3012 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Gamora (Marvel), Natasha Romanov (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Mesopotamian Mythology - Freeform, Body Horror, Fix-It
Series: Part 2 of katabasis
Summary:
For Gamora, the Soul Stone looked like Irkalla.

There's no real order to read them in -- they're added to the the series in the order I wrote them in, but reading them the other way around works too.

I had loads of fun writing a more poetic style than my usual in the Natasha fic. You get points for spotting the Hadestown reference, bonus point for the Galavant reference and mega bonus points for the (translated) Brassens quote.

Sort of spoilers for the Natasha fic, I guess

I link Thor to Charon, not Phlegyas, because of the Etruscan psychopomp Charun having a hammer.

Sort of spoilers for the Gamora fic, I guess

I got the tidbit about Mesopotamians burying their dead beneath their homes from Dominique Charpin's "La vie méconnue des temples mésopotamiens" ("The unknown life of mesopotamian temples"), specifically the section on the temples of Nergal.

I'm so happy I've finally managed to finish and edit and post fics! It's been... way too long.

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Robot > Me

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 21:15:59 GMT

Couple days ago I was hanging out with a friend and she got distracted by texting her phone. I asked if it was about [specific thing going on in her life] but no. No. Instead she was talking to ChatGPT.

Feeling very "what’s even the point of me" over it. Much existential dread very depressed, wow.

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I've just finished s1e6

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 21:17:17 GMT

The more Arcane I watch, the more convinced I am that Viktor's last name is Frankenstein. The ~~Modern~~ Arcane Prometheus!

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Insight, or something

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 20:11:09 GMT

I wear a brace most of the time rn because of wrist tendinitis, which means drawing isn't just a matter of grabbing a sketchbook and pencil and go anymore. I have to undo and remove the brace -- which doesn't take very long, but it's enough of a roadblock that I have time to consider if I should do it (probably not). I end up not drawing as much as I want to and WOW a lot of stuff I usually watch on youtube feels so much more boring and I retain so much less of it when I'm not drawing at the same time.

Unrelated, but I can't decide and want opinions: is saint worship a form of ancestor cult?

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It's Alive!

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 19:49:57 GMT

Gonna run the Ukraine auction again.

If anyone wants to run a similar event (watermelon_auction?), I'm happy to share whatever I can (my backend post-automating code is already available here, though I haven't used it since).

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