halfcactus (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
halfcactus) wrote2026-05-13 10:16 pm
halfcactus) wrote2026-05-13 10:16 pm
Entry tags:
I'm an eruption, a wreck of possibilities
Is there such a thing as seasonal depression but for summer? Because I have been Going Through It and not really having the energy to do anything, and I don't know if it's just because the heat is sapping away my will to live energy. It's peak summer and electricity rates have not only been continuing to spike but are also no longer sufficient; we are entering a period of rotational outages. How much of this is the direct consequence of the fuel crisis, I can only speculate. I guess it's not totally unusual to have electricity issues in the summer when demand is greatest, but today it seemed like everyone (not us) experienced hours of power interruption at some point, most of them without advisories or extending past the declared window. I'd feel better if there were official, pre-announced schedules so everyone can prepare beforehand.
Movies/books
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026): A pretty good sequel that is set in the modern day with modern issues (the death of print, journalism, and longform writing; the rise of tech and AI), but not a very good movie. It was very focused on outcomes but not really the process of transporting characters through their arcs, so the writing came across as fanfic-y. The romance subplot could have been cut out in favor of having character moments linger. Still, enjoyable!
The Fellowship of the Ring: I'm a little more than halfway through—so far Frodo has utterly failed to keep his departure a secret (he keeps sighing dramatically to himself without considering that other people can hear him), Sam has held Frodo's hand blushingly, and Elrond revealed to be half-human. The Company is now wading through a snowstorm. Aragorn and Boromir are arduously creating a path in the snow so the hobbits can pass, and Legolas... watches them struggle for a while before making a point of flying off just because he can???
Seraphina: Roughly 20% through this and not particularly invested. The FMC is half-human, half-dragon, and has to navigate this precarious space with her unique perspective. She also has to keep her dragon-ness a secret because in this world dragons are, though highly cultured math geniuses (unlike these oafish and bigoted humans), an oppressed class. The racial allegories trip my Orientalism sensitivities (I'm extremely sensitive haha), and the storyline about having to pass as human feels like this might be written with a specific modern-day audience in mind, which breaks my immersion.
My Beloved Oppressor (manhwa): Surprisingly good in spite of its title? The FMC is a princess who marries a revolutionary who slaughters her family, abolishes the aristocracy, and establishes a new government. The webtoon begins with the FMC begging for divorce. The ML refuses, citing a desire to watch her suffer. Eventually (after multiple traumatic suicide attempts) he lets her go and she opens her eyes to the world outside her bubble of privilege and decides to live in atonement. They get back together in the end which I'd rather they didn't (I stopped reading when they did) but as far as het romance goes this one had more flavor and complexity than usual, and it takes war seriously. I loved the angst, the FMC's self-loathing was cathartic. The ML's PoV was mostly the same note of suffering (and tenderness) extended throughout the story but it was necessary for his perspective to make sense.
Your Ryan (manhwa): Again another surprisingly good read (can you tell I read so much trash lol). It's an ongoing Jane Austen-inspired het romance about a spinster and an infamous war hero. There are shades of Not Like Other Girls in the FMC, but the friends-to-lovers dynamic is cute and fun, and the art memes are funny.
Movies/books
The Devil Wears Prada 2 (2026): A pretty good sequel that is set in the modern day with modern issues (the death of print, journalism, and longform writing; the rise of tech and AI), but not a very good movie. It was very focused on outcomes but not really the process of transporting characters through their arcs, so the writing came across as fanfic-y. The romance subplot could have been cut out in favor of having character moments linger. Still, enjoyable!
The Fellowship of the Ring: I'm a little more than halfway through—so far Frodo has utterly failed to keep his departure a secret (he keeps sighing dramatically to himself without considering that other people can hear him), Sam has held Frodo's hand blushingly, and Elrond revealed to be half-human. The Company is now wading through a snowstorm. Aragorn and Boromir are arduously creating a path in the snow so the hobbits can pass, and Legolas... watches them struggle for a while before making a point of flying off just because he can???
Seraphina: Roughly 20% through this and not particularly invested. The FMC is half-human, half-dragon, and has to navigate this precarious space with her unique perspective. She also has to keep her dragon-ness a secret because in this world dragons are, though highly cultured math geniuses (unlike these oafish and bigoted humans), an oppressed class. The racial allegories trip my Orientalism sensitivities (I'm extremely sensitive haha), and the storyline about having to pass as human feels like this might be written with a specific modern-day audience in mind, which breaks my immersion.
My Beloved Oppressor (manhwa): Surprisingly good in spite of its title? The FMC is a princess who marries a revolutionary who slaughters her family, abolishes the aristocracy, and establishes a new government. The webtoon begins with the FMC begging for divorce. The ML refuses, citing a desire to watch her suffer. Eventually (after multiple traumatic suicide attempts) he lets her go and she opens her eyes to the world outside her bubble of privilege and decides to live in atonement. They get back together in the end which I'd rather they didn't (I stopped reading when they did) but as far as het romance goes this one had more flavor and complexity than usual, and it takes war seriously. I loved the angst, the FMC's self-loathing was cathartic. The ML's PoV was mostly the same note of suffering (and tenderness) extended throughout the story but it was necessary for his perspective to make sense.
Your Ryan (manhwa): Again another surprisingly good read (can you tell I read so much trash lol). It's an ongoing Jane Austen-inspired het romance about a spinster and an infamous war hero. There are shades of Not Like Other Girls in the FMC, but the friends-to-lovers dynamic is cute and fun, and the art memes are funny.
no subject
no subject