I love Murderbot. And in celebration of its upcoming new television show, I'm currently rereading the entire series. While I recommend newcomers read the books in sequential order, I'm giving them to you from my least favorite to my most favorite. At the time of this post, The Murderbot Diaries consists of seven books.

As a disclaimer, all of these books are bangers. I love every one, but some I love more than others.

( Let's get to it!  )

Do you agree? Do you disagree? Which entry in The Murderbot Diaries is your favorite? How optimistic are you about the new Murderbot Diaries TV series?

I have officially reached that time of spring when I have way too much to do, and I start thinking "I should totally quit my job because I don't have time to work on top of everything else," because that's naturally the thing that would have to give. 😝 The ephemerals are all coming back almost faster than I can keep track, and the library has decided to simultaneously deluge me with every book I've put on hold over a 5-month period at exactly the same time that I finally ordered in a bunch of other books to read. 😔 Also, somehow I have to find time this week to get my skates sharpened? One of the fun paradoxes of figure skating is that it's hard to find breaks in your skating schedule long enough to get your skates sharpened. Like, I can't do it in the morning before work, because I'm busy skating. And I can't cut out of work. And I can't do it the one evening the skate-sharpening place is open after work, because I have skating at 6 in the morning the day after and need to be awake at 4:45, so I can't stay up late. You see the dilemma. Ah well, somehow I will figure (ha!) it out before my edges get dangerously dull.

Here's stuff that happened this week:

• Exchanges due in March/April (the_mane_event, kinkluckydip, smut4smut, wickedloveex, worldbuilding_exchange, unsent_letters_exchange + mystery things I am pinch-hitting or treating for): I'm at 13/13, all done writing! 😊 I also finished the one hard edit/partial rewrite I wanted to do, and I'm much happier with the result now. These will all be revealing over the next few weeks, so I'll do some light edits for typos and whatnot, but I feel very accomplished at getting it all done!


• the_mane_event: I have a gift! I don't know why this shocks me, but it does every time: 'Oh right, there is cool stuff to read, too!' I received this lovely Killing Eve fic of Eve/Villanelle: love binds me. My good luck with excellent gifts continues! I'm also mostly through the other things in the collection I know well enough to understand and leave feedback on. I'm hoping to finish up my reading today. This really was such a cool theme, focusing on hair: so much pretty art and interesting metaphors in the fics.


• Exchanges due in May/June (hurtcomfortex, pickmeupexchange, idproquo, caseficexchange + mystery pinch-hits and treats): I'm still at 0/4 on this. I did sign up for caseficexchange, and I have a tentative request I'm thinking of gaming for, but I want to do some canon review first. If it works out, though, I think it will be tons of fun! I want to get one of my assignments done this week: there's one where I have pretty much the whole fic in my head, I just need to write it out. There was another one I was trying to write first, but I feel like my idea is kind of 'meh' on that one, and I have tons of time, so I'm putting that on the back burner in the hopes that I get better inspiration.


• Potential other exchanges to add to my docket for May/June:
  
  
  • Pretty much sure I'm in for: seasonsofdrabbles, prisoner_exchange, diegetic_exchange - unless zero other people turn up for all my fandoms, I really want to do all these (and nominations indicate that others are interested)
  
  
  • Things I'm iffy on but will sign up if there are cool requests: whumpex, saturdaymorningex
  
  
  • Other stuff that hasn't gone through nominations yet, but I'm hopeful for: summerofhorrorexchange, justunrequitedex, ahorseofcourseexchange
  
  
• Femslash Salad Bar: Nope, nothing on this! I might end up finishing it in next year's run, lol. 😝


• The Untamed: I'm through episode 40! That means that, unless something drastic comes up, I'll finish this week or next week. 🥺 I do not want it to end! I still love it so much! (I do have other items on my viewing docket, but this one will be hard to replace. I do plan to read MDZS too, but my reading docket is also full so that will be a while. I don't know if I can go without my WWX fix for that long!)


• Unit One: Finally finished it, only six months late and one horrific medical nightmare later! Yeah, I was watching this mostly because I didn't have any other ideas back in September and Mads Mikkelsen is pretty. He continues to be pretty! But this show was starting to lose it toward the end (and, even at its best, was just a solid procedural), so best that it ended when it did.


• Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by MXTX: I got about two chapters into this and am really loving it (all the fandom/fanfic in-jokes 😝) but then I needed to take a break due to incoming library books (which have actual deadlines to read by)...


• Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir! This book has been on my radar for years, and I finally got it. I'm not quite halfway through, but am really enjoying this too. I will say, though, that I am much more in it for the plot and puzzles/mystery than the characters, at this point. I know there's tons of F/F shipping for this series, and I can see why, but I'm not sold on that yet. We'll see if it ends up being a book I'm fannish for or just a fun read: still tbd. I am putting the sequel in my library queue, though, for sure. I'd just like to finish SVSSS before reading it.


• Ephemerals! Bloodroots are now at peak season. The first wild ginger, false rue anemone, and marsh marigolds are just starting to bloom. The early rue is really close too, and bluebells are starting to come up. Exciting times, all!

Also: I passed 100k posted to AO3 for the year last week! 😊 A lot of that is still unrevealed, but its time will come. I don't know if I'll make 200k, since I'm definitely slowing down, but we'll see.

Goals for this week: 1) Finish at least 1 May/June fic. 2) Work on ideas/canon review/research for 2 more. 3) Watch more (and maybe finish?) The Untamed. 4) Finish Gideon the Ninth.

Sorry, this one lacks all the flavor ilyena_sylph brings to the table, but I just had to get it down on electrons.

Fives Saves the Galaxy (Redux) (2568 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars [2008] - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CT-7567 | Rex, Ahsoka Tano
Additional Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Mando'a Language (Star Wars)
Summary:

A Force Thing shoves Fives to his Commander... right after she faces Vader.

Fives Saves the Galaxy (Redux)

This place was enough to spook Fives right back into feeling like a cadet, once the world stopping spinning counter to his balance, and he could think past the taste of colors from the world going awry.

How in all the galaxies had he gone from covering Echo's six to this place — oh wait. He shook his head to stop the ringing, which worked exactly opposite of the intent, and glanced at the hand not currently holding a blaster.

Damn. This was some kind of hallucination, Force Thing, or he'd cracked his skull when he tried to catch the weird glowing tube. It was in his hand, but it was not glowing, and he was alone.

Completely alone in a hell-scape littered by dust and ash and debris.

A noise like a hunting raptor brought his head up to see a white bird, one he thought he'd seen on other worlds. He tracked its motion and it swooped toward… a person? His helmet let him zoom, and he saw a Togruta, making them the second living thing he'd found in this place, struggling down a path.

Might be dangerous, but Fives needed answers, and this was his only lead so far.

His fast jog in that direction alerted the person, making them stop and turn, though they did not attempt to make it to him or draw weapons. Just as Fives had almost gotten close enough to make out details beyond 'tall' and 'probably a woman', a ship of a configuration he did not recognize at all, adding to the weirdness of the day.

She — definitely feminine curves — tracked the ship, and he thought she looked very resigned at its leaving. Was it someone leaving her behind on purpose? Had that been her ship?

Who was she? Those were lightsaber hilts next to something like a kama, and armor over her chest as well as on her arms and legs. Something about her looked very familiar, and yet alien to him all at once.

"Well. This is not the kind of ghost I am used to seeing from the Force," the woman said once he was in view. "Nice touch, making the armor look right," and he could tell she wasn't talking to him, so much as about him, and… those marks on her cheeks really brought home why she looked familiar.

He didn't much care for the rest of her coloring — washed out, faded, a sure sign of injury — and she was so tall, so mature, but she had to be his Commander!

"Commander Tano?"

"Not in a very long time, but then… you marched far away even before the end."

Fives should not have let those words spill from his mouth, a rejection of the very idea and adding in all the things he felt about this creepy dead world, even as the bird thing came to alight upon her — his commander's! — shoulder. When he stopped blistering the air, he reached up and swiped the helmet off, so she could see him with her eyes, the real him, not just the bucket.

He wasn't sure that was the best idea as her eyes went all white, and he could almost feel the energy in the air around her. Even as he took a step back, the white faded, and she moved to reach for him, only to stumble.

Instinct had him there, steadying her, and he realized she was injured, probably severely from the marks he could see, and how pale she was. He cast about, hunting for shelter, saw a small portal leading into darkness and not much else.

"Help me get there, Fives, and then we can talk," she said softly.

"Sir, yes sir," he breathed, getting his helmet back on as he felt that she had accepted him for who he was, even if all of this was a karking holo-drama with a bad sense of humor.

---

Fives won the argument of 'first aid then talking', without actually having to insist all that much. He was noticing how much quieter his Commander was and really not liking it at all. Finally, satisfied all of his kit had been exhausted on her injuries, he settled beside her at her insistence.

"Got a droid popper? I need to show you a trick with it," Ahsoka said, making his curiosity light up. He found one, handing it over, then leaned in as she opened a side to recalibrate it. "This frequency, for this duration," she said, making certain he could see the settings.

"Doesn't look like that would penetrate much more than plastoid, let alone work on any droid I know of," Fives told her dubiously. "But yes sir, I won't forget the settings," he added at her very searching look.

"Good. And Fives? I'm sorry." She thumbed the switch then, and Fives felt a piercing pain in his temple, one that felt like fire inside his skull, making him grab for it. What in all of space had she done — no. What had the longnecks done that a droid popper worked like that on him?!

"Back with me, Fives?" the woman that his Commander was in this bad place was asking, every few seconds, it seemed like, or maybe time was just looping in his head.

"Yes, Commander." He brought his face up and met her eyes. "All of us?"

The sadness in her eyes said far too much, and he had to get up, walk away, just walk and move, though he didn't leave the small chamber they had found. He just kept moving.

Ahsoka Tano was an adult with montrals and lekku to rival General Ti's. There were no vod'e on her six, no one with her. She carried herself with precision, contained in the same way that older clones who had been through harrowing losses were.

There was a chip in their heads, and she had not only known about it, but short-circuited it before giving him a sit-rep.

The math was adding up to an ugly story, one he didn't want to hear, but one he knew he had to. Only… was there any good in hearing it, if he was here-now?

"How many died?"

"Too many. Vod'e and Jedi alike," she told him, voice soft and hurting. "I've rescued the ones I could, Fives. But… it doesn't help me deal with the pain anymore than it helps Rex to know he saved me."

At that, Fives came back to her, squatting in front of her, eyes lighting. "The Captain made it?"

"Yes. Him, Wolffe, Gregor — you wouldn't know him. They escaped the initial order that turned the chips on and took all of you from us." She reached out, a slender finger tracing his tat on his forehead. "You made it possible for Rex, but we lost you in that terrible mess. He told me the story, when we were hiding together.

"But now, with you here? Maybe — Maybe the Force can undo it all."

"How?" he asked her. "I mean, I want to. I'll do anything to save my brothers and the Jedi. But… how?"

She smiled. "I tell you a long story, with all of the details I know. Then you go back. I should be able to figure that much out, or the Force wouldn't have brought you to me."

Fives really took stock of her again, seeing a woman whose early confidence was now backed by fire-annealed skills. If she could make the Force do what she wanted it to —

— he wasn't going to argue. Any chance to save his brothers and the Jedi was to be taken.

---

"Fives?"

Echo's voice was overriding the taste of color and the sound of odors. All that Fives had learned burned in his head, written in a script he couldn't read on scavenged flimsi inside his blacks. He could feel it there, pressing against his skin like the mission he now had.

One way or another, he was going to save them all. He couldn't bear the thought of failure.

"I'm fine," he told his batch-brother, making certain that he hadn't missed any time — the commander had said he should flit right back into the moment the thing had taken him from. "Thought I saw something, but it's gone now." Not quite a lie, which made him feel better. Echo deserved truth, always, but at the same time, he couldn't bog his brother down with the weight of what was coming.

Tarkin was definitely a dead man if they wound up going on that mission, though.

He just kept his eyes focused ahead, working on clearing this sweep mission, as the need to save everyone burned in the back of his mind. He was going to need to win the Captain over, to get him to Wolffe, but Ahsoka had given him enough pieces to know how to do that.

It almost amused him, to know she had never let go of that deep bond with Captain Rex, and he wondered if it had grown to something personal, just to keep himself from going crazy.

---

While Fives hated bothering the Captain in his off-time, it was also the only way he was going to talk to the man alone. He saw Jesse and Kix were occupied, ruling out the rare comfort the Captain would take with their medic, and headed through the ship until he got to the cabin Rex had conceded was closer to the bridge and offered privacy for counseling soldiers in need.

He was let in to see the Commander — looking short and baby-plump cheeks with short montrals like she ought to — in with the Captain and debated how to go about this. He knew he could not involve their General, but he hadn't been warned about Ahsoka herself.

"Fives," Rex said, sitting on the edge of the berth while Ahsoka sat on the small desk, swinging her feet a little. She was searching Fives' face which felt a little unnerving after being with the older version for several days.

"I wanted to show you something I found out about the droid poppers, sir," Fives began, deciding that the first move in this was an exact copy of the Commander's with him. He settled on the Captain's side, trying not to fumble under those intent looks from Ahsoka Tano, or just the sheer physicality of invading The Captain's space. Rex leaned over when Fives opened the droid popper, and just frowned a little at the reset of the parameters.

"Doesn't look effective for much, from what little I can remember about them," Rex said.

"Only, it will help us, sir, with a persistent problem," Fives told him, before thumbing the switch for immediate use. Just as he'd done, Rex raised a hand to his temple, eyes wincing shut, face in a grimace… and Ahsoka all but teleported herself to Rex's other side, eyes not on the Captain but on Fives, even as she used instinctive Force-healing on the spot paining their captain.

"The nightmare."

Ahsoka's flat voice on those two words made Fives' eyes go wide. He knew she was Commander Vod'ika, considered more one of them than Jedi sometimes, but she knew?! Who had —

She trilled something, a familiar sound that had been used as whistle code among the cadets, a sound that meant comfort and safety and protection.

"I… you… yes, sir. The Nightmare." He set the expended popper down, and got an arm around the Captain's shoulders as Rex was bringing himself under control.

"What. The. Kriff."

"I told you I dreamed about those years again, of seeing all of you, of feeling your worries," Ahsoka said patiently. "Apparently Fives is now a part of whatever it is tying me to all of you in this."

"You don't know the half of it, sir," Fives said fervently.

"Knock off the rank stuff in here, Fives," Ahsoka told him. "I came to talk to Rex about it, he said it started for him on last sleep and he decided to go do target practice, so I wasn't channeling it off of him… which means some of the other first years probably are having it again.

"If you can help us understand, starting with what you just did to Rexter, we can start fixing it."

"The longnecks put a chip in us, to make us perfectly obedient… to the correct orders, when the time came," Fives said quietly, hoping these quarters were shielded enough to keep the General from appearing. The color Ahsoka turned, and the absolute wretched look on Rex's face said they had followed the right thought-paths… and Fives breathed out. "We can stop it.

"Because the Force decided to show me a future. One we're going to send to haran now," Fives said with all confidence.

"Trying to become a jetii now?" Rex said, dark humor flavoring the words, before he looked at Ahsoka, who had not left his side. "General?"

"No," she and Fives answered in one breath, before she tipped her head to Fives.

"He's got the Force-equivalent of the damned chip in his head, because the order can only come from one man," Fives whispered, ready to defend the truth he knew if he had to. "I don't like it, but… I can't disbelieve, not after having the chip fried in my head when I had no idea about it."

Several long minutes passed, and this time it was Rex putting an arm around Ahsoka, letting her turn into his shoulder for comfort, before Fives got to outline what he knew, and the plan that the adult Ahsoka had helped him work out.

---

The 104th got assigned to a long joint mission with the 501st on the 'front line' furthest from Coruscant. Every emergency designed to pull Anakin Skywalker back to the center of things was diverted by another Jedi or unit. Naboo's Senator was rumored to have two Jedi Sentinels in her bodyguards.

A mysterious headache swept through the Grand Army of the Republic but had no discernible cause. A handful of high-ranking Fleet officers had malfunctions during evac drills. And several Senators suddenly had all of their funds frozen, pending investigation from the Security Council, based on anonymous tips.

Fives never got close to the cause of it all, but the holos of CorSec attempting to arrest the Chancellor on charges of bribery, mismanagement of funds, and inciting riots let he and his brothers see their own people take down a Sith. Too many died… and yet. It was a tiny fraction of the deaths that would be, that had already happened, because two Sith chose to play a dejarik game with the prize being the destruction of the Jedi and the Republic.

Sometimes, after, Fives would swear that he heard that strange bird of the Force, or saw a white light centered on his Commander when there was no explanation for it. He tried to push it away, tried to just be grateful she wouldn't have to be that stately woman carrying the pain of the galaxy on her shoulders.

And no one but she, Rex, and Master Plo Koon had to know he'd had anything to do with unraveling it all, something he was glad of, as Fox and Thire became the Faces of their people for their part in it all. Fives was content to face a new future with Echo at his side.

So new job keeps me a little too occupied to surf the net.

NSFW art figures of shibari (presumed female figure)
3-Master responds to sailboat SOS
Bird fishing with bait
Big dog, very much a cat
The Lady Doorman Comic

The City We Became by NK Jemisin:
Excellent concept, excellent worldbuilding, excellent range of characters, excellent message delivery, excellent audiobook narration - but I somehow didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.


Sipsworth by Simon van Booy:
Very small story about a very small mouse and a very old lady - cute, affecting, life-affirming - plus great execution of one of my favourite tropes, found family.


The Apothecary's House by Adrian Mathews:
Chunky, immersive, intriguing, with lots of great characters - it's more about the relationships than it is about the mystery (which I love), though it did go a bit melodramatic and thrillery at the end.

Post card from kalloway! Thank you!

*\o/*	Word Count	Step Count	Headache?
Daily	772	8,601	no
Monthly	8,510	189,547	5 days

Under construction!

I am currently on vacation. I will have this updated by the end of the day Wednesday, April 23rd at the latest.

• Duke is in his new home. It was very hard.

My cousin's sister followed me outside and, with her very limited English, expressed to me that she does not know why her sister is sending Duke away to someone we don't know. She kept saying "I am sad. I am very sad. My heart hurts. I will miss him." This sweet seventy-something woman, on the other side of a language barrier, was expressing her grief to me as I took this family pet away. I tried to communicate that I was also very sad, and that I would miss him, too, and that I made sure that Duke would be going to a very good home where he would be safe and happy.

To those who missed it: I moved in here a little over a month ago. My cousins had inherited this dog from their deceased mother, and did not wish to keep him for very much longer. Cousin #2 told me that she was going to call the local animal shelter and "give him back" (this is the shelter he was initially adopted from eight years ago) and I said no, please don't do that, let me find a good home for him. Cousin #2 is the Filipino wife of Cousin #1, my blood relative. Cousin #2's sister and brother-in-law also live with us; these two do not have much English, and while they are very kind, they are difficult for me to communicate with.

I don't know how much she understood, but I hope she doesn't blame me, and that she understands that I also regretted the necessity of rehoming him.

It is the best possible home, I am certain of it. When I went to take him today, I learned that his new mom had already invested in new bowls, a chest full of a variety of brand new toys, new bedding, handsome new leash and collar, and more. She is patient and soft and kind. She re-arranged her entire schedule to be home with Duke for a solid week, because as she says, "I don't want him to be lonely or scared in a new house." When I left, she handed me an envelope containing a card she had prepared for me. Inside was a lovely message thanking me for letting her be Duke's new mom, and promising me that she would take good care of him and make sure he never wants for love and attention. She also included a $50 gift card to Olive Garden. What? She is a wonderful woman and I am very happy with my choice. I do miss him already, though. She said I can visit periodically, at least until I move to Wisconsin.




• Blair will be here in four days! I am SO excited to see her, and to get up to some fun things around SoCal. It's a relatively short trip; she arrives Wednesday and goes home Sunday, but that's enough time to have a nice experience. We're going to Star Wars Nite on Thursday night, Disneyland on Friday, and then on Saturday I'm taking her to La Brea Tar Pits, they Greystone Mansion, and Santa Monica Pier, then the beach. Hell, maybe we'll go on a nice date to the Olive Garden at some point, courtesy of Duke's new mom.

I have a lot to do. I have to do laundry, pack my bags, bring down all our cosplay stuff so I can make repairs on a few items and wash others. Clean out my car. Take a trip to my storage unit to store some things I've lazily just kept in the trunk.Gas up the car. Re-do the pins in my Ita bag for SW Nite. Back up and delete a bunch of photos and videos from my phone to make as much space as possible; my poor phone is consistently at like 97% capacity. T.T

We've got DnD tomorrow and I work Monday, so it'll all pretty much need to get done Tuesday.




• I've gotten back into this cute, silly little browser game called Furry Paws, where you raise, train, breed, and compete your dogs. Goals are to level up, gain fame, breed the most genetically sound pups possible, and help improve the gene pools of the game world at large through selective breeding and caring for your litters. I used to play it years and years ago. The game is over 20 years old now. Back in the day I was a top player, not to brag, so starting over completely has been really hard. Still, it's just as fun as I remember. Anyone know what this game is? Anyone play? Anyone want to? If so, let me know: I've got referral codes.

Testing Experience (100 words) by Sharpest_Asp
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Raérilarr Aerasumé, Original Drow Character(s)
Additional Tags: Drabble
Summary:

Rae and Kastan on a test from Drizzt

Testing Experience

"I could cast a spell, you know," Rae said, but he didn't stop looking for fallen brush that was neither too wet nor too brittle for the fire.

"Father would say that's breaking the spirit of the test," Kastan told him, continuing to work on making a proper camp.

"He said we could use all we were, and I am a wizard."

Kastan looked at him intently. "And you have decades more experience, and you have more woodcraft. But I need to gain those things."

Rae nodded, conceding the point, and kept letting Kastan lead.

His partner had to learn.

Sonata in F You
Chapter 3: can't erase the way your face lit up this place
AO3

Summary: Two weeks after his brother's second trial, Klavier Gavin is arrested for murder.

Fandom: Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney
Characters: Klavier Gavin/Apollo Justice, Klavier Gavin/Daryan Crescend, Ema Skye, Miles Edgeworth
Rating: Teen
Warnings: Canon-typical violence, murder mystery, language
Notes: Chapter title from Voila's "Drinking with Cupid".

( chapter 3: can't erase the way your face lit up this place )

So there are a LOT more than these 10 that I saw, loved, etc. Many that are part of the pop culture museum in my head. But ... I need to focus in on the ones that REALLY stayed with me over the years.

And I refuse to pick a favorite this year. You get my top nine with thoughts plus one that added to my issue with psych thrillers. ( A little wordy )

AKA, I get very self-indulgent.

So Currents started as a joke I made in an early draft of Sonata, in which Apollo did some ill-advised internet searching and stumbled on the Gavinners RPF Scene (because the Gavinners are absolutely the kind of band that gets fic), and found himself staring at a 400k story where Daryan is a shark mermaid dating human Klavier and wondering why on Earth he's looking at this. There was no room for it in the actual fic, but I thought "you know what would be funny? if that in-universe fic was kind of well-known because it was written by a marine biology nerd who got way too detailed about the shark stuff".

And then I remembered that I am a marine biology nerd, and hey, wouldn't it be funny if I wrote some scenes from it...

And then I showed some of those shark mermaid Daryan rough drafts to crabkick, and they said, "I'm going to draw him for you". And that's how this absolutely stunning piece of art happened:



(Originally posted here, shared with permission. Thanks, crabkick!)

And now I'm on the hook for 400k of Klavdar mermaid AU fic. So far I've written one ill-advised oceanic sex scene, the beginnings of a lengthy hurt/comfort "mermaid nursed back to health by human lover" sequence, some introductory stuff about them being childhood friends and rediscovering each other as adults, and a mermaid cultural myth because I like worldbuilding. I honestly might just post this as a series of vignettes, because...look, 400k is so much.

But seriously, look at that art, it's gorgeous. I have to post some fic for this AU sometime, just to go with it.

Title: Flowers
Rating: General
Fandom: Un Matrimonio Interplanetario (1910)
Pairing(s) / Character(s): Aldovino/Mars Astronomer's Daughter
Warnings: n/a
Spoilers: not really

Note: For the "Cup of Gold" square on my Public Domain Bingo card (2025).
Get it, 'cause flowers?

On AO3
On Squidge

( Read more... )

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf takes place almost in real time on one day in a small US town, where two seven-year-old girls go missing very early in the morning.

We get multiple viewpoints from various people in the town, who are variously connected to the case (parents, siblings, law enforcement - and, interestingly, also both the girls) in very short chapters (2-5 pages each), gradually building up a picture of what's going on and what's been going on for some time.

It started out feeling more like a 'want to know what happens' kind of book, rather than an 'enjoy the journey' kind of book, then flipped to a 'journey' book about halfway through, and then back again.

I liked some aspects of it more than others. The perspective of the older brother of one of the missing girls (and his entire arc, actually) was my favourite, and the whole thing became quite affecting as things progressed. My main gripe was that the dialogue was extremely clunky, with not nearly enough contractions to make it flow naturally.

But it all came together quite well in the end - though the tension of the climax was rather diminished by one of the police officers predicting what would happen, and then it happening almost exactly as he envisaged...

It was pretty depressing overall, though there were some lovely moments along the way and some hopefulness at the very end.

Muezza wanted to go to sister's apartment to use her litterbox:

Me: *opens the door* there. Go. Shit.
Mom: CRANTZ
Me: It's okay, I was saying it to the cat
Mom: She's a good Christian cat!
Me: She really isn't



I need to do a deep clean in my room. Debating watching The Harlow Murder Club with Elly instead. We thought it was an episodic murder mystery but goddamnit it's a four episode season over an overarching plot. We need to finish it before the month is up so I don't have to pay for another month of bbc select.

I've been walking again now that the weather doesn't want to kill me and I forgot how good it was for my brain. Probably the only point I didn't want to throw myself off a ravine yesterday was the walk.