Nia Liston: The Merciless Maiden, Vol. 7

Jun. 28th, 2025 10:51 pm
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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/28/nia-liston-the-merciless-maiden-vol-7/

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By Umikaze Minamino and Katana Canata. Released in Japan as “Kyōran Reijō Nia Liston: Byōjaku Reijō ni Tenseishita Kami-goroshi no Bujin no Kareinaru Musō Roku” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by okaykei.

For those people who don’t enjoy seeing me trying to wring 500 words out of a review, you may as well stop now. The book is fine. The end. For those who really love seeing me struggle, welcome to my hell. This is primarily a tournament arc. I had enough trouble writing those up when I did manga reviews here, I don’t need to have to do it with light novels. Boy, that sure was a close fight. Boy, that sure was a one-sided fight. Repeat as needed. Even Nia doesn’t really have a huge presence in this book till near the end, mostly as she is (of course) not allowed to fight. She is there to film the show for magivision, though, so we do get to see some of her fighting rage come as she tries to get fighters to sit for an interview. Oh, and to take out dangerous assassins trying to kill her student.

Now that all the money has been raised and all the preparations have been done, it’s finally time for the fighting tournament. Which is a bit bigger than everyone was expecting. There are over 10,000 entries. Winnowing this down to 300 or so finalists is thankfully not Nia’s problem. Things are helped by dividing the preliminaries into weapons and no weapons tiers, but it’s still a LOT of fights. Some folks don’t know their own strength (Gandolph). Some folks have a very tough time f it (Fressa). Some folks are being overwhelmed by having to be the celebrity poster child of the entire tournament (Lynokis). And some folks are realizing that no matter what the outcome of this tournament, they’ll likely have to flee the country and start a new life somewhere else (Anzel). Needless to say, you can guess who the assassins are after.

One of the better things I liked about this was seeing folks realize how different a fight is when it’s under the pressure of a match, and especially when you aren’t actually supposed to murder your opponent. A few really strong folks end up losing as they struggle to not kill anyone, and Fressa manages to win her fight only because of that rule. Some fighters are going to get better fast. That said, Nia’s students are clearly a cut above the rest, and it shows – the comedic highlights of the book were Gandolph accidentally breaking the leg of his opponent by just putting up a chi defense, and Lynokis realizing that the adventurer she wanted to be like growing up is really just a violent thug, and one-shotting him in horror at her past self’s shallowness. The dramatic highlight is the finale, where we see an old assassin who is very very good at killing anyone he wants to but cannot fight against the horrors of normal aging. I wonder if we’ll see him again.

The 8th volume only came out in Japan last month, so it may be a bit will we get more. Till then, punching things, yay.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/28/nia-liston-the-merciless-maiden-vol-7/

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The Manga Review: Saturday Morning Cartoons

Jun. 28th, 2025 03:04 pm
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Posted by Katherine Dacey

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/28/the-manga-review-saturday-morning-cartoons/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85041

If you’re a teacher, librarian, or parent, this week’s newsletter is for you! To celebrate Pride Month, manga experts from around the web have been highlighting great, queer-friendly titles for young adults. The all-librarian staff at No Flying No Tights, for example, just compiled an excellent list of nine LBGTQ-friendly titles for older teens that touch on many aspects of the queer experience, from first love to gay marriage and gender dysphoria. For readers more interested in queer-friendly manga for women, Alex Henderson has a short but thoughtful list of yuri titles that run the gamut from After Hours to She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. Also worth a look is Cy Catwell’s in-depth discussion of Run Away With Me, Girl, about a pair of young women who buck societal expectations about love, marriage, and family to find their own pathway to happiness.

NEWS AND VIEWS

File this under It’s About Time: Dark Horse announced that it will be publishing a new, deluxe edition of Lone Wolf and Cub with unflipped pages and oversize trim. Look for the first volume in March 2026. [ICv2]

In other licensing news, Graphix will publish Spider-Man: Shadow Warrior, a manga that finds Peter Parker and friends transported to feudal Japan. The title, which is aimed at elementary and middle-school readers, arrives on shelves in September. [ICv2]

What LBGTQ+ manga would you like to see make the leap from print to screen? [Anime Feminist]

Once again, Jocelyne Allen highlights a manga that isn’t available in English, but really ought to be: Cats~Yojo-han Bura Bura Bushi~. [Brain vs. Book]

Lace up your skates: Deb, David, Chip, and Christoper debate the merits of Dogsred, a melodramatic sports manga from the creator of Golden Kamuy. [Mangasplaining]

REVIEWS

The latest Reader’s Corner covers everything from seventh volume of My Girlfriend’s Child to the first installment of Kaiju No. 8: B-Side… Giovanni Stigliano gives high marks to Neighborhood Craftsmen: Stories from Kanda’s Gokura-cho… and if you have a young cat lover in your house, check out A Library Girl’s review of A Man & His Cat Picture Book: Fukumaru and the Spaceship of Happiness.

New and Noteworthy

Complete, Ongoing, and OOP Series

* Final volume

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/28/the-manga-review-saturday-morning-cartoons/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85041

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Laser Danger

Jun. 27th, 2025 04:00 am
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Lady Rose Just Wants to Be a Commoner!, Vol. 3

Jun. 27th, 2025 10:51 pm
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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/27/lady-rose-just-wants-to-be-a-commoner-vol-3/

http://27.18092

By Kooriame and Nami Hidaka. Released in Japan as “Lady Rose wa Heimin ni Naritai” by Kadokawa Beans Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Caroline W.

Content warning: this book is filled with suicide ideation, and has several attempts near the end, though none are successful.

I know that it’s not economically feasible and would not be popular, but sometimes when you get a light novel series like this I wish that it could have been one 800-page book. Or at least have all three come out on the same day. Because this third and final volume of the Lady Rose series really requires you to remember everything from the first two, and the series rewards going back and checking on certain scenes over and over again. That said, if you did what I did, and read the books as they came out, and tried to recall what was going on, you should still be okay here. Fii’s story is done, and she doesn’t even play a major role in this book till near the end. Unfortunately, that’s just in person. In the background, Fii trying to escape her noble life and become a commoner turns out to drive a heroine to dark, depressing thoughts. And that’s just when she’s five years old.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but our protagonist is hit by a truck (while pushing a girl out of the way of the same truck) and winds up in the world of Savior of Nations: Lady Rose. She is THRILLED. She doesn’t even care that she’s in the body of the villainess, Liliana. This means that she gets to see her favorite character, SETH! Immediately deciding to learn reading, writing, and proper etiquette, despite the reactions of her father and servants, she does succeed in meeting Seth, as well as Melvin, who she declares a “friend of convenience”. Unfortunately, when Liliana turns five, Felicia arrives on the scene, and Liliana gets an immediate lesson in the difference between one who tries her hardest and one who is simply perfect. Unfortunately, over the next ten years or so, this means that Liliana gradually loses her grip on reality.

The first few books already had a tinge of psychological horror. With this third book, it goes beyond tinge and gets into the deep waters. I haven’t seen a light novel get so far down the path of fucked-up narration since I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!. Even when Liliana begins to realize the possible cause for her mindset… grief at her happy, loving life being cut senselessly down by a truck… she rationalizes that it’s too late now. The bulk of this book is Liliana trying to find a way to die. Fortunately, we know how that goes, as we read the second book, but still. This book also has a few surprises in store – notably one of the busiest Truck-kuns I’ve ever seen in an isekai – but for the most part it is best when focusing on Liliana’s desperate attempts to fix things, then fix everyone but herself. The one flaw is the almost total lack of Seth. The author says that having Seth in the book more would have given away the twist, and yeah, I guess, but I still think the impact of the end might have been better if he’d had a larger presence.

This series is now done, though I do wish we’d seen the stories that were only suggested where she apologizes to her maids. Liliana’s inability to really read people at all has affected her maids more than anyone else, and I hope they get some comfort and relief. As for Liliana herself, I think things will be fine now. She’s had magic bread, after all.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/27/lady-rose-just-wants-to-be-a-commoner-vol-3/

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Epilogue p16

Jun. 27th, 2025 12:00 am
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https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/post/787477275385937920

•LATEST UPDATE HERE•

Elka is very sensitive. Good thing she thought better of bringing along that Get Well card she had everyone sign back at the depot, the one that said: “YOU’RE OUT OF THE ARMY NOW LOL!”

Check out the print book ANNOUNCEMENT if you missed it! :D

After over 15 years, Unsounded finally has a publisher! The comic is going to be put to print by Iron Circus Comics, a very cool company that’s done webcomics as illustrious as Rice Boy, Lackadaisy Cats, and TJ and Amal. Pretty rad, right? Our tiny baby has finally grown up, and it’s all thanks to you, readers. Your support all these years helped the comic reach its end, and that’s really what got a publisher to consider it. So thank you.

Now, please, please head over to the Kickstarter campaign page, and give it a follow! The campaign will be launching in a bit over a month. There’ll be LIMITED bonus goodies - including commissions and free shipping - but you’ll have to act fast once it launches! Let’s get lots of followers on there before then, it makes us look sick and cool.

There are some crucial logistical things for current readers to know though. The most important one is these two books are NEW COMPILATIONS. They do not sync up with the old self-published books, and the old shop is coming down this weekend. Those old books are beloved, but now outdated. The NEW books - in addition to having new covers and newly retouched art - are LONGER. Volume 1 contains chapters 1-4 as well as a Duane in Sharteshane bonus comic (this is the old v2 comic). Likewise Volume 2 is LONGER, containing chapters 5-8, a newly illustrated Tainish guide, and a brand new Knock and Anadyne comic.

I had no choice but to recompile the books, my darlings. In order to get the entire massive story into 6 books, I had to squish more into the early volumes. I know it’s a little disappointing, please don’t be too mad at me. Compromises had to be made in order to ever see the entire story in print. I wanted to also publish a third book at this time, and even did a rad new cover for it to try and sell it to the publisher, but there simply was not room in their schedule for 3 huge books this year. To get the rest of the books, we have to make sure these first two sell well! So please consider purchasing them when the campaign starts. I really busted my ass to make them worth it for you! Even as I’ve been drawing the final chapter and epilogue the past year, I’ve been working on these books :)

So! Contact me on Tumblr if you have any questions! And please follow that preview page so you’ll know when the crowdfund launches! Thanks, everyone! :)

-Ashley

••••••••••••
Discuss the comic on Discord or Reddit

https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/post/787477275385937920

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Manga the Week of 7/2/25

Jun. 26th, 2025 10:23 pm
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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/26/manga-the-week-of-7-2-25/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85047

SEAN: The second half of the year begins, appropriately, with a lot of stuff.

ASH: A belated Happy Solstice, everyone!

SEAN: The big light novel of the week is not an Airship title (and technically not a “light” novel), so we’ll have to wait. Till then, Airship does have the third volume of Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)! in print.

And in early digital we see Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling 11 and The Too-Perfect Saint 3.

Cross Infinite World debuts I Want to Be a Saint, But I Can Only Use Attack Magic! (Seijo-sama ni Naritai no ni Kougeki Mahou shika Tsukaenain desu kedo!?). A young woman desperately wants to not be isolated. She wants to be a saint. But when she goes to magic academy, it turns out she can only use attack magic (men’s magic) and not healing magic (women’s magic) at all! I hope this kicks against gender binaries more than it sounds.

ASH: It would be great if it does.

SEAN: There’s also The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor 7.

Dark Horse has another Lovecraft title, The Colour Out of Space (Isekai no Shikisai), a one-shot which ran in Comic Beam. A spooky town with a spooky university gets a spooky meteorite. This is award-winning (the manga, that is).

ASH: Gou Tanabe’s Lovecraft adaptations have been excellent thus far; I expect this one to be no different.

SEAN: Ghost Ship has Tamamori’s Fantasies Never Stop! 2.

Random House is debuting a new imprint, Ink Pop. Their first title is a manga hardcover, I Wanna Be Your Girl (Kanojo ni Naritai Kimi to Boku). This ran in the magazine Ganma!. A girl has been in love with her childhood friends for years… but now finds that she identifies as female. Wanting to be supportive, she helps with her friend’s transition… and starts to dress as a man to see what it feels like. This is apparently a great LGBT title, and the imprint is being pitched for younger readers.

MICHELLE: Interesting!

ASH: Very! The manga itself as well as the emergence of yet another manga publisher!

ANNA: Great to see!

MJ: It’s been a while since I weighed in here, but uh… hello?? I might need this.

SEAN: J-Novel Club has one digital debut, a manga. Zero Damage Sword Saint (Kougekiryoku Zero kara Hajimeru Ken Hijiri Tan). Based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, it’s about a young man who wants to be a magic swordsman. But it turns out he can only use healing and defensive magic! Running away from mockery to a magic academy, he probably finds life there a lot better than the woman in the CIW title above.

ASH: That’s probably true.

SEAN: There’s also, for light novels, From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman 7, Knight’s & Magic 7, The Otome Heroine’s Fight for Survival 5, and Yuri Tama: From Third Wheel to Trifecta 4.

And for manga we get The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases 7, The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows 3, The Coppersmith’s Bride 6, My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! —AΩ— 11, The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World 6, The Retired Demon of the Maxed-Out Village 2, and Tearmoon Empire 8.

No debuts for Kodansha. In print we get The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé 2, In the Clear Moonlit Dusk 8, Thunder 3 5, and Wind Breaker 12.

Digitally we see Blue Lock 22, How to Grill Our Love 15, and Those Snow White Notes 30.

The big debut for Seven Seas is the debut of The Twelve Kingdoms novel, which had come out about 20 years ago but is getting a proper release now. They’re dividing the first book in half, and it has a new translation. A high school girl finds herself in another world, beset by dangers, and far more important than she expects. Can this overcome the fact that everything has tried to imitate it since its original release?

ASH: This series is fantastic; I am so incredibly excited that it’s being re-released! (And hopefully we get the whole thing this time.)

ANNA: Wow, I would love to be able to read the end of this series!

SEAN: Seven Seas also has a 5th volume of Heaven Official’s Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (the deluxe hardcover version).

Their first manga debut is BL Game Rebirth: My New Life as the Hero’s Younger Brother (BL Game no Shujinkou no Otouto de aru Koto ni Ki ga Tsukimashita). An office worker who loves BL dies and is reincarnated in her favorite game as the main character’s younger brother! …wait, the main character’s already hooked up? …wait, did he have a younger brother?

ASH: Hmmm…

SEAN: The second debut manga is a manwha. What It Means to Be You features a couple who are currently shunned and shamed by society. Our heroine, knowing everyone hates her, tries to kill herself… only to wake in her husband’s body! And he’s in hers! Can a Freaky Friday plot save their marriage?

ASH: Maybe it can!

ANNA: Worth a try!

SEAN: There’s also a new omnibus, Tokyo Revengers: Brilliant Full Color Edition.

Also from Seven Seas: 365 Days to the Wedding 8, The Ancient Magus’ Bride 20, Easygoing Territory Defense by the Optimistic Lord 5, Glasses with a Chance of Delinquent 3, Otaku Elf 9, Punch Drunk Love 3, Re-Living My Life with a Boyfriend Who Doesn’t Remember Me 4, A Tale of the Secret Saint 9, and Yakuza Reincarnation 13.

MICHELLE: Hooray for more of The Ancient Magus’ Bride!

ASH: Yes, indeed! (Though I do need to catch up…)

SEAN: Square Enix brings us Daemons of the Shadow Realm 8 and The God-Slaying Demon King 2.

Steamship has At Your Service in Another World 2 (the final volume).

Titan Manga debut Cosmic Censorship (Uchuu Kenetsukan), a mecha series from LINE Manga. A track girl suddenly finds herself involved with mysterious powers and needs to save the world.

ASH: This sort of thing seems to happen from time to time.

SEAN: Tokyopop debuts SANCTIFY: Lost Paradise, a sequel to the Sanctify BL series. Expect dark supernatural smut.

Udon is listed as having the second volume of Veil, which surprises me given how the first book just a) came out and b) sold out.

ASH: I did manage to get my hands on a copy; hopefully I can snag this volume, too.

ANNA: Yikes, I need to get this!

SEAN: Viz debuts Nue’s Exorcist (Nue no Onmyouji), a Weekly Shonen Jump title. A boy who can see spirits has tried to avoid them most of his life, but when asked by a spirit to defeat evil haunting his school, he gets swept up in adventure.

Also debuting is a sequel. The Demon Prince of Momochi House: Succession (Momochi-san Chi no Ayakashi Ouji: Tsugu) picks up where the last series left off. It also runs in Asuka.

MICHELLE: Huh. I don’t think I ever finished the first one.

ASH: I’m not sure I did either, but I enjoyed the volumes that I read.

ANNA: I actually finished it, I think! Will be curious to check this out.

SEAN: Also out: Blue Box 16, Blue Exorcist 31, Dark Gathering 14, Fushigi Yûgi: Byakko Senki 2, My Special One 10, One Piece 109, Otaku Vampire’s Love Bite 4, Pink Candy Kiss 2, Tamon’s B-Side 8, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 14.

MICHELLE: Byakko Senki! It’s been almost five years since the first volume came out.

ANNA: Yay!!!!!!!!!

SEAN: Yen On debuts Who Killed the Hero? (Dare ga Yuusha wo Koroshita ka?), an award-winning light novel. The demon lord has been defeated, though it cost the hero’s life. Now, several years later, a writer doing a book on the hero’s party wonders… is that really what happened?

They also have Love Is Dark 3.

Yen Press debut The Hitman Stans (Koroshiya no Oshi), a seinen title from Harta. A hardcore hitman feared by all says he’s retiring… to devote his life to his favorite idol.

ASH: This could potentially be fun.

ANNA: It does sound fun.

SEAN: The other debut is I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class (Class de 2-banme ni Kawaii Onnanoko to Tomodachi ni natta). Based on an as-yet unlicensed light novel, it’s about a loner who discovers that his pretty classmate also likes B-movies, and they become secret friends. This runs in Comic Alive+.

And there’s also Spring Storm and Monster 3.

Too much manga? Maybe. But don’t buy all of it, just what you want!

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/26/manga-the-week-of-7-2-25/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85047

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A Miracle Built on a Moment: a 37-year love story in photos

Jun. 26th, 2025 05:57 pm
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Posted by Nicola Griffith

https://nicolagriffith.com/2025/06/26/a-miracle-built-on-a-moment-a-37-year-love-story-in-photos/

http://nicolagriffith.com/?p=86424

June 26, 1988, East Lansing, MI: I met Kelley and fell instantly in love. I love her still—in some ways more than ever, because I know her better. It’s also the 10th anniversary of Obergefell v Hodges. I’d intended to write a post about that but I find the post I wrote last year says everything I want to say: it explains without explaining just why that Supreme Court decision was so important. So here it is again—I just updated a little and added another picture at the end.

The Moment

37 years ago today I met Kelley. 37 years ago today I fell instantly and irrevocably in love. Most people find that difficult to believe. I understand. I’ll say only that if you ever have every cell in your body stop, shiver, and align in one direction like iron filings around a magnet, you will know. It remains the oddest, most powerful and inarguable thing that’s ever happened to me. A done deal, the work of a moment. And absolutely non-negotiable.

37 years later, here we are, living the life that bloomed from that moment. Every day is a miracle.

Does this mean our life together was inevitable and easy? It was not. Against that simple, visceral knowing was ranged every rational, practical and institutional argument in the world.1 So although the connection, commitment, and (so far) life-long bond happened in an instant, it took 18 months to make it possible for me to move from the UK to Kelley in the US, and another 5 years of browbeating the world to make the US State Department declare it to be in the National Interest to grant me, an out lesbian with no money, connections, degree, or job offer, but with a chronic degenerative illness and no visible means of support, a waiver to live permanently in this country.2

37 Years: A Photostory

I met Kelley in the corridor of a dorm at MSU in East Lansing, Michigan. It was 104º with no air-conditioning. We were there for Clarion—I was their very first foreign student. I’ve told the story elsewhere. But the bottom line was: we had six weeks together and then I had to go back to my life—family, partner, job, mortgage—in the UK with no practical hope of coming back…

Two photos: on the left, Kelley with long blonde hair , white shirt and black bow tie looking a long, cool glass of water. On the right, Nicola and aother woman standing on crash mats—Nicola is demonstrating a strangle hold and how to break out from it
While we were apart. Kelley went to parties
I worked every hour the universe sent teaching to earn $$

That autumn we were apart, in 1988, was very, very hard. Kelley was working at GE Computer Services, going to parties, and making friends in the Atlanta queer community. In Hull, I was grief-stricken (my little sister died), stressed out of my mind (in love with two women on opposite sides of the Atlantic), and frantically earning money to get back to the US. As well as my actual job as a caseworker at a street-drugs agency (basically doing social work for people using heroin and meth), I was teaching women’s self defence as many evenings and weekends as I could. I hadn’t really started to get sick yet…

Nicola and Kelley—with short and longn fair hair respectively looking about two years ago and hopelessly in love, gazing at each other and also adoring a small cat
1989—what is love without a cat?

Then I did get sick. And I lost weight. But then, finally, I managed to get back to Kelley. I’m not sure we let go of each other for more than 5 minutes at a time the whole seven weeks I was in the US. This Polaroid was taken in Tampa, where Kelley introduced me to her mother and stepfather.

This time when I left her it was to return to the UK one last time, sell my house, leave my partner of 10 years, and say goodbye to my family. It took three months. It was hard.

We lived in a brand new apartment way outside Atlanta: Duluth, Georgia. Then moved closer into the city with a rented house in Decatur. Finally, with the advance I got from Ammonite, we had just enough to put down a scarily skimpy deposit and risk an adjustable rate mortgage on a little house in Atlanta itself. At some point I would either sort immigration and we’d move somewhere not so damned hot, or the immigration thing would completely implode and we’d have to leave the country. Either way, we’d be selling before the interest rate jumped too much. It was worth the risk. But money was tight, immigration was daunting, and my mysterious fatigue was not getting better.

Balck and white pohoto of Nicola andn Kelle both with short hair, Nicola is holding Kelley from behind, they look tired but comforted by each other
Stressed and tired we find refuge in each other. Photo by Mark Tiedemann.

In this photo, taken in 1992, the strain is showing. We were seeing lawyer after lawyer and not getting the immigration answers we needed. I was having medical test after medical test, ditto. We knew it was serious when I began to limp. Six months later, I had my diagnosis: MS.

Two women's hands wearing new wedding bands in front of a wedding cake

Six months after that, we got married. I wore long sleeves because of all the IV bruises on my arms. But I was so happy that day. I don’t think we let go of each other at all except to hug other people. It was a home-made wedding; the whole thing, excluding the rings, cost $500.

Nicola adn Kelley both wearing white and smiling in a restaurant
I started to let my hair grow

Although the marriage had zero legal force it had a profound effect on me. Weirdly, that manifested in me beginning to grow my hair. (Something about being settled? Being a wife? It’s a mystery.)

headhsot of nicola and kelley wearing weird southern clothes with nicola's hair in an updo
Now we play grownup, or maybe dress-up: Southern Ladies Who Lunch

Anyway, by the next spring it was long enough to spray and pin into an up-do for a big ol’ Southern party at my editor’s father’s house: everyone who was anyone in Atlanta society was there. It was like playing dress-up. It was playing dress up.

Then I sold another book (Slow River). I got my Green Card. And we moved to Seattle.

1997 Nicola and elley both with long hair standng in front of a house holding each other and laughing
1997 outside a friend’s house in Seattle

1997. Seattle. We are much more at home. Kelley has a fab job at Wizards of the Coast and I’ve published two novels and sold a third (The Blue Place). We have a lovely little house in Wallingford (that’s a friend’s house in the background). We’re bursting with happiness. One fly in the ointment: my hair. It’s long enough to plait, very heavy and very annoying. Here it’s scragged out of the way; I am sick of it.

Nicola and Kelley on a bed—both thsir hair is growing—and nicola ad kelley at a restaurant table. Nicola's hair is very sort and very white; kelley's is long
1999, Monteplier VT
2000, Queens Grill, Queen Elizabeth II

1999. Vermont. I’ve started to shorten my hair; this was also th eyear I started using a cane. One year later, in 2000, I’ve chopped it all off and bleached it white. This is us in the Queen’s Grill onboard QE2: a transatlantic crossing that was our 40th birthday present to ourselves. We’re both wearing long dresses because they take First Class seriously on that boat. (Next time: a tux! At the time I didn’t know anywhere I could get one.)

Nicola adn Kelley on a front porch and icola and kelley at a table
About to dance the Freedom Fandango
2002 at the PKD Awards

2000 was a big year. My MS was increasing upon me and Kelley cashed in her stock options. Life was uncertain. We had no idea how many years of good life I, and so we, had left. Live life now, is what we decided. Kelley quit her job and we threw an enormous party—rented out a whole nightclub in Pioneer Square—called it the Freedom Fandango, and invited everyone we knew.

I underwent an experimental course of chemo. Felt brilliant. Felt terrible. Then stabilised. The second photo was taken after I’d stabilised again: me and Kelley at the PK Dick Awards with our friends Mark and Donna. I was there to support Mark, who was nominated, and to accept the award for Steve Baxter if he won—which he did. I was about to publish the second Aud novel, Stay. Kelley was about to publish her brilliant novel Solitaire .


‘Stabilised’ is always a relative term when it comes to MS. It’s actually a course of endless decline. By 2004 it was clear we would have to leave our beloved house-with-all-the-steps in Wallingford and find something more accessible. So here in 2005 is one last shot of Kelley making hummus in the kitchen of our old house. One of me in the kitchen of our new single-level house a month later in Broadview. Kelley has published Solitaire and just started the longest-ever negotiation for the movie rights. I’m working on Always.

Los Angeles: Lammy
We were up late...
Celebrating 20 years

May 2008 in Los Angeles: winning my sixth Lambda Literary Award (for And Now We Are Going to Have a Party). Then the day after in the bar feeling a leetle rough. Then June in Seattle: a dinner party at home to celebrate our 20th anniversary. I am about to start writing Hild. Kelley is writing the screenplay for OtherLife.

These are all taken between 2009 and 2012. The black and white one by Jennifer Durham is me being delirious with delight at getting an offer from FSG for Hild.

2013. General happiness, and then, a few months later, a fully legal wedding on the 20th anniversary of our first nothing-legal wedding. All these photos by Jennifer Durham, too.

2013, as co-Guests of Honour at Westercon.

In 2013 Kelley and I were co-Guests of Honour at Westercon. It was fabulous. We turned it into a mini Clarion reunion and had a splendid time. All that year, and the next, we travelled: a US hardcover tour for Hild, then a UK tour, then a US paperback tour, culminating in Washington DC for Kelley’s father’s 80th birthday.

In 2015 and 2016 I found myself in the news, a lot. In 2015 it was the unexpected whirlwind around the Literary Bias data I put together. In 2016 it was the even more unexpected resurrection of Anita Corbin’s Visible Girls series and then Visible Girls Revisited. It’s pretty weird being recognised for a random moment 43 years ago.

By this time I’d transitioned to using a wheelchair. I was ill and tired. Kelley was working staggering hours as a freelancer. We were dealing with a Lot of Family Stuff. This photo was taken by Anita for the new series; I don’t like the photo, perhaps because I feel as though I look heavy. (I’m not talking about physical weight but emotional weight.) And I was unhappy about the wheelchair. It’s hard to explain: I’m not unhappy about using a wheelchair—the wheelchair has given me a kind of freedom I had lost. I was unhappy about being posed with the wheelchair. It felt…weird. Sort of fetishistic. In fact I’ve cropped this photo because in the original the chair became the focal point.

2019. © Anita Corbin as part of the Visible Girls Revisited series..

Then it was the pandemic, and we went nowhere and took only endless photos of experiments with home hair cuts.

Then, woo-hoo, we started going to conventions again—specifically ICFA. Here we are in 2022 and 2023, loving the sun and the company.

2022. Blurry photo by the pool
2023. A less blurry photo on the other side of the pool

Spear won awards and nominated for a bazillon more, and Menewood came out. And here we are at the World Fantasy Convention last year.

Nov 2023, WFC. We’re in the bar—shocking, I know—I’m off camera to the left
Nov 2023, WFC. We’re in the mass signing—Kelley’s off camera to the right

And here we are this time last year at the same event—Kelley at the pre-game wine-and-nibbles (I was doing the meet-and-greet with board members and donors at the other end of the room) and me on the stage an hour later.3

Kelley listening to friends talk while I sing for my supper at the other end of the room
Me on stage getting intense about queerness in the Early Medieval while Kelley watches from the audience

We’re both tired. We’ve been through a lot of external stresses the last couple of years.4 But as you can see between the photos of te year before and then last summer we were beginning to get a lot of that sorted and the strain is easing. And, as always, we find our refuge each in the other—and the strength inside ourselves to be strong for the other when they can’t.

This last 12 months has been more difficult in health terms—but, again, recently the news has been encouraging—and, again, other stressful parts of our lives are improving. (Apart from, y’know, the occasional, Hey, we nearly died moment. And the even more recent week where every single one of our appliances—washer, dryer, stove, fridge—died at once.)

But also in the last 12 months some amazing things have happened: I was inducted into the SFF Hall of Fame, the Aud books have been republished in the US (and this time next week the UK), and earlier this month I SFWA honoured me with the 41st Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. Kelley and I were in Kansas City together and did a lovely joint presentation as well as enjoying another mini Clarion reunion. Here we are at the banquet, before they let in the awards audience and before I go up on stage. The food, sadly, was awful but the company, as always, marvellous.

Nicola in a white jacket and Kelley in a pastel blue and violet dress at a banquet table
Nebula banquet, June 2025. Photo by either Mark Tiedemann or K Acuna (sorry I can’t remember which)

Kelley is the finest person in the world. I fell in love with her in a moment but have spent my life since then trying to be the person she deserves. I might never get there but it continues to be an amazing journey.

  1. Little things like reason—everyone, even Kelley to begin with, thought I was, well, perhaps ‘not sensible’ is the kindest way to phrase it—family, my partner, friends, jobs, money, health, immigration law… ↩︎
  2. And thereby create new immigration law. ↩︎
  3. So many photos these days seem to be taken at events where for one reason or another we can’t sit, as we prefer, right next to each other. We really, really have to fix that! ↩︎
  4. I wrote about that here and here. ↩︎

https://nicolagriffith.com/2025/06/26/a-miracle-built-on-a-moment-a-37-year-love-story-in-photos/

http://nicolagriffith.com/?p=86424

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Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement, Vol. 8

Jun. 25th, 2025 10:36 pm
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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/25/saving-80000-gold-in-another-world-for-my-retirement-vol-8/

http://27.18088

By FUNA and Keisuke Motoe. Released in Japan as “Rōgo ni Sonaete Isekai de 8-Man-Mai no Kinka o Tamemasu” by K Lanove Books. Released in North America by Kodansha Books. Translated by Luke Hutton.

(A reminder that the English Vol. 8 is the equivalent of the Japanese Vol. 9.)

I mentioned last time that I think the series has gotten into a bit of a rut, and while this volume does not remotely solve that issue, it is nice to see the author deliberately leaning into the rut. The first long-ish chapter has Beatrice reminding Mitsuha that she was promised an even bigger party when she comes of age, which means Mitsuha has to whip out fireworks and light shows and the like. This infuriates Sabine, who notes that when *she* comes of age in three years or so, Mitsuha will need to get even GRANDER! Likewise, Mitsuha’s promise to keep a princess safe are taken as keeping her KINGDOM safe, and Mitsuha deciding to solve the problem using only her own men and minimal deaths means the winning nation can’t take any advantage of it. Mitsuha is a realistic isekai protagonist – in that she never thinks ahead.

This book, like a lot of this series, is divided into chunks that may as well be short stories. 1) The above story, where Mitsuha is asked to pull out all the stops for Beatrice’s coming of age party; 2) Mitsuha talks with an Earth scholar about ways to analyze the other world… and things that she didn’t think of when inviting other scientists over there; 3) The empire who attacked last time is now desperate, and decides to attack a different kingdom… one which has Princess Reina (remember her? Princess Kaa-Kaa-Kaa?), who Mitsuha promised to help if she was in danger, which means we need to resort to attack helicopters; 4) One of Mitsuha’s young noble lady-run businesses is attacked, the young lady has her arm broken and face beaten, and a guard is killed. Sadly, the cops and the nobles are on the side of the company that did this, which means it’s time for Mitsuha to snap and go on a roaring rampage of revenge.

I’ve called this series the “Easy Mode” of the three FUNA series, and I still think that. Compared to Mile, and DEFINITELY compared to Kaoru, Mitsuha gets off very lightly. Her dimensional travel has become so blase she not only talks about how she’s managed to teleport herself while leaving her sweat behind, but has to clarify that she does not leave behind her poop – though she does teleport to Japan to use the toilet every time. These are the little details of Mitsuha’s life that I did not need to know. Likewise, her desire to have as few people die as possible in a dangerous war between nations contrasts nicely with her swearing of total vengeance on the company that murdered and beat employees in her company. Mitsuha may grump about everyone thinking she’s twelve, but she acts like it much of the time, especially when someone goes after anything she cares about. Of the three series, this is the one most likely to end with the world being destroyed by a temper tantrum.

Next time apparently Colette is attacked, so we may see even more of this. You know what I’m about to say. Recommended for FUNA fans.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/25/saving-80000-gold-in-another-world-for-my-retirement-vol-8/

http://27.18088

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Weather Balloons

Jun. 25th, 2025 04:00 am
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Epilogue p15

Jun. 24th, 2025 11:46 pm
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https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/post/787295189115994112

•LATEST UPDATE HERE•

Look at Emil’s face. He loves her~

Okay! At last! ANNOUNCEMENT! :D

After over 15 years, Unsounded finally has a publisher! The comic is going to be put to print by Iron Circus Comics, a very cool company that’s done webcomics as illustrious as Rice Boy, Lackadaisy Cats, and TJ and Amal. Pretty rad, right? Our tiny baby has finally grown up, and it’s all thanks to you, readers. Your support all these years helped the comic reach its end, and that’s really what got a publisher to consider it. So thank you.

Now, please, please head over to the Kickstarter campaign page, and give it a follow! The campaign will be launching in a bit over a month. There’ll be LIMITED bonus goodies - including commissions and free shipping - but you’ll have to act fast once it launches! Let’s get lots of followers on there before then, it makes us look sick and cool.

There are some crucial logistical things for current readers to know though. The most important one is these two books are NEW COMPILATIONS. They do not sync up with the old self-published books, and the old shop is coming down this weekend. Those old books are beloved, but now outdated. The NEW books - in addition to having new covers and newly retouched art - are LONGER. Volume 1 contains chapters 1-4 as well as a Duane in Sharteshane bonus comic (this is the old v2 comic). Likewise Volume 2 is LONGER, containing chapters 5-8, a newly illustrated Tainish guide, and a brand new Knock and Anadyne comic.

I had no choice but to recompile the books, my darlings. In order to get the entire massive story into 6 books, I had to squish more into the early volumes. I know it’s a little disappointing, please don’t be too mad at me. Compromises had to be made in order to ever see the entire story in print. I wanted to also publish a third book at this time, and even did a rad new cover for it to try and sell it to the publisher, but there simply was not room in their schedule for 3 huge books this year. To get the rest of the books, we have to make sure these first two sell well! So please consider purchasing them when the campaign starts. I really busted my ass to make them worth it for you! Even as I’ve been drawing the final chapter and epilogue the past year, I’ve been working on these books :)

So! Contact me on Tumblr if you have any questions! And please follow that preview page so you’ll know when the crowdfund launches! Thanks, everyone! :)

-Ashley

••••••••••••
Discuss the comic on Discord or Reddit

https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/post/787295189115994112

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Farads

Jun. 23rd, 2025 04:00 am
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Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools ~Side Stories~

Jun. 24th, 2025 10:37 pm
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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/24/dahlia-in-bloom-crafting-a-fresh-start-with-magical-tools-side-stories/

http://27.18083

By Hisaya Amagishi and Kei. Released in Japan as “Madougushi Dahlia wa Utsumukanai” by MF Books. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by A.M. Cola.

I like to think that Dahlia in Bloom is a reasonably popular series. It’s gotten a manga and an anime (let’s not talk about the anime). That said, it’s not ludicrously popular with trivia-loving nerds. This is no Re: Zero or A Certain Magical Index. As such, when it comes to wiki power, Dahlia is lacking. Which makes it unfortunate when you’re reading a volume filled with side stories, only a few of which focus on Dahlia and Volf, and I kept thinking to myself “have I seen this character before? Have they been a minor character in the series I’d simply forgotten as they aren’t plot-relevant, or have they been especially written for this volume?”. This is especially true with all the wives we meet in this volume. The main series, and its spinoff, both run on, primarily, an utter lack of romantic progress. Dahlia is oblivious, Lucia is too job-focused. As such, a lot of this book seems devoted to giv9ing us actual happy romantic ends.

This is a short story volume, so there’s no real plot to speak of. The only stories that connect to each other are one or two “we get this from one perspective, then the other side” twofers, and one story where Volf is convinced to buy fancy, scented stationary to send letters to Dahlia, who keeps every single one in her room. You know, like besties do. Other than that, we see how Grato met his wife (she’s been waiting for him to get a clue), how Gildo met his wife (he fell for her, unthinkingly, when she was six years old… no, not like that), Ivano trying to run away from his future wife (he fails), how craftsman Fermo met his wife (she’s the granddaughter of his master, but they’d never seen each other before), how Irma got her husband (the family had to approve), and how Oswald got to be the silver fox (being bullied is different when you’re in a noble society).

That last one is the longest story in the book, and it reminds you that while a whole hell of a lot of light novels deal with nobles and the different tiers between them, none of them quite drench themselves in the culture quite like Dahlia in Bloom. Dahlia herself is finally getting her barony, so might be able to marry Volf… except his family is also getting elevated. Back to square one. Oswald having a girl date him on a bet ends up with the girl AND the two nobles who forced her to do it all getting punished, while the humiliation forces Oswald to throw off his family’s kid gloves and give himself a makeover. Volf is forced to learn about noble etiquette, and he’s absolutely terrible at it. Yes, the main reason this is the slowest of slow burns is because Dahlia’s lack of self-esteem causes her to throw Volf into the friend zone, but there are also real reasons why nothing has happened just yet.

We’re back to the main series next time, as Dahlia finally meets barony. Will this mean anything new? Probably not. Will she get to dance with Volf, and maybe have some really good alcohol? Most definitely.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/24/dahlia-in-bloom-crafting-a-fresh-start-with-magical-tools-side-stories/

http://27.18083

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New interview up at Strange Horizons

Jun. 24th, 2025 06:07 pm
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Posted by Nicola Griffith

https://nicolagriffith.com/2025/06/24/__trashed-2/

http://nicolagriffith.com/?p=86394

2 headshots side by side: on the left, in colour, Pat Cadigan, with curly grey/mauve hair and a faux fur coat; on the right, in black ad white, Nicola Griffith, smiling and with short hair
Pat Cadigan
Nicola Griffith

Over at Strange Horizons there’s a new interview up with me and Pat Cadigan. Pat was born and grew up in the US and now lives in the UK. I was born and grew up in the UK and now live in the US. Pat and I published our first short fiction at about the same age—but on different sides of the Atlantic. That plus the fact that Pat’s a handful of years older than me but that the UK was always a few years behind on gender issues means that we have oddly parallel but rarely crossing experiences of being women in SF.

I’ve met Pat only twice in person and wish it could be more—I would love to have done this interview in person, with some cross-talk between us. In actuality, Kerry Ryan interviewed up separately but then spliced the answers together, and the result is an intriguing look at adjacent universes.

To whet your appetite, here’s a snippet from the beginning:

Kerry Ryan: Where did you find the confidence to write SFF at a time when the cultural climate wasn’t just discouraging but actively hostile?

Nicola Griffith: Psychotic self-belief! I knew from—I don’t even know how old I was—maybe as soon as I could spell my own name, that I was a dyke, and that meant I was never, ever going to be liked in that “ideal” way. Not as a nice Catholic girl. Not by my family, my church, my school, or the world in general at that time. There was no point trying to please people, because I never would, just because of who I am and the way I move through the world. It was impossible. So why bother trying? Why not aim for what I wanted? 

Pat Cadigan: I grew up below the poverty line in what people called a “bad neighbourhood.” People would take one look at me and assume I’d get pregnant at fifteen, drop out, and end up in beauty school. That was the trajectory they imagined for girls like me. 

My mother used to say, “People will see you as the child of a broken home. And if you get into trouble, they’ll blame me. So don’t screw up or I’ll kill you.” She was only half joking. But I had her as a model because we didn’t get abandoned by my father, we left him. 

So that was my example: If things aren’t going the way you want them to, that’s just how it is—and so you fight. Either you get what you want, or you discover something else that’s worth wanting. What I saw growing up was women doing whatever needed to be done and not because they had money, or men, or family support, but because that was the only option. You want something? You make it happen.

And so we both did, in our different ways.

https://nicolagriffith.com/2025/06/24/__trashed-2/

http://nicolagriffith.com/?p=86394

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The Countess Is a Coward No More! This Reincarnated Witch Just Wants a Break, Vol. 3

Jun. 23rd, 2025 09:19 pm
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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/23/the-countess-is-a-coward-no-more-this-reincarnated-witch-just-wants-a-break-vol-3/

http://27.18078

By Ageha Sakura and TCB. Released in Japan as “Tensei Saki ga Kiyowa Sugiru Hakushaku Fujin datta” by Overlap Novels f. Released in North America by J-Novel Heart. Translated by Bérénice Vourdon.

In this volume, we get a flashback to Aurora’s childhood. She grew up in a village that was terrified of her massive magical power and her insatiable curiosity to use it. Her parents wanted nothing to do with her. The mayor essentially sold her to an elf as a research subject. Fortunately, that went well… till her master just up and left one day, leaving Aurora to handle all the magic requests on her own, taking in three disciples. We meet the third of these disciples in this book, Lance, and he too is a former research subject who was rescued, this time by Aurora. Even now that she’s reincarnated, she had a terrible childhood where she was abused by everyone, and even after getting her memories back struggles with any overtures of affection. The main problem with Aurora *and* her proteges is that they still have the emotional capacity of children a great deal of the time. They don’t know how to ask for help, or forgive.

Things continue to go downhill for Char and Lam. They do manage to escape from her first protege, mostly as he gets into a petty battle with her second protege. Unfortunately, the kingdom wants to pile on more work, reasoning that working mages to death is what people are supposed to do. Oh yes, and the church is still being a thorn in everyone’s side… especially when it turns out that her THIRD protege, Lance, is the head of the church. He couldn’t reincarnate himself with the magic he had, so he simply made a deal to learn how to live for over 500 years. All of them want to show Lam that they’re the best and she should stay with them (though Lance, at least, will allow Char to be first husband). That said, there’s a Big Bad behind all of this, and he turns out to be… wait for it… another protege! Not Aurora’s this time, though.

This was better than the second book, mostly as I was able to see better the reason that everyone in the cast is, to a greater or lesser extent, a whiny manbaby. Char discovering that Aurora is actually Lam went much better than both the reader and Lam herself expected, and he is finally – finally! – able to convey to her by the end of the book that the reason he keeps hugging, kissing, and saying he’s fond of her is he loves her. The second half of the book is less “let’s have a big magic battle” and more “let’s try not to have Lam kill herself the exact same way that Aurora did five hundred years ago”, which relies on convincing her that it’s OK to rely on others and that sometimes they can protect themselves. When you’re used to doing it all, realizing someone else can do it to can be very hard.

The webnovel ended here, but apparently there’s more of this coming. I still prefer the Lady Bumpkin series by the same author, but this was a decent new volume.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/23/the-countess-is-a-coward-no-more-this-reincarnated-witch-just-wants-a-break-vol-3/

http://27.18078

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Pick of the Week: Soviet Politics? Or Baseball?

Jun. 23rd, 2025 11:40 am
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Posted by Katherine Dacey

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/23/pick-of-the-week-soviet-politics-or-baseball/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85005

KATE: As a ride-or-die Shostakovich fan, there’s really only one choice for me: Snegurochka of the Spring Breeze. It has everything a student of the old USSR could hope for: political intrigue, real historical actors, and a character whose code name is Bielka (that’s “squirrel” in Russian). Here’s hoping Dmitri Dmitrievich makes a cameo!

SEAN: I will never say no to more manga from Mitsura Adachi, so my pick this week is Short Game: Mitsuru Adachi’s Baseball Short Story Collection.

ANNA: Short Game For me as well, always happy to read more Adachi.

MICHELLE: I am very intrigued by Snegurochka of the Spring Breeze, but it’s gotta be Adachi for me, too, this week. I’ve had this pre-ordered for a while.

ASH: While Short Game is certainly of interest to me, Snegurochka of the Spring Breeze is a manga that I’ve been anticipating since was licensed. I will always give a new Samura manga a try.

https://mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/23/pick-of-the-week-soviet-politics-or-baseball/

https://mangabookshelf.com/?p=85005

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Epilogue p14

Jun. 22nd, 2025 11:55 pm
[syndicated profile] unsounded_feed

https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/post/787114550880305152

•LATEST UPDATE HERE•

Uh-oh. Where are you going, Chea? Running away from home?

I’m realising it’s not technically Monday yet so I can’t make that announcement with tonight’s update, lol. Look for it on social media!

-Ashley

••••••••••••
Discuss the comic on Discord or Reddit

https://unsoundedupdates.tumblr.com/post/787114550880305152

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Haibara’s Teenage New Game+, Vol. 8

Jun. 22nd, 2025 10:31 pm
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Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/22/haibaras-teenage-new-game-vol-8/

http://27.18073

By Kazuki Amamiya and Gin. Released in Japan as “Haibara-kun no Tsuyokute Seishun New Game” by HJ Bunko. Released in North America by J-Novel Club. Translated by Esther Sun.

Stage fright (I’m sorry, I just can’t bring myself to call it “the yips”) is a terrifying thing that can happen to even the most experienced performers, and though it may not always lead to literal fainting spells like what happens in this book, it’s something that can’t really be solved by just pure gumption. Unfortunately, Nanase plans to do just that. She may now be inspired to try to get over her issues and try again, but that doesn’t mean that the same dark fears don’t come to the fore when she makes the effort – and the fears she’s thinking of may not be the ones actually causing the problem. Fortunately, in addition to the magical protagonist powers of Natsuki and Hikari, she has actual medical professional help, which makes this one of the rare Japanese light novel series where there are therapists. I am pleased. Admittedly, that makes the climax of this book a bit less dramatic than a big punch out, but you can’t have that every book.

It’s almost time for our cast’s third year of high school, and as with a lot of Japanese high school, they have to make the choice: science or arts? They know this will mean being separated in some way, but so goes life. As it turns out, Nanase seems to be choosing a different path than in Natsuki’s first life, as she’s going to try again to do a piano competition. She used to be a prodigy, just like her mother, but a couple years ago she got terrified and passed out, and since then she hasn’t been able to play for an audience. But seeing Natsuki’s band has made her want to try again. Speaking of the band, they’re getting offers to open for bigger bands, and Natsuki now has to make a serious decision: does he want to pursue a career in music in this second life?

I must admit, I was *so* relieved when Nanase admittedly that she saw Natsuki as what a big brother must be like. First of all, it made all the NTR and threesome jokes being bandied about in this volume actually funny, as opposed to worrying. For another, I think there have already been a few too many people attracted to Natsuki in this series, and we don’t need more, especially as I’m still worried about his future with Hikari. So is he, in fact, as when he sees she’s chosen a pen name for her books that uses his own name, and he worries that she may come to regret that if they split up. To her, of course, this is a horrifying thing to say, as they’re 2-gether 4-ever and would never split up, but Natsuki has a few more years experience, and has seen teenage love turn sour. That said… I can’t see this series ending that realistically and bittersweet after all the volumes we’ve had. I think they should be fine.

I think the 9th volume is out soon, but it’s likely another 6-7 month wait till the next one. Which will start the “final arc”. Romcom fans should be very happy with this.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/22/haibaras-teenage-new-game-vol-8/

http://27.18073

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The head gardener expresses his disapproval

Jun. 22nd, 2025 04:00 pm
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Posted by Nicola Griffith

https://nicolagriffith.com/2025/06/22/the-head-gardener-expresses-his-disapproval/

http://nicolagriffith.com/?p=86368

Our head gardener has most exacting standards: everything must be Just So. Specifically, everything must be Just So to please his visual aesthetic, to attract tasty beautiful hummingbirds and delicious crunchy ecologically-vital bees while also providing easy pouncing-distance visual access to said treats busy and useful pollinators.

grumpy looking tabby cat observing flower pots in disapproval
The head gardener is Not Pleased

We are in fact doing our humble two-legged best to make our decks pleasant, useful, and safe for all its denizens. This year it involved rebuilding the hanging basket situation to dangle both the hummingbird feeder and the Hot Lips salvia they love so much a) close to each other and b) well above both the ground and the deck railings. And the hummingbirds love it.

Here’s another angle on that.

grumpy tabbycat on deck chair from another angle showing a large wooden post to one side from which hangs a red hummingbird feeder
Charlie can’t reach that feeder and he knows it. Unhappy kitty is unhappy.

This video was taken while Charlie was sitting right there in that chair grumpy because he’s no fool—he knows he can’t reach the birds and he knows the birds know that. They taunt him—they don’t taunt George because George is too busy trying to work out how to surprise Boris and Natasha (the wild rabbits that love our front garden). Also, as pointed out to Charlie, “It’s insulting—they even stick their tongues out at us!”

Hummingbirds are deliberately leisurely in their feeding this year, pausing every now and again to stick out their tongues at the cats, Neener-neener-neener!

We still haven’t quite finished planting but here’s what we have so far on the back and kitchen decks.

Many pots on a kitchen deck planted with gernaniums, periwinkle, jasmine, petunia, begonia, marigold, vinca, and more
The corner of the kitchen deck—planted two days ago. Lots of growing still to be done.
many pots on a gardendeck showing varieties of salvia, snapdragon, million bells, petunia, penstemon, marigold, hyssop and more
The corner of the back deck, also only just planted. More to come.

Today is midsummer—announced in Seattle, appropriately enough, by torrents of rain. But the rest of the month and July will be prime growing weather. Expect an abundance of pictures of an abundance of blooms.

Meanwhile, Happy Sunday!

https://nicolagriffith.com/2025/06/22/the-head-gardener-expresses-his-disapproval/

http://nicolagriffith.com/?p=86368

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 Acafannish Sampler: Otherwise Titled, “Three Things Make a Post”

Jun. 22nd, 2025 10:49 am
[syndicated profile] fanhackers_feed

Posted by fanhackers-mods

https://fanhackers.tumblr.com/post/787065122292137984

Below find excerpts from three essays in A Fan Studies Primer: Method, Research, Ethics, edited by Paul Booth and Rebecca Williams (Iowa 2021). These essays are on subjects that, to my mind, are under-researched: fan art, Black cosplay, and quantitative approaches to fandom:

“Unfortunately, while fan studies scholarship boasts a growing stack of books, chapters, and journal articles on fan fiction, fan art remains comparatively understudied. The extant writings tend to focus on specific instances of fan art creation instead of considering fan art more broadly or theoretically. This seems like a strange oversight, as the explosion of fan art has occurred alongside that of fan fiction, taking advantage of many of the same social media spaces, technologies, and fan communities. Fan art is a social practice, a frequent means of transcultural communication, an engaged response to media, a visual text, and sometimes a physical object. By studying fan art, we can learn a great deal about the fan communities who produce and share it. 

An important characteristic of fan art as a genre is that it is generally designed to be read, that is, for a viewer to recognize and understand what it is meant to represent and reference. Iconography is a key tool for understanding how much of this readability functions. Art historian Erwin Panofsky defined iconography as that branch of the history of art which concerns itself with the subject matter or meaning of works of art, as opposed to their form. This chapter considers the role of iconography in making fan art readable, as well as looking at how this iconography can develop and what these iconographic choices can tell us about fans and fandoms.”  

–EJ Nielsen, “The Iconography of Fan Art”

~ ~ ~

“In this chapter, I shed light on the activities of Black cosplayers usually rendered invisible because of their racialized performance of cosplay. The performance and skill of Black fans tend to go unheard, so I focus on the Black cosplayer movement, where Black cosplayers attempt to be seen by the general public and each other. The focus on Black cosplay provides a deeper understanding of identity performance in fandom and cultural studies more broadly. I begin by summarizing what cosplay is and the work done in the fandom studies field that can help us understand how Black fans interact with cosplay and the struggles they face. I conduct a critical discourse analysis of the tweets and images posted since 2015 under the hashtag #28DaysOfBlackCosplay. This movement shows how the online Black fan community uses cosplay to resist the hierarchical structure in fandoms and gain visibility.” 

–Alex Thomas, “The Dual Imagining: Afrofuturism. Queer Performance, and Black Cosplayers”

~ ~ ~

“Fan studies has always been robustly interdisciplinary. Its methodological and epistemological diversity should be celebrated and expanded. This chapter attempts to do both by presenting a case for the increased role of quantitative and computational tools and methods and for the kind of data-informed approaches to fandom and fanworks they make possible. Such approaches have struggled to find any real purchase in the field, which is somewhat puzzling given content industries’ increasing emphasis on the “datafication” of media audiences in general and fannish audiences in particular. Fan studies will need to engage with this trend and its ramifications, as well as with the algorithmic culture of which they are both cause and effect. The value of quantitative and computational tools and methods is hardly confined to this one area. On the contrary, when thoughtfully applied to data generated by and about fans, fandom, and fanworks, these tools and methods are very likely to make visible patterns, trends, relationships, networks, and (dis)continuities therein that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to discern.” 

–Josh Stenger, “The Datafication of Fandom: Or How I Stopped Watching the DC Arrowverse on The CW and Learned to Mine Fanwork Metadata”

https://fanhackers.tumblr.com/post/787065122292137984

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The Condemned Villainess Goes Back in Time and Aims to Become the Ultimate Villain, Vol. 5

Jun. 21st, 2025 09:14 pm
[syndicated profile] mangabookshelf_feed

Posted by Sean Gaffney

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/21/the-condemned-villainess-goes-back-in-time-and-aims-to-become-the-ultimate-villain-vol-5/

http://27.18068

By Bakufu Narayama and Ebisushi. Released in Japan as “Danzaisareta Akuyaku Reijō wa, Gyakkō-shite Kanpekina Akujo o Mezasu” by TO Books. Released in North America by Airship. Translated by Alyssa Niioka. Adapted by Lex Reno.

Content warning: this book’s main plot contains, and my review discusses, pedophilia, grooming, and brainwashing people through drugs and gang rape. The last two are implied but not seen, the first two are definitely seen. Reader discretion is advised.

I’ve called these books difficult to read before, but none of them quite hit like the middle of this book, in which Claudia has to deal with a village of people whose “Chieftess” (does that word get gendered?) is easily one of the worst antagonists in the series to date – see above for why. Fortunately, this is what Claudia and Sylvester are here to fix, though both of them castigate themselves that they didn’t even know it was happening till she conveniently got kidnapped. Sometimes being royalty means finding out about problems that people are deliberately keeping from you. Especially when they’re once again a plan of Nigel’s, the series’ overall big bad, who isn’t in this book but whose presence is felt. Corruption turns out to be – literally – an incredible drug.

By now everyone agrees that the running for the fiancee position is over, and Claudia and Sylvester’s engagement party date is set. Unfortunately, before this can happen, Claudia and Helen – out on the town incognito, with Claudia also disguised as a maid – run into a boy who is dressed as a child detective – because he is one, in fact – and he’s on the run from some goons. They quickly hide in a cart… which then drives off to a remote village, and that village turns out to be the one the boy (Kiel) was investigating. (Helen was able to get away and is getting help.) They find the villagers are all very happy and content… a bit TOO happy and content. The whole village feels a bit like The Stepford Wives. What’s more, people seem to occasionally disappear for no reason. What’s really going on?

So yeah, as indicated earlier, things are very screwed up in this book. What started as a discovery of a pain reliever that allows the village to make a bit of extra cash has suddenly become a village-wide “ritual” when the girls in the village have their first period or the boys have their first “nocturnal emission” to drug them with an aphrodisiac and then have the others in the village rape them till they grow happy with it. The girls in the village who have NOT gone through this yet are quick to side with Claudia and Kiel. The chieftess in particular is a hedonist and pedophile, who literally gropes Kiel to see if his balls have dropped, and openly leers at Claudia. The book is well written as always, and help arrives in the nick of time. But I have to ask, was this trip really necessary?

The series is still ongoing in Japan, and a glance at the blurbs of future books suggests things don’t get easier for Claudia even after her engagement. Hopefully, though, they involve a few less things for me to warn the reader about.

https://suitablefortreatment.mangabookshelf.com/2025/06/21/the-condemned-villainess-goes-back-in-time-and-aims-to-become-the-ultimate-villain-vol-5/

http://27.18068

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