A Misbehaving Mirror. A CONCERNED Bird. Count Boogula

July 2025

The Misbehaving Mirror of House Stitchcroft

Author: Humanisheart

When Lord Thimbleby Stitchcroft’s enchanted mirror refuses to show anything but a sheep, he embarks on a battle of wills with the world’s most stubborn magical appliance. Between broken scry-wands, bureaucratic error messages, and endless footage of stew, one nobleman learns the true cost of magical convenience, and patience.

You have to read this hilarious fantasy story! You’ll never trust a mirror again.

The story centers on Lord Thimbleby Stitchcroft, a posh viscount with a taste for magical gadgets, especially his prized Scry-Vision Looking Glass, basically the fantasy equivalent of a smart TV. It promises entertainment across time and space. Only… it’s broken. And all it shows is a sheep. Occasionally a chicken. But most of the time it's just sheep. A fat, smug-looking sheep that just chews. Endlessly.

What follows is the slow unraveling of a man who just wants to watch something interesting but keeps getting region-locked visions, magical error messages, and chickens staring back at him like they know something he doesn’t.

The story is full of magical tech support nightmares, petty enchantments, and increasingly unhinged attempts to fix the mirror. The tone is dry but playful, which makes Thimbleby’s growing exasperation feel both relatable and ridiculous. The perfect read if you’ve ever yelled at a remote, waited three months for customer service, or stared into the void of your screen wondering what you're doing with your life. It’s warm, clever, and just ridiculous enough to feel a little too real.

Quo Avis? (Issue 1)

Author: st_corax

QUO AVIS? is a digest magazine written by birds for birds (and thanks to me, the rest of the world) living in [REDACTED] Island. Expect fashion, politics, Opinions™, tests, news, lots of birds and lots of exciting content!

Okay, so I found the weirdest, most delightful thing on AO3, and you need to read it.

It’s called QUO AVIS?, and it’s not a story in the traditional sense. This is a fully illustrated, in-universe magazine written by birds, for birds. Imagine if The New Yorker was published in a strange interdimensional realm populated entirely by concerned, sapient birds.

The whole thing is charming and deeply committed to the bit. The first issue includes an exclusive gift—The Stick—which is lovingly presented in the style of an IKEA catalog and can apparently function as a load-bearing beam, a summoning wand, a weapon, or a modern art piece. It only gets funnier from there.

There are quizzes to determine if you’re an early bird or a night creature (mandatory, of course), and tips for distinguishing a tree from... another tree. The editor-in-chief, Francis Pratchett, delivers a note that starts with a poetic meditation on the soul of a bird and ends with a veiled threat if you don’t treat birds nicely.

What makes this graphic novel hilarious is how fully the author leans into the surreal bird society. There’s lore, editorial drama, bureaucratic nonsense, and glorious, deadpan delivery of complete nonsense. It’s fully illustrated too, and the visuals somehow make it even more immersive and hilarious.

If you’ve ever wanted to read the Vogue of a cursed avian multiverse, this is it. It’s joyful, bizarre, and oddly beautiful. In other words, a weird little masterpiece.

The Adventures of Count Boogula

Author: Count Boogula

A friendly but eccentric ghost grows a little bored of his job scaring guests at a haunted house, so he decides to go adventuring and see the world. He is soon joined in his quest by C-Rank ghosthunter Phoebe Darkbane III, who wants to reach A-Rank like her legendary older sister. Together they make for a goofy but oddly perfect team, journeying to strange cities and fighting unreasonably powerful foes.

Who's the King of Scares! Boo Guh La! Bo Guh La!

Adventures of Count Boogula follows Mr. Boogula (I mean Count Boogula), a ghost trying to make a name for himself as an adventurer. The humor is full of slapstick moments, like when Boogula dramatically overreacts to a harmless slime, turning a simple encounter into a full-on battle. His melodramatic personality leads to plenty of funny, over-the-top situations. The writing is light and breezy, keeping the story moving without slowing down for too much detail. It’s perfect for anyone who just wants a fun, easy read.

The world-building is minimal, with the focus mostly on Boogula's ridiculous escapades, but the humor and character interactions more than make up for it. I thought the bee challenge was a fun episode to read!

If you're looking for something light and funny, Adventures of Count Boogula is the one for you. The relationships aren’t too complex, but even though the story is mostly humorous there’s a part that’s surprisingly sad, but I can’t say much without spoiling it. But it involves the death of a character. I know, Boogula is already a ghost, so how could he be the one to die? No, it’s not him. You’ll find out when you read it. Whether Boogula’s leveling up or getting into more wacky situations, it’s always entertaining. Perfect for readers who want a cheerful, fast-paced read with lots of laughs.

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Fun Fact: Tolstoy Learned to Ride a Bike at Age 67

Leo Tolstoy with his wife Sofia (image from russianlife.com)

In 1896, when he was 67 years old, Leo Tolstoy was already famous for War and Peace and deep into his later-life spiritual and philosophical writings. That year, he decided to learn how to ride a bicycle. His doctor had suggested it for health reasons, and Tolstoy was immediately interested. It wasn’t easy. He fell a lot while learning, but he stuck with it. Eventually, he got the hang of it. People would see him riding around his estate at Yasnaya Polyana, his white beard flying, grinning like a kid.

The image of this elderly, world-famous writer pedaling around on a bicycle caught the public’s attention. Russian newspapers wrote about it, and for a while it sparked a small cycling craze. People began to see bicycles not just as modern and healthy, but also as something with a kind of moral purity, thanks to Tolstoy’s influence. He had long been committed to a simple and disciplined lifestyle, so when he embraced something, others paid attention.

Bicycles were still relatively new at the time. The version we recognize today had only become popular in the 1880s, and many people were still unsure about them. Tolstoy, always curious and willing to try new things, jumped right in. His determination to learn something new at an older age shows how eager he was to keep growing. He didn’t want to settle or slow down, even after all he had achieved.

Visitors to his estate would sometimes see him talking proudly about his bicycle or even demonstrating his riding skills. It became one of his small joys. Alongside his heavier conversations about religion, art, or morality, there was this playful side of him that never completely went away. It’s a small story, but it says a lot about who he was.