#2024 Reads

[smokefalls]

All homes are manifestations of the psyche; home is the material expression of one’s state of being, the interior made exterior.

Mike Fu, Masquerade

[thoughtfulfangirling]

"Some twelve thousand muskets were double-loaded, and half of those more than triple. One rifle even had twenty-three balls in the barrel — which is absurd. These soldiers had been thoroughly drilled by their officers. Muskets, they all knew, were designed to discharge one ball at a time. So what were they doing? Only much later did historians figure it out: loading a gun is the perfect excuse not to shoot it. And if it happened to be loaded already, well, you just loaded it again. And again.

— Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

[heavenlyyshecomes]

I do not see how my oppressor could sit in judgment on my response to his oppressive actions against me. He is in no position to render an impartial judgment or to accuse me of air piracy and hijacking when he has hijacked my home and hijacked me and my people out of our land. If the enemy defines morality and legality in his own terms and decides to apply his ethical and legal

doctrines against me because he has the power as well as the means of communications to justify his inhumanity, I am under no moral obligation to listen, let alone obey his dictates. Indeed, I am under a moral obligation to resist and to fight to death the enemy's moral corruption. My deed cannot be evaluated without examining the underlying causes. The revolutionary deed I carried out on August 29, 1969 was an assertion of my spurned humanity, a declaration of the humanity of Palestinians. It was an act of protest against the West for its pro-Zionist (therefore anti-Palestinian) posture. The list of the sins of the West is overwhelming.

—Leila Khaled, My People Shall Live: The Autobiography of a Revolutionary ed. George Hajjar

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2024 📖 no. 054

Funny Story by Emily Henry

“For once, I don’t want to be anywhere but in this moment, not thinking about what it all means or where it might go, and he makes that easy, this sunlit man.”

[sororygilmore]

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

[the-forest-library]

This is a ridiculous number of books to read in a year. Do not measure your reads against this. I basically listen to audiobooks all day, and that’s not something everyone can or wants to do.

I always assumed that if I read more books I’d encounter more stellar reads. Turns out you just encounter way more mediocre reads (and that’s considering that I DNF a ton), and those tend to overshadow the good reads. I’m hoping to be even more selective in my reads in the coming year as reading so many mediocre books is really affecting my reading enjoyment.

[howlsmovinglibrary]

*Top 5 Books of 2024!*

2024 can get in the bin as far as I'm concerned, but I had a really good reading year! 63 books (compared to a goodreads goal of 30), 18 5* reads, and only 2 dnfs!

Here are my top 5 books of 2024!...

Deeplight by Frances Hardinge

Cosmic horror and eldritch transformation in a post-apocalyptic aquatic fantasy world (...in a YA book).

Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan

I love villainess isekai and I love Sarah Rees Brennan, this book was written for me <3

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Academic rivals-to-lovers with a faerie prince, another book written specifically for me <3

The Scholar and the Last Faerie Door by HG Parry

Fantasy university story that lovingly performs dark academia conventions, about a scholarship student at magic Oxbridge

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

I read a lot of romance this year, but this was my favourite! Katherine Center's first book was hit or miss for me, but the pacing and tension and high stakes of this story were perfect!

Honorable mentions (not pictured)

Feast While You Can and The View Was Exhausting by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta, The Witchwood Knot by Olivia Atwater, The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley...

[caffeinatedcatlover]

The first page all filled up with book covers! This means I have already completed the reading goal I set for this year: 26 books, one book every 2 weeks. I’ll try to complete at least another row before the end of the year.

[kiwiokok]

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙒𝘼𝙔 𝙊𝙁 𝙒𝘼𝙏𝙀𝙍

Previous >> Next

Pairing: Ao'nung x omaticayan! fem!reader

Summary: You have a brother??

Warnings: Angst

Author's note: hellooo, I'm so happy that part 1 of this fanfic got over 10 notes. Thank you so much! Leave a comment I love them

Credits: For the whole plot idea I have for this fanfic I have to credit and thank @lorre-verie <3

- Let me go, pxasik! Lorre seethed with rage, feeling her blood boiling with frustration as she struggled to break free from the grip of the Na’vi boy who was guiding her ahead.

- Hey, do you think sky people let people our age to Pandora now? Spider asked, not far behind Lo’ak

Lo'ak suddenly diverted his attention to the ground as he veered off in the opposite direction of where he was supposed to go.

- What is it? Kiri asked, turning around to her brother in annoyance

- We’re always supposed to be home by eclipse. Tuk said, noticing her brother and Spider kneel down on the ground as they were looking at something.

Lo’ak touched the foot print with his hand, noticing the footprints going toward the deep forest.

- It’s way too big for a human.

- Avatars?

- Maybe, but they're for sure not ours.

- Dad was right. If the sky people are back they are somewhere in here. We have to - Lo’ak! Kiri said, watching her brother follow the footsteps, - What are you doing?

- Shh, I'm tracking. Lo’ak and the spider continued walking, carefully following the footprints left behind. As they moved forward, Lo’ak's grip on Lorre's wrist grew tighter

As they approached the dilapidated shack, Lorre flattened her ears against her head, detecting a new and unfamiliar scent the closer they came.

Suddenly, they stopped. Peering through the bushes, spotting Na’vi’s in uniforms walking around the old shack.

- We are never supposed to come here. Kiri whispered, - Dad is going to ground you.

- Shh. Can you stop?

- For life!

Lo’ak glared at his sister, turning his attention to Lorre before turning to Spider, - Bro, we have got to check this out. Let’s go. Lo’ak and Spider slowly proceeded ahead, releasing their grip on Lorre’s wrist. Lorre exchanged a glance with Kiri, who shook her head and then grasped Lorre's hand.

- I can just leave you guy-

- No.

Lorre let out a slow breath, her lips pressing into a thin line. She squinted, straining to make out the figures of the Na’vi clad in their distinct uniforms.

A few minutes later, Lo’ak and Spider returned.

- We have to call this in. Lo’ak said, pressing on his mic again. Lorre moved, sitting down on the grass when she felt her legs start to hurt.

- Devil Dog, Devil Dog, This is Eagle Eye, Over.

- Are you back already? The voice on the other line asked

Lo’ak cursed under his breath, - No, sir, I got eyes on some guys. They look like avatars, but they're in full camo and carrying ARs. There are six of them. Over.

- What’s your pos? Over.

- Um… we’re at the old shack.

Silence. Lorre bit the inside of her cheek, feeling the anxiety rise in her chest.

- Boy, I told you to get back. Get the hell out of there, you hear me? Move! Over. The voice on the other line raised it’s voice.

Lorre sighed and stood, rising to follow the Na'vi, with Kiri's hand still gently holding hers.

- You’re going to be in so much trouble. Kiri scolded as they all walked at a fast, but quiet pace, further from the old shack.

- Shh! Kiri, stop.

- Guys, come on.

- It’s almost eclipse, come on.

Suddenly, a Na'vi soldier emerged from the bushes, seizing Tuk as she let out a startled scream.

- Tuk!

Spider aimed his bow, snarling in defiance as more Na'vi appeared, their guns trained on us. Lorre's heart raced, oblivious to the fact that Kiri's hand was no longer holding hers.

- Put it down! Down! One of the Navi soldiers yelled

- Put it down or i’ll shoot you!

Lorre fixed a steely gaze on the soldier before hissing, knife in hand, as she stood firmly between Lo’ak and Kiri.

- With me.

Someone said among the chaos, Spider not giving up as his bow was fixed on the Navi holding Tuk.

- Drop it! Right now!

Lorre noticed Lo’ak drop his bow slowly, turning his head to tell the others to drop their bows too.

- Do not move! Put your hands up!

Lorre hissed one last time, dropping her knife on the ground

- Tìyawn fìtseng [put it down]. Lo’ak said to Kiri, who dropped her bow on the ground carefully

- Spider!

- Hands up!

Spider sighed, putting his bow on the ground.

- Get ‘em! Get ‘em!

At the same moment, the Na'vi in uniforms approached and seized your hands. One of them kicked Kiri's legs, causing her to collapse onto her knees while he restrained her.

Another soldier grabbed Lorre by her kuru, making her hiss in pain as she too fell to her knees.

- Kiri!

- Get down!

- Stop fighting!

Lorre grunted, pressing her free hand against her kuru in an attempt to free herself from the Na'vi’s grasp.

- Check ‘em for weapons!

- Kiri! Tuk whimpered, looking at her older sister in fear

- Tuk! Mawey, Mawey. [calm, calm.]

- Shut up. Don't move.

- What have we here? One of the Na'vi in uniform spoke from the center, glancing over all of you.

Lorre’s breath caught in her throat. It was Quaritch. The sight filled her with dread. Terror gripped her as she quickly lowered her head, her heart pounding, praying to Eywa that he wouldn’t notice her.

The pull on her kuru made her wince, but she kept her head lowered in horror. Her father was right in front of her. The one person she feared next to Eywa, was right in front of her.

Quaritch’s gaze moved to Spider, and then he adjusted his gun to his back and turned to face Lo’ak before one of his soldiers got his attention.

- Hey, Colonel, check it out. He held Kiri’s hand in front of him, showing him her fingers. Four fingers. - Check it out. Four fingers. We got a half-breed.

As Quaritch stepped forward to Kiri, the soldier grabbed her kuru, causing her to scream in pain. She breathed heavily, watching as Quaritch turned to Lo’ak.

- Show me your fingers. He pointed to Lo’ak, standing in front of him.

Lorre could feel her heart almost beating out of her chest as she placed her arms behind her back, clinching her five fingers in a fist.

Lo’ak, kneeling with a gun pointed at his head, glared at Quaritch and flipped him off with both hands.

Quaritch chuckled, a smirk appearing on his face, - You’re his, aren't you?

Lo’ak snarled at him, his tail moving to the side.

- You’re his, all right.

Quaritch suddenly grabbed Lo’ak’s kuru, making him stand up as he groaned in pain

- Lo’ak, dont!

He pulled on Lo’ak’s kuru, watching him growl at him, - Where is he?

Lo’ak didn’t speak, earning another pull of his Kuru.

- Ngaytxoa, oe yemstokx't plltxe 'ìnglìsì tsonta tskitan. [Sorry, i don't speak English to buttholes]

- Tsenga lu your sempul? [Where is your father?] Quaritch asked the smirk on his face faded, tugging on Lo’ak’s kuru again.

Lorre could barely make out what he had asked, since his Na’vi was poor. Lo’ak snarled in pain, glaring at Quaritch.

- Really? You wanna play it this way? Quaritch took out his pocket knife, aiming to Lo’ak before dropping him on the ground roughly, walking towards Kiri.

- Kiri, hey, stop!

- Hey, don't touch her!

- Kiri!

Lorre kept her head down in terror, not wanting to look on what’s about to happen.

- Dont hurt her, please.

Quaritch turned to Spider, looking at the human boy hissing at him.

- What’s your name, kid?

Spider panted, - Spider… Socorro.

Lorre’s head jerked up in shock, her ears flattened and her mouth slightly open. Socorro..?

How was he a Socorro when she was a Socorro?

Did she have a brother?

Quaritch looked at the boy in disbelief, taking the information in

No, no, no, no

He can't be

He can't be her br-

Quaritch’s mouth opened slightly, ordering his soldier to let go of Spider as he kneeled to his level.

- Miles?

- Nobody calls me that.

Lorre’s mind reeled. A brother? How could she not have known? Her thoughts scrambled—was he older? Younger? Her breath quickened as she stared at them, panic rising, praying they wouldn’t notice her.

- Well, I’ll be dammed… I figured they sent you back to Earth.

- They can't put babies in cryo, dipshit.

Quaritch tilted his head to the side, and with a simple gesture, one of the soldiers grabbed Spider again while Quaritch stood up.

Lorre let out a quiet gasp, quickly lowering her head again.

- What are we doin’ boss?

Quaritch glanced at Spider for a brief moment before turning away, shifting his attention to the mic on his neck. - Iron Sky, Blue One, Actual.

- Blue One, Iron Sky, send your traffic. The female voice on the other line said.

- We are standing by for the extract, over.

- Dragonfly comin’ left, we are go or extract. The male voice answered

- Be advised, that we are bringin’ in high-value prisoners.

- Let us go!

- Shut up.

- Sit tight, Blue one. We’re inbound to your post.

- That’s bingo in ten. We’re on the clock. Over.

The Na'vi soldiers shoved you forward, compelling you to sit down on the ground.

- Sit down. On the dirt!

- Get down on the ground!

One of the soldiers slammed Lorre to the ground, forcing her into a sitting position while pressing the barrel of a gun against her head to ensure she didn’t move.

- Lyle, Get me some audio on this. Quaritch said, holding one of the Holographic tablets.

Lorre turned her head slowly, watching Lyle press some buttons on the tablet.

- Shut your mouth! One of the female Na’vi said, forcing Kiri to sit down.

- That’s Sully’s woman. Quaritch said, watching the old footage of his human’s form death.

- She’s an animal.

- Give it up, Quaritch. A Na’vi in the tablet footage spoke directly into the camera.

- Sully.

- It’s all over.

- Son of a bitch.

- Nothing’s over while I'm breathin’. Quaritch’s human voice said in the footage

- I kinda hoped you’d say that.

Lorre quickly turned her head around, hearing the screams come from the tablet.

────────

It was well beyond the eclipse, and the night was thick with a heavy, oppressive silence. Lorre felt the cold, uneven raindrops dribble onto her shoulder, each drop sending a shiver racing down her spine. She stood there, forced to remain with the rest of the Sully kids, feeling her legs slowly give up from all the standing, her body rigid with tension.

As she closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath, she tried to center herself, drawing her focus to the surrounding forest. Every subtle rustle and distant murmur made her ears twitch. The weight of impending doom pressed heavily on her, and she knew that if her end was to come by her father's hand, she would seek solace by reconnecting with Eywa.

- Blue One, stand by ready. We are three minutes out. The voice from the mic came through muffled, causing Lorre to furrow her brows in frustration. As she tried to tune into the forest sounds once more, the same fear tightened in her chest, making it difficult to focus on anything but the growing tension around her.

- Heads up, three minutes. Quaritch’s voice filled the backround.

Lorre noticed the way Tuk reacted to the distant yipping. She looked up, not noticing any reaction from the Na’vi soldier who was holding her, she furrowed her brows in confusion.

Turning her head to Spider, whose attention was also drawn to the yipping, this time sounding as if it was approaching closer.

Kiri chanted in Na’vi quietly, earning a tug of her kuru from the Na’vi soldier who was holding her.

- Shut up!

Kiri ignored the pain, chanting a little louder this time.

Suddenly, a bow flew straight into the Na’vi soldier who was holding Kiri. She fell to the ground, dead on the spot.

- Contact near!

The sudden yell made Lorre flinch, noticing that no one was holding Kiri and Spider anymore.

Quaritch began firing in the direction from which the arrow had struck one of his soldiers

The barrage of gunfire erupted around Lorre, forcing her to the ground. She crawled desperately toward Kiri and Spider, her breaths coming in heavy, uneven gasps. Amid the chaos, she glimpsed Lo’ak releasing the green gas from one of the Na’vi soldiers’ camo and biting the Na’vi soldier who still held his Kuru.

Tuk followed along, biting the female Na’vi that was holding her and running off to find Lo’ak.

- Ow! You little shit!

- Lo’ak!

- Tuk, come on. Go, go, go!

Lo’ak led Tuk away from the soldiers, running into the forest

- Get back here!

- Run! Spider’s urgent yell cut through the chaos as he sprinted away with Kiri. Lorre, her heart hammering and fear surging, tore after them, running for her life from her father.

- Grab em’!

One of the soldiers grabbed Kiri by the kuru, halting her escape. In that split second, an arrow struck her directly in the head, dropping her lifelessly to the ground and letting go of Kiri.

- Come on! Lorre yelled, watching as Kiri and Spider followed her as they ran.

They plunged further into the forest, the wet grass nearly causing Lorre to slip. Gasping for air, she glanced anxiously at the dense trees before running forward

- Go, go, go! Spider’s voice sounded right behind Lorre as they stepped onto the large tree branches

The sudden explosion right onto the branch they were walking on, violently threw Spider off balance. He tumbled to the ground with a scream and disappeared around the large wines.

- Spider? Kiri suddenly halted and spun around, causing Lorre to follow suit. She nearly lost her footing, her panic making her struggle to keep her balance.

- Spider! Kiri yelled to the ground, hoping to see Spider anywhere.

Suddenly, their mother, Neytiri, descended onto the branch from the vines above, her gaze shifting between her daughter and Lorre.

- Kiri! Come! Come on! Neytiri shouted to her daughter, leaping over her kneeling form to grasp her hand and pull her to her feet.

Lorre nodded to herself, stepping back before spinning around and sprinting away, the sounds of Neytiri and Kiri’s voices echoing behind her.

She ran straight into the other Sully kids, letting out a startled snarl. The sound of Kiri’s and Neytiri’s approaching footsteps grew louder behind her.

- We’re clear. Everyone okay? Jake asked over the noise, checking his children for any injuries.

Tuk shoved past Lorre and raced toward her mother, who was closing in with Kiri from behind. - Mom!

- Tuk! Neytiri cried, holding her youngest child tightly.

Jake hugged his sons, resting his head on Neteyam’s. - It’s okay, it’s okay, we’re okay.

- Oh, thank you, Great Mother, thank you. Neytiri sobbed, kissing the top of Tuk’s head, reaching out to hug Kiri.

Lorre pinned her ears down, watching the family hug each other as they thanked Ewya for keeping them safe.

- Where’s spider? Jake asked his Kiri

- They took him. Lorre spoke up abruptly, her words drawing their attention. She gulped, feeling the weight of Neytiri’s and Jake’s stares as they turned to her.

- They took him! Kiri repeated, beginning to sob

- Okay, it’s alright, baby girl. Jake soothed his daughter, allowing her to embrace her mother while she sobbed into her shoulder, turning his attention back to Lorre.

- Alright kid, let’s have a look at you. Jake said, stepping forward to the girl. - What’s your name?

Lorre’s mouth slightly parted, feeling their gazes on her, - Lorre. Lorre te Secorra Tsu’li. She whispered, watching Jake’s eyes widen slightly.

- Socorro.. Your mother was Paz Socorro?..

[smokefalls]

And how long before you realized (did you realize?) shame was a blade / you turned against yourself / and once you knew it / you could use it—

Leila Chatti, "Question Directed toward the Idea of Mary" from Deluge

[thoughtfulfangirling]

When the five day work week was reinstated in March 1974, officials set about calculating the total extent of production losses. They had trouble believing their eyes. The grand total was 6%. What Ford, Kellogg, and Heath had all discovered is that productivity and long work hours do not go hand in hand. In the 1980s, Apple employees sported t-shirts that read, “Working 90 hours a week and loving it.” Later, productivity experts calculated that if they worked half the hours, then the world might have enjoyed the groundbreaking Macintosh computer a year earlier.

—Utopia for Realists: How We can Build the Ideal World by Rutger Bregman

[heavenlyyshecomes]

For the interested reader, diaries and notebooks can be placed in two categories: in the first the text is intended to be official, manifest, aimed at a readership. The notebook becomes a training ground for the outward self, and, as in the case of the nineteenth-century artist and diarist Marie Bashkirtseff, an open declaration, an unending monologue, addressed to an invisible but sympathetic ear. Still I’m fascinated by the other sort of diary, the working tool, the sort the writer-as-craftsperson keeps close at hand, of little apparent use to the outsider. Susan Sontag, who practised this art form for decades, said of her diary that it was ‘an instrument, a tool’ – I’m not sure this is entirely apt. Sontag’s notebooks (and the notebooks of other writers) are not just for the storage of ideas, like nuts in squirrels’ cheeks, to be consumed later. Nor are they filled with quick outlines of events, to be recollected when needed. Notebooks are an essential daily activity for a certain type of person, loose-woven mesh on which they hang their clinging faith in reality and its continuing nature. Such texts have only one reader in mind, but this reader is utterly implicated. Break open a notebook at any point and be reminded of your own reality, because a notebook is a series of proofs that life has continuity and history, and (this is most important) that any point in your own past is still within your reach. Sontag’s notebooks are filled with such proofs: lists of films she has seen, books she has read, words that have charmed her, the dried husks of completed endeavours – and these are largely limited to the notebooks; they almost never feed into her books or films or articles, they are neither the starting point, nor the underpinning for her public work. They are not intended as explanations for another reader (perhaps for the self, although they are scribbled down at such a lick that sometimes it’s hard to make out what is meant). Like a fridge, or as it was once called, an ice house, a place where the fast-corrupting memory-product can be stored, a space for witness accounts and affirmations, or the material and outward signs of immaterial and elusive relations, to paraphrase Goncharov.

—Maria Stepanova, In Memory of Memory, tr. Sasha Dugdale (emphasis mine)

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2024 📖 no. 123

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

“If anyone were to claim greater happiness in their careers than I do in poking about sunlit wildwoods for faerie footprints, I should not believe it.”

[sororygilmore]

DIVINE RIVALS by Rebecca Ross

[the-forest-library]

November 2024 Reads

In Memoriam - Alice Winn

A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher

Graveyard Shift - M.L. Rio

Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen

A Curious Beginning - Deanna Raybourn

The Empress of Salt and Fortune - Nghi Vo

Bride - Ali Hazelwood

The Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

Pony Confidential - Christina Lynch

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love - India Holton

Here We Go Again - Alison Cochrun

One Last Shot - Betty Cayouette

Under Your Spell - Laura Wood

The Love of My Afterlife - Kristy Greenwood

This Summer Will Be Different - Carley Fortune

Savor It - Tarah DeWitt

Kiss Me at Christmas - Jenny Bayliss

Christmas Is All Around - Martha Waters

XOXO - Axie Oh

Killing November - Adriana Mather

Miracles on Maple Hill - Virginia Sorensen

The Miraculous Life of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo

Because of Winn Dixie - Kate DiCamillo

Thunder Pug - Kim Norman

Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea - Vera B. Williams

Dr Seuss's Sleep Book - Dr Seuss

Leap - Simina Popescu

Uprooted - Ruth Chan

Taxi Ghost - Sophie Escabasse

They Called Us Enemy - George Takei

I'm So Glad We Had This Time Together - Maurice Vellekoop

Adulthood is a Gift - Sarah Andersen

Joyful Recollections of Trauma - Paul Scheer

The Deaf Girl - Abigail Heringer

True Gretch - Gretchen Whitmer

Growing Up Urkel - Jaleel White

How to Know a Person - David Brooks

The Expectation Effect - David Robson

Glory Days - L. Ron Wertheim

Democracy Awakening - Heather Cox Richardson

The Sleeping Beauties - Suzanne O'Sullivan

What It Takes to Heal - Prentis Hemphill

Vanishing Treasures - Katherine Rundell

Noodles, Rice, and Everything Spice - Christina De Witte and Mallika Kauppinen

Appetites - Anthony Bourdain

Bold = Highly Recommend

Italics = Worth It

Crossed Out = Nope

Thoughts: Please read In Memoriam if you haven't yet. It's sweeping and sad and sweet and very satisfying. The audiobook is lovely and does some interesting things with the narration.

Goodreads Goal: 414/400 

2017 Reads | 2018 Reads | 2019 Reads | 2020 Reads | 2021 Reads| 2022 Reads | 2023 Reads | 2024 Reads

[saireyn]

"İnsanın kim olduğunun ne önemi var derdim, önemli olan yaptıklarımız ve yapacaklarımızdır." - Beyaz Kale, Orhan Pamuk