#Cecilia Halee

[ammg-old2]

When Megan Nolan published her first novel, fellow authors warned her in “ominous tones” about the website Goodreads. The young Irish writer looked at the book’s listing there in the winter of 2020, the day the first proof copy arrived at her house. “Nobody but me and the publisher had seen it,” she wrote recently. “Despite this, it had received one review already: two stars, left by someone I had inconsequential personal discord with. It was completely impossible for him to have read the book.”

The terrible power of Goodreads is an open secret in the publishing industry. The review site, which Amazon bought in 2013, can shape the conversation around a book or an author, both positively and negatively. Today’s ostensible word-of-mouth hits are more usually created online, either via Goodreads or social networks such as Instagam and TikTok.

Publishers know how important these dynamics are, and so they send out advanced reading copies, or ARCs, not just to independent booksellers who might stock a title, but also to influencers who might make content about it. “There’s an assumption that if you receive an ARC that you will post about it,” Traci Thomas, host of the literary podcast The Stacks, told me—“whether that’s on your Goodreads, on your Instagram, on your TikTok, tell other people in your bookstore, or whatever. And so that’s how it ends up that there’s so many reviews of a book that’s not out yet.”

Many book bloggers are conscientious about including a disclaimer on their posts thanking the publisher for giving them an ARC “in exchange for an honest review.” But disclosing freebies is far from a contractual requirement or even a social norm. So you can’t easily discern which early reviewers have actually read the book, and which ones might be reacting to social-media chatter (or, as Nolan suspected in her case, prosecuting a personal grudge).

That matters because viral campaigns target unpublished books all the time. What tends to happen is that one influential voice on Instagram or TikTok deems a book to be “problematic,” and then dozens of that person’s followers head over to Goodreads to make the writer’s offense more widely known. Authors who reply to these attacks risk making the situation worse. Kathleen Hale—who was so infuriated by a mean reviewer that she tracked down the woman’s address—wrote later that the site had warned her against engagement: “At the bottom of the page, Goodreads had issued the following directive (if you are signed in as an author, it appears after every bad review of a book you’ve written): ‘We really, really (really!) don’t think you should comment on this review, even to thank the reviewer.’” Most authors I know read their Goodreads reviews, and then silently fume over them alone. Because I am a weirdo, I extract great enjoyment from mine—the more petty and baffling the complaints, the better. “I listened to the audiobook and by chapter 3 it started to annoy me the little pause she made before the word ‘male,’” reads one review of my book, Difficult Women.

When the complaints are more numerous and more serious, it’s known as “review-bombing” or “brigading.” A Goodreads blitzkrieg can derail an entire publication schedule, freak out commercial book clubs that planned to discuss the release, or even prompt nervous publishers to cut the marketing budget for controversial titles. Last month, the Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert withdrew her upcoming novel The Snow Forest from publication because of the backlash she received after revealing it was set in Soviet Russia. The Goodreads page for The Snow Forest, which has since been taken down, accused her of romanticizing the Russian soul. “I’ll cut the job for you—they don’t have any,” wrote one reviewer. Another wrote: “Just like her characters in this nover [sic] are unaware of the events of WWII, Elizabeth Gilbert herself seems to be unaware of the genocidal war russia is conducting against Ukraine RIGHT NOW, because I’m sure if she knew, she’d realise how tone deaf this book is.”

The book had been scheduled for release next February, but in a video announcing that it was “not the time for this book to be published,” Gilbert essentially endorsed the Goodreads criticisms: “I do not want to add any harm to a group of people who have already experienced and who are all continuing to experience grievous and extreme harm.”

Now, I don’t know whether The Snow Forest romanticized the Russian soul or would somehow have caused “harm” to Ukrainians. Like my colleague Franklin Foer, I find the allegations hard to believe. But the plain fact is that neither of us know, because—and this should be obvious, although recent events suggest it is not—you don’t know what’s in a book you haven’t read. You also don’t know what’s in a film you haven’t watched, an album you haven’t heard, or an article you haven’t clicked on. That used to matter. It no longer does, because we live in a world where you can harvest likes by circulating screenshots of headlines and out-of-context video clips, and where marketing campaigns are big enough that they constitute artistic statements in themselves. (Barbie, I’m looking at you.)

Unfortunately, the artworks most likely to run into trouble in this viral hellscape are those that explore complicated, incendiary topics such as sex, race, and identity. Another Goodreads drama played out recently over Everything’s Fine, a debut novel written by Cecilia Rabess and published on June 6. Its plot centers on a young, progressive Black woman who falls in love with a conservative white man in the lead-up to Donald Trump’s election. “It obviously tackles some lightning-rod issues about race, class, and politics and identity in America,” Rabess told me, and so she expected strong reactions on Goodreads and similar sites. “But I think people certainly hadn’t read the book. And so I don’t know how they came to the conclusions that they did—that the book didn’t handle these topics carefully or thoughtfully or intentionally.”

Chalk that characterization up as writerly understatement. “It’s not enemies to lovers if you use it to excuse racists,” a typical one-star review read, referencing a common romance-novel trope. “Some authors shouldn’t be authors bc wtf is this!?” another offered. “i haven’t read this book nor do I plan to but having read the synopsis, I’m rating it 1-star,” a third confessed.

In the case of Everything’s Fine, the pile-on appears to have started on TikTok, where a handful of prominent creators criticized the book. The swell of anger then migrated to Goodreads, where those creators’ fans could register their disapproval. “i didnt and will not even read this i came from tiktok to say i hope the sales are so bad the bookstores have to throw away all inventory because it refuses to sell. anyone who gets an ARC of this should be ashamed,” noted another one-star review.

For Rabess, the experience was brutal. “As an artist, you’re prepared for people to not resonate with the work,” she said. “But I think it feels different when people decide that you yourself are problematic, or you yourself are causing harm, or whatever language they use to describe it. It feels a little bit surreal.” The backlash might have flourished on Goodreads, but it soon escaped to the wider internet. Rabess, who is Black, received angry direct messages and emails, as well as abusive comments under any social-media posts she made. “They said nasty things about me, about my children. Called me coon, other really unpleasant slurs. Told me that I’d be better off dead.”

The anger was scattershot. The commenters using racial slurs clearly knew Rabess’s race, but she wondered if some other online critics assumed that she was a white author intruding on territory they felt should be reserved for writers of color. While authors are sensibly told not to read the reviews—and certainly not to engage with critics—that’s harder when the critics come right up in your (virtual) face and shout their opinions at you.

As it happens, the podcaster Traci Thomas was among those who disliked Rabess’s book—albeit after reading an advance copy, back in January. “It’s an icky book,” she told me. She objected to what she saw as the moral of the story: Love conquers all, even being a Trump supporter. “The boyfriend in the book, Josh, is wearing a MAGA hat and, like, saying racist shit to [the female protagonist]. And she’s like, It’s fine. And the big revelation for her is that she can still choose to love him. And I’m just like: Okay, cool, go off—and I’m gonna tear this book to shreds.”

Ultimately, Thomas concluded, “I don’t know that the book needs to exist.”

Despite her own strong feelings, Thomas told me that she sometimes felt uneasy about her own reviews being surrounded by knee-jerk reactions and “performative allyship,” even by people whose politics she shared. “There are people who are new to anti-racism work or supporting LGBTQ people, or disability activism or whatever. And they feel it is their job to call out things that they notice without perhaps understanding the bigger historical context.” To illustrate the point, she gave an example: Imagine an author writes a book about Black children riding tricycles, “and then I’ll see a review that’s like, ‘This book didn’t talk about Black preschoolers who ride bikes, and they’re also at risk.’”

That dynamic explains one of the most initially counterintuitive aspects of viral pile-ons: that many seem to target authors who would agree with their critics on 99 percent of their politics. A strange kind of progressive one-upmanship is at work here: Anyone can condemn Ann Coulter’s latest book, but pointing out the flaws in a feminist or anti-racist book, or a novel by a Black female author, establishes the critic as the occupant of a higher moral plane.

The net effect of this is to hobble books by progressive authors such as Gilbert, and by writers of color such as Rabess. The latter is philosophical about the controversy over Everything’s Fine, seeing the backlash as representative of the political moment she was exploring in the novel—of “people feeling a dearth of community and connection, and just wanting a way to connect, a way to express themselves or express their anger.”

Of course, if Goodreads wanted to, it could fix the review-bombing problem overnight. When services that rely on user-generated content are only lightly moderated, it’s always a conscious decision, and usually a cold commercial one. After Gilbert pulled her novel from publication, The Washington Post observed that Amazon, which reportedly paid $150 million for Goodreads, now shows little interest in maintaining or updating the site. Big changes to a heavily trafficked site can be costly and risk annoying the existing user base: Reddit has recently faced down a moderators’ revolt for changes to how developers can access its tools, and Elon Musk’s tenure at Twitter—or whatever it’s now called—will one day be taught at business schools on a slide headlined “How to Lose Advertisers and Alienate People.” A purge of duplicate accounts might sweep up some fanatically devoted Goodreads users—people who can’t bear to share their opinion only once—and make the site feel less busy and exciting.

Goodreads spokesperson Suzanne Skyvara told me by email that the site “takes the responsibility of maintaining the authenticity and integrity of ratings and protecting our community of readers and authors very seriously.” She added that Goodreads is working to “stay ahead of content and accounts that violate our reviews or community guidelines” and has “increased the number of ways members can flag content to us.”

The main Amazon site has several measures in place to stop review-bombing: Reviews from verified purchasers of books are flagged as such to bolster their credibility, while the star rating is the product of a complicated algorithm rather than simply an average of all the review scores. Goodreads could adopt even more stringent measures—but then, it isn’t in the company’s interests to reduce volume in favor of quality, because its entire appeal is based around being a grassroots voice. “Goodreads really needs a mechanism for stopping one-star attacks on writers,” the writer Roxane Gay tweeted after Gilbert’s statement in June. “It undermines what little credibility they have left.” Traci Thomas agrees. In an email, she told me that she would like to see “verified users or reviews that get a check (or something) in exchange for proving they’ve read the book.”

If Amazon will not put the resources into controlling the wrath of Goodreads, then what fairness requires here is a strong taboo: Do not review a book you haven’t read. We should stigmatize uninformed opinions the way we stigmatize clipping your nails on public transport, talking with your mouth full, or claiming that your peacock is a service animal. A little self-control from the rest of us will make it easier for writers to approach incendiary topics, safe in the knowledge that they will be criticized only for things they’ve actually done.

[virtualfoxkoala]

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[woodsborostabathon]

aka the user formerly known as ambersrequel (rip). ceci / 23 / she/her / lesbian / boricua but i get a lil yeehaw with it. i'm not quite as strict with my dni criteria as i am with my headcanons! basically just don't follow me if you're: an anti, under 18, or have a habit of bashing any of the media i'm into. i'm proship and don't play about my faves, so please don't get me started.

speaking of my faves, this is kinda-sorta an about, kinda-sorta a masterlist of them!

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒.

lolita. vc andrews' dollanganger & casteel family sagas. my best friend's exorcism. stephen king's work (mainly carrie & misery). the kingdom of little wounds. the miseducation of cameron post. the mortal instruments. twilight. the virgin suicides. richard siken's work. junji ito's work (mainly tomie, dissolving classroom, & uzumaki). dark water. toradora. blood on the tracks.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐒 (𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑).

scream franchise (esp. films 4-6). saw franchise. the ring. final destination franchise. nightmare on elm street (1984. dream warriors. & 2010). dark water (both vers.). the exorcist. tragedy girls. marrowbone. get out. us. barbarian. abigail. ready or not. candyman (both vers.). mama. orphan. fatal attraction. it (1990). house of wax. the witch. silent night deadly night. village of the damned (1995). bloody birthday. the bad seed (1956). the craft. forget me not. my bloody valentine (2009). sleepaway camp. jennifer's body. silent hill. hereditary. white: curse of the melody. cinderella (2006). sinister (1 & 2). carrie (1976 & 2013). sorority row. ouija: origin of evil. lisa frankenstein . . . full list on my letterboxd bc otherwise, i'd keep going forever.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐒 (𝐍𝐎𝐍-𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑).

lolita (both vers.). the virgin suicides. flowers in the attic (both vers.). but i'm a cheerleader. welcome to the dollhouse. bottoms. the addams family (1991 & values). the hunger games. twilight saga. suicide squad (2016 & 2021). thirteen. heavenly creatures. heathers. gone girl. the room.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐓𝐕 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖𝐒.

euphoria. you. interview with the vampire. house of the dragon. yellowjackets. supernatural. the summer i turned pretty. law & order: special victims unit. cruel summer. american horror story. that 70's show. criminal minds. ginny & georgia. shadowhunters. death note. mirai nikki. black mirror. love, victor. big love. deadly women.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐒.

the sims (mainly 2 & 4). crusader kings iii. phasmophobia. dead by daylight. roblox. content warning. fire emblem (awakening & fates).

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂.

xana. ice nine kills. lana del rey. ethel cain. glass animals. flower face. marina. pom pom squad. chappell roan. melanie martinez. the technicolors. idkhow. ayesha e. waterparks. hey violet. mother mother. taylor swift. sza. panic! at the disco. my chemical romance. the weeknd. olivia rodrigo. young miko.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒.

amber freeman. charlie walker. the kirsch siblings. sidney prescott. dewey riley. kirby reed. tara carpenter. chad meeks-martin. liv mckenzie. vince schneider. anika kayoko. amanda young. john kramer. carrie white. nancy thompson. quentin smith. jesse braun. louis & claudia de point du lac. lestat de lioncourt. shauna shipman. jackie taylor. dahlia williams. chris & regan macneil. samara morgan. angela baker. alessa gillespie. wendy christensen. esther coleman. mara chaffee. rhoda penmark. joe goldberg. love quinn. delilah & ellie alves. yuno gasai. misa amane. debbie brody. jennifer check. needy lesnicki. billy chapman. pearl. tomie kawakami. grace le domas. nan (ahs). alicent hightower. rhaenyra targaryen. helaena targaryen. jace velaryon. dolores haze. nate jacobs. maddy perez. cassie & lexi howard. fezco. gomez & morticia addams. wednesday addams. olivia benson. jeanette turner. jackie burkhart. steven hyde. the dollanganger siblings. heaven & tom casteel. isabelle & alec lightwood. magnus bane. simon lewis. carlisle & alice cullen. rosalie hale. cecilia lisbon. dawn wiener. cameron post. abby rivers. gretchen lang. harley quinn.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐒��𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 & 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒.

ocs. writing. the flds. some other cults + religious fundamentalism. psychology. video editing. video essays. book collecting (specifically 1st edition vca). lovecore + 'coquette' aesthetics. dogs. being silly & perhaps even goofy.

˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𝐌𝐘 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒.

slashersimmer (simblr), slashersweethearts (horror fandom ocs).

[louthesawgirl]

Saw Come Dancing- Round 3! 🍿🎬

After failing to garner votes, CECILIA PEDERSON has been eliminated following underwhelming Cha Cha Cha & Quickstep performances.

This round is Movie Week where the performances are themed around popular movies & their soundtracks… remember you’re voting to save your fave and the character with the least amount of votes is eliminated.

Song choices:

1. Daniel: Quickstep to “Mr Blue Sky” by ELO

2. Mark: Cha Cha Cha to “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer

3. Amanda: Quickstep to “Cabaret” by Liza Minelli

4. Simone: American Smooth to “Part Of Your World” by Halle Bailey

5. Jill: Rumba to “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish

6. Adam: Paso Doble to “The Matrix Theme” from ‘The Matrix’

7. Peter: Jive to “Misirlou/ You Never Can Tell” by Dick Hale & His Del-Tones/ Chuck Berry

8. Lawrence: Rumba to “Storybook Love” by Willy Deville

9. Lindsey: Charleston to “Men In Black” by Will Smith

10. Brit: Cha Cha Cha to “Moulin Rouge” by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Mya & Lil Kim

[gointothevvater]

Did you ever decide on a face claim for St Cecilia?

I did, actually! Raj Shoker is the closest I can find. She's got the bright eyes and everything!

Ceelie also has a body claim in Amina Blue (Pictured below), a speaking voice in Florence Pugh (Complete with the Oxford accent) and a singing voice in Lzzy Hale!

She's basically a full person now! 🖤

[citrinedecades]

It Begins with Death

We begin our legacy with Frederik Barrow and his wife Rosemary, who are recently married after their parents arranged their marriage. Frederik's older brother was meant to inherit the lease on the family's land, but he unfortunately passed away and the responsibility of taking care of the land and their aging parents has now fallen to Frederik.

Although Frederik has always been more of a loner, during the course of their courtship Rosemary managed to coax him out of his shell and they have slowly fallen in love.

His parents Wendell and Alaina live with them, while his sisters are both also married and have moved out.

His older sister Cecilia has married Geoffrey Baker, whose family is more well-off. They fell in love at a young age, but his parents were against the match and they delayed getting married until Geoffrey eventually won them over by declaring he wouldn't marry anyone else. They have been trying to have children for the last two years without success.

Meanwhile, his younger sister Gemma has just married Stuart Hale with very little enthusiasm. Her parents arranged the marriage quickly to ensure she was well taken care of if something happened to them, but she feels like they were just eager to get rid of her and doesn't feel ready to raise a family or take care of a husband. She finds consolation in the freedom she now has as a married woman with her own home and her own land to take care of.

The year is off to a bad start when the three siblings' mother passes away after being attacked by a wolf while foraging. Wendell, who already tends to be gloomy, is inconsolable and throws himself into working on the farm.

Despite the tragedy, the year ends on a high note with all three women - Rosemary, Cecilia and Gemma - announcing that they are pregnant.

Deaths:

Alaina Barrow - 1264-1300 (36 y.o.) - Attacked by wolf

0 notes

[arvonoon]

I like you, have this unorganised list of character names I’ve accumulated

Moxxi

Crash

Warden

Fawn

Samuel

Mack

Lacey

Georgia

Clarissa

Fredrick

Bonnie

Chime

Florence

Gregory

Kyler

Quincy

Paula

Emmet

Jack

Larry

Victor

Liam

Henry

Kich

Tambre

Eurypterid

Blithe

Jubilant/Jubilee

Barchan

Argent

Billow

Zephyr

Axel

Lyle

Leif

Ace

Grey

Alizarin

Arylide

Bleu

Sienna

Umber

Carmine

Carnelian

Celeste

Celadon

Cordovan

Crimson

Fuchsia

Cairo

Otto

Briggs

Colby

Rocco

Rory

Brielle

Emery

Oaklee

Vienna

Frankie

Aubriella

Clementine

Charli

Piper

Saffron

Cleo

Luz

Clover

Delphinium

Dogwood

Filbert

Hollyhock

Hyacinth

Magnolia

Mimosas

Mugwort

Mallow

Nosegay

Orchid

Cattleya

Osmunda

Ophir

Phlox

Rhododendron

Wisteria

Zinnia

Agate

Malachite

Topaz

Onyx

January

April

May

June

August

Jasper

Rosaline

Tourmaline

Lotte

Camibeth

Lillian

Parsley

Belliana

Moonbow

Bush

Zippy

Wyrd

Amaranth

Amberjack

Oribi

Joyce

Wilby

Leto

Jett

Dahlia

Harriet

Hilda

Loretta

Maude

Molly

Phoebe

Rook

Mallard

Auk

Kagu

Cashew

Yale

Yara

Sunny

Yvonne

Yoland

Yonder

Zora

Zaire

Zuri

Nifty

Breezy

Finicky

Gaud

Ampersand

Yogh

Wynn

Ethel

Hoosier

Jamie

Kaira

Fox

Hale

Orla

Rielle

Raine

Sabrina

Indigo

Axton

North

Augury

Alchemy

Sanguine

Florid

Chroma

Saffron

Ochre

Sepia

Tawny

Henna

Ecru

Lichen

Plumose

Beryl

Fir

Conifer

Creek

Rivulet

Bourn

Rill

Spate

Monsoon

Sleet

Sirocco

Graupel

Morass

Jovian

Presley

Clint

Helge

Reggie

Rosine

Cyrus

Bowie

Atlas

Phoebe

Hannah

Aster

Sirius

Leo

Jupiter

Neptune

Kara

Prima

Freyr

Freyja

Vili

Ymir

Ananke

Erebus

Gaea/Gaia

Theia

Arete

Bia

Corus

Zelos

Angelos

Charon

Hecate

Arke

Addax

Alk

Hemlock

Belladonna

Agave

Chervil

Laurelf

Verbena

Gazania

Amaranth

Holly

Snapdragon

Alyssum

Dicentra

Clarkia

Clematis

Bob

Rome

Chester

Arien

Granger

Yarrow

Eranthus

Aconite

Snowgum

Josephine

Aria

Adele

Agatha

Juno

Livvy

Marissa

Nerida

Noelle

Pandora

Simone

Wren

Verity

Georgina

Roxanne

Camille

Addison

Vince

Kei

Erin

Drew

Dakota

Morgan

Marley

Kingsley

Salem

Parker

Darrian

Vireo

Ocelot

Maxton

Raleigh

Zyrille

Pangea

Narah

Enzo

Aubade

Aureate

Kalon

Paralian

Serein

Mycelium

Reishi

Agarikon

Godfrey

Hughes

Rolfe

Keld

Howe

Mell

Liard

Lockram

Nacre

Nim

Nisus

Nivial

Nyala

Ingle

Inkhorn

Iridal

Iroko

Ixora

Rach

Rorulent

Russet

Genevieve

Urushiol

Cullet

Herman

Regent

Towser

Joyce

Gail

Dale

Goldie

Mildred

Irene

Leroy

Marian

Alvin

Milton

Leona

Roland

Leslie

Loretta

Hattie

Lottie

Vivian

Vera

Vance

Sloane

Elkhorn

Caligo

Achlys

Cecilia
Mila

Rufus

Cassia

Marius

Canigula

Lutrine

Astaroth

Arcturus

Cygnus

Cetus
Baxter

Correa

Marianna

Daphne

Ciar
Myra

Reuben

Rhoda

Manuel

Lori

Beverly

Colby

Elias

Brody

Colton
Mulberry
Myrrh

Myrtle

Holm

Valonia

Aleppo

Corsican

Leuke

Rhodon

Karya

Datura

Petra
Enoch

Ada

Adelaide

Edith
Argent
Iain

Maskrey

Alston

Bingley

[multifandotakugirl]

The Prankster

Alice Jane "AJ" Wilson Amber Corbin Anastasia "Ana" Lewis Andrews "Andre" Adair Anna Branson April Holt Astrid "Sassa" Isbert Blair Parker Bree Winters Carson Elliot Cherry McLaine Constance "Connie" Willis Cory Pierson Devonne "Devon" Flynn Ethan Morton Evangeline "Eva" Flynn Gabriella "Ella" Finn Dahlia Hills Isadora "Izzy" Night Jasmine "Jaz" Asher Kalista "Kallie" Ryans Katyona "Katya" Egorovna Kaycee "KC" Bethel Lyssa Dexter Mackenzie "Kenzie" Lewis Mallory "Mal" Hale Marina "Mara" Morozova Mercedes "Mercy" Orlando Mia Hills Michaela "Mickie" Griffin Nadine "Nadia" C. Mitchell Paris Stein Parker Howell Quintana "Quinn" Jones Reid Swayde Rowan Esteriac Sadie Lightborn Vega McLaren Vera Moen Emily Hiller Rickie Howell Damon Howell Ezra Howell Salvador Martell Medus Martell Harper Gardner Gabriel "Gabe" Flynn

The Victim of the Prank

Alessia Emerson Alexandra "Xandra" Dexter Allyson "Ally" Conrad Alyona "Aly" Levina Anastasia "Asia" Atkins Andrea "Drea" Adair Athena "Nina" Ivanova Audrey Laurent Bastet "Bast" Blackwell Bella Sawyer Briar Gillan Callum "Cal" K. Mitchell Cecilia "Cee" Bryson Clarabelle "CB" Jean Claudia "Clo" Marisol Cleo Walter Cyan Lightborn Daphne Elliot Faith Mitski "Amber Rothman" Gabrielle "Rielle" Finn Grace Kensington Hailee Flynn Ingrid Flores Irene Willis Juno Amsel Kalina Rachkova Laura Orlando Leona DeMarco Logan Parker Maeve Pierson Micah Steinhelm Morgan "Morri" Thorne Phaedra Martell Psyche Lyria Raina Grey Rebecca "Becca" Lewis Reigna Lightborn Riley Swayde Roxana "Roxy" Twain Sasha Nikorova Sielle Duvall Silvia "Silvy" Kingston Simon Esteriac Sonia Branson Tamsin "Amsi" Dallas-Henderson Teagan Night Wren Valentino "Lucille 'Lucy' Rose" Yuliya "Yulia" Agapova Yvette "Ivy" Hollis Zoe Holloway Christy Howell Helena Howell Maximus "Max" Flynn

Is your OC be more likely to be the prankster, or the victim of the prank?

[shikan0in-heizou]

∞ petals & blossoms edits

cecilia hale, worker at katz secondhand store

[thechaosmuses]

Below the cut is a list of all my original characters, from every fandom, organized by such. I figured I would go ahead and put this up, as well as a canon muse one, for my oc and canon starters so that way it's easier for y'all to see who is included without going to every separate muse list.

The Vampire Diaries

Elizabeth Haven Mikaelson Roman Ryker Mikaelson Erik Flynn Mikaelson Kareena Dawn Mikaelson Thyra Selene Mikaelson Karsyn Devyn Mikaelson Mateo Maxwell Mikaelson Serenity Faye Mikaelson Sawyer Finch Mikaelson Aurelia Nova Mikaelson Felix Ares Mikaelson Willow Luna Mikaelson Tobias Floyd Mikaelson Zephyr Raven Parker Zariyah Dove Parker Kennedy Taylor Parker Myles Zane Parker Mariana Joy Parker Paisley Juniper Parker Braeden Talia Salvatore Holden Atlas Salvatore Ezra Grant Salvatore Liberty Faye Salvatore Jensen Graham Gilbert Easton Reed Gilbert Jesse Jonathan Gilbert Elias Rhodes Gilbert Jazmyn Sophia Gilbert Atlas Rowan Petrova Titus Izaiah Petrova Kamen Maverick Pierce Natalie Adrianna Pierce Eleanor Marie Bennett Salem Elijah Bennett Gabriel Graham Gustin Belladonna Sharie Bennett Seraphina Rose Ward Theodore Joseph Brickenden Kaia Asherah Halloran Carter William Forbes Cameron Myles Lawrence Jameson Tyler Rosza Tatum Jaxson Lockwood Tatiana Jade Lockwood Taylor Jacob Lockwood Axel Madden Hughes Ashton Malik Hughes Sebastian Sawyer Sharpe Niall Nash Novak Montgomery Felix Langston Ophelia Esme Lovell Sapphire Lee McGuire Rami Calder McGuire Warren Jaxon Kingsley Jeremiah Michael Kenner Cecilia Jaklyn Labonair Rosemary Belle Whitlock Hadley Kamryn Fuller Kamryn Avery Marshall Lorella Diane St. John Andrew Kolton Rogers Blair Lilith Walsh Zachariah Cole Norwood Matthias Lucien Delacour Matias Camilo Garcia Cyrus Boyd Mikaelson (spn to tvdu) Harmony Iris Johnson (tw to tvdu) Chandler Matthew Rawlins (tw to tvdu)

Containment

Jubilee Fawn Ellison Carson Elijah Mayes Maddox Rhett Lancaster Malia Rayne Lancaster Makai Reid Lancaster Delilah Anne Malone Austin Blake Coleman Damian James Taylor

Teen Wolf

Aspen Bella Stilinski Adrian Archer Argent Addison Athena Argent Lyla Sage Martin Amaia Tala Alexander Malik Elias Hale Madelaine Emery Hale Isaiah Parker Lahey Amadora Constance Sharpe Callum Tate Raeken Dawson Cole Reynolds Jared Taylor Parrish Stephen Ezekiel Hemming

Supernatural

Amelia Mae Allen Melody Athena Hayes Lucilla Marie Nightstar Eden Faith Cruz Elijah Luke Cruz Valentina Rosalie Hart Adaliah Ember Darhk Alexandria Skye Earp Lillian Dahlia Campbell Adriel Xavier Grant Talon Colt Ashford Silas Kai Parker Josephina Jazmyn Walker Elyza Alice Pierson (tvdu to spn)

DC Comics

Kiera Jaylin Davis

Marvel

Kailee Elizabeth Holtz (hero and villain verse) Kaiden Edward Holtz (villain and hero verse) Camelia Waverly Maximoff Kaleb Jonas Barnes Maxine Josephine Rogers Melody Elizabeth Young Anastasia Sloane Lenkov Wren Nika Volkov Wynter Nadia Volkov Cordelia Ara Odinsdottir Amora Delphine Brantley Celeste Juliet Livingston Nikolai Nathaniel Novak (tvdu to mcu) Charmeine Ayla Hanlon (spn to mcu)

Stranger Things

Stella Blake Russell Scarlet Ember Ward Valerie Mae Henderson Mitchell Elliot Mayfield Meredith Eleanor Mayfield

Misc

Ambrosia Nyx Tartarus Acacius Nile Tartarus Duncan David Dalveron Damien Dawson Dalveron Brantley Cole Kline Rosalie Grace Anderson Rowena Greyson Andrews Ryker Grant Andrews Aviana Summer Archer Dylan Bryce Thatcher Sterling Atlas Ward

9-1-1

Evelyn June Buckley Ethan Jace Buckley Hazel Jayne Walker Hayes Jesse Walker Izaiah Edison Hendrix Waverly Chloe Hendrix Matilda Iris Monroe Fallon Pierce Richards

Book Babes

Cyra Lux Vespara Wilder Blaze Hawthorne Dion Ignis Vanserra Pyralis Jax Vanserra Warren Forrest Hayward Solana Aruna Meridian Anatole Cyrus Solari Althea Zaria Cadlawon Tynan Kerrell Visita Kirsi Gwyneira Nieves Lyall Colden Whittaker Caspian Calder Conway Maribelle Aelia Sommer

Zodiacs

Wyatt Keegan aka Aries Kianni Phoenix aka Sagittarius Leon Cyrus aka Leo River Mira aka Cancer Dylan Lucas aka Pisces Josephine Nova aka Scorpio Conrad Atlas aka Taurus Kailynn Amelia aka Capricorn Taron Sage aka Virgo Alice Skye aka Libra Aaron Micah aka Aquarius Adelaide June aka Gemini Arianna Rose aka Gemini

[gettin-frey-wild]

Catching Up

I fell off the documenting of the game, and then I fell off the game for a while. Oops. Lops to catch up on! Here we goooooo.

I built a house for the Hale-Freys to move into. The house doesn't look great from the outside, but it functions. Since Felix had joined the Moonwood Collective, I included a sunroom for growing a couple of plants to contribute to his self-sufficiency, and a shed to act as a wolfin-out room.

Phillip is a cool teen now!

Cecilia moved out and married the love of her life, Nepenthe Pappas, who I created slightly before Cecilia moved out on her own.

Phoebe started befriending her cousins (technically first cousins, once removed). In the first pic, Nehemia Charm-Frey (Anastasia's son), who is giving some serious Just Like Bart vibes. In the second, Liam Shoals-Breen.

I moved Francesca back in with Bianca and Dominic, because I want to reduce the risk of losing their urn.

I took matters into my own hand with Anastasia. I tried Death by WooHoo, but she and her partner were both too resilient for that I guess, so I ran out of patience and went with Death by Bunny instead.

Next page

[dingviant-art]

Cecilia, now in light and dark flavors

Ko-Fi

Commission Info

Webcomic

[yxlenas]

Allisaac + Keeping a bedside vigil so they aren’t alone

Canon divergent post s5 ep17. Derek & Allison bonding, hurt Isaac.

“I’m sorry,” Allison whispers. She’s holding Isaac’s limp hand and watching his chest rise and fall to the ventilator’s mechanical rhythm. Derek looks up from where he’s smoothing a washcloth over Isaac’s sweaty, fevered forehead.

“Why?” Derek murmurs, laying the inside of his wrist on Isaac’s burning temple and grimacing. Allison squeezes Isaac’s hand and then leans forward, resting her head on the thin hospital mattress.

“I did horrible things,” she chokes out. It takes Derek a minute to realize what she’s talking about, and he doesn’t know what to say for a few seconds. In the bed Isaac shifts and his mouth moves around the tube in it. They both freeze, staring Isaac down to see if he’s waking up, but Isaac just twitches one more time and goes still. Allison sniffles against the sheets.

“Allison,” Derek says, going back to wiping Isaac’s face, “You have more than made up for it.”

“But I never apologized,” she whimpers in the blankets, “I did terrible things, I nearly killed you all, and I never apologized for it.”

“Why is this all coming up now?” Derek asks, setting down the washcloth on Isaac’s forehead and taking Isaac’s other limp hand. Isaac is in pain, black leaping up Derek’s forearm almost instantly. Derek sucks in a sharp breath and takes as much as he can as Allison watches with tear filled eyes. She’s biting her nails on the hand not holding Isaac’s, and Derek reaches over and takes her hand away from her mouth.

“Thanks,” Allison whispers, and doesn’t let go of his hand, “Seeing him in pain makes me think about how it was me causing the pain.”

“Allison, he’s more than forgiven you, and you’ve saved all our asses more than enough times to earn forgiveness.”

“Not from Erica,” she croaks, “Not from Boyd.” And then the dam breaks and all of the stress Allison has been under since last night’s showdown with La Bete and Isaac nearly dying (He still might, the traitorous voice in Derek’s head that sounds a lot like Peter hisses) takes over. Allison crumples onto the bed, pillowing her head in her arms and shaking with sobs. She lets go of both his and Isaac’s hands and tangles her fingers in her hair, tugging at it. Derek stands and brushes a kiss over Isaac’s forehead, then gently takes Allison into his arms. She howls almost as loud as one of his wolves and fights him, hands coming up to smack against his chest. She almost catches his jaw with her fist but Derek just cradles her to him and watches the fight bleed out of her until she’s slumped against him, barely on her own socked feet, crying into his shirt. Derek scoops her into his arms, looping one arm under her knees, and starts to sway. He settles in the recliner after a few moments, letting her curl into a ball in his lap, and strokes her hair, keeping one eye on Isaac.

Allison mumbles something into his shirt.

“Hmmm?” He asks, pushing a piece of her hair back behind her ear. Allison pulls her face out of Derek’s chest and looks up at him with swollen brown eyes.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she says, voice raspy from tears, “You don’t like me. You only tolerate me because it makes Isaac happy.”

“You’re growing on me,” Derek says, and Allison smiles weakly. It doesn’t reach her eyes, but her cheeks dimple.

“There she is,” Derek says, “Want me to go back to my chair?”

Allison shakes her head, wiggling a little so she’s slightly less on top of him, but keeping her legs draped over his thighs and her head on his collarbone.

“I’m scared,” she admits, curling her hands in his shirt hem. Derek picks up Isaac’s nearest hand so Isaac knows he’s not alone, and Allison reaches across him to stroke a few fingers over Isaac’s wrist, feeling for his pulse even though his heart monitor is beeping steadily and the ventilator is making his chest rise and fall and rise and fall. Isaac’s eyes move beneath his eyelids.

“He’s strong,” Derek says.

“Not just him,” Allison says, “That thing. It’s terrifying, Derek. It did this to Isaac, hurt him so badly he can’t heal from it, slowed down Scott’s healing too. And I’m not focused, which is bad, but i can’t focus on anything but how sick Isaac is-”

“Okay,” Derek murmurs, “Alright. It’s going to be okay.”

“How can you be sure?” Allison says, slurring her words sleepily, getting heavier and more languid in his lap. Derek knows she didn’t sleep longer than a few hours last night while they waited for Isaac to be done in surgery, and even that was under duress. He starts running a hand through her hair, knowing from watching Isaac interact with her that it’ll put her to sleep fast.

“I’m not,” he admits, “But I’m attempting to become an optimist.”

He falls asleep eventually, after Melissa finds them curled in the recliner and covers them both with blankets, Allison a warm steady weight in his arms and Isaac’s hand in his.

When he wakes up, all hell is breaking loose.

~

Allison wakes up because Derek is shaking her shoulder, and Isaac’s monitors are going crazy. Derek is holding Isaac’s head with the hand not shaking her, eyes locked on Isaac’s twisted, panicked face.

“Isaac,” she gasps, sitting upright and grabbing his hands in hers before he can wrench the tube out of his throat. His eyes are wide and half golden, the expression on his face terrified and frantic. Allison presses the call button next to his bed. Derek presses his forehead to Isaac’s and presses one of Isaac’s hands to his chest, over his heart. Isaac groans around the ventilator tube and thrashes

“You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay,” she chants, very thankful he’s not werewolf strong right now. It takes almost no effort to keep the hand Derek isn’t holding still, and she presses it into the mattress with one hand and strokes through his curls with the other.

“Just relax,” she says frantically, as Isaac tries to buck off the bed but is stopped by Derek, “It’s going to be fine, the nurses are on their way.”

It feels like centuries before the nurses get there and Allison is being shunted away from the bed, dragged back by Derek. Isaac makes an anxious moaning sound around the tube when she’s forced to let go, still gagging constantly. Allison tries to break Derek’s hold on her with a high pitched keening sound, desperate to get to Isaac’s side as he fights harder.

“Okay Isaac, cough for me-”

“Take a deep breath-”

And then the tube is out and Isaac gags one more time, hard, and a nurse gets a basin under his mouth before he spits up bloody bile, head rolling back on the pillow with a sob.

“Ally,” he rasps in a weak, stripped raw voice, and she pushes through the crowd of doctors and takes his hand, Derek on her heels. Derek sits on the edge of the bed and brushes Isaac’s hair away from his forehead.

“I’m here, baby,” she murmurs, squeezing his limp hand. It’s sweaty and too hot, and he keeps rolling his head on his pillow like he’s looking for someone. She reaches up to set the damp cloth from the bedside table on his creased forehead. A nurse hands her a cup of ice chips and Allison coaxes him to open his mouth. Isaac’s eyes roll up to look at Derek, and Derek palms his cheek and forces a smile.

“M’ssa,” he mumbles around a mouthful of ice chips, big eyes searching the nurses checking him over. His oxygen is dropping with the normal cannula so one of them pulls out a high flow cannula. Isaac whimpers and tugs away from it, lips tinged blue.

“Here,” Allison says, “Let me. Can someone page Melissa McCall?”

Isaac lets her put the cannula on, wrinkling his nose when Derek tapes it down. He looks five seconds from falling asleep and at the same time horrifically uncomfortable, half writhing against the sheets. Allison flips the cloth on his forehead over and watches as Isaac reaches for Derek.

“Wanna go home,” he croaks, throat raw from the tube, “Take me home? Derek, please take me home.”

“I can’t,” Dere murmurs, “You need to be here to get better.”

“Werewolf,” he mumbles, and then Melissa comes in and he makes a little noise in the back of his throat.

“Hi, sweetheart,”�� Melissa says, pressing a hand to Isaac’s cheek. Isaac makes a face and then tugs on the cannula.

“Want it off,” he croaks, “I don’t like it. Itchy.”

“You need it, honey,” Melissa says gently, “please leave it on.”

Isaac leaves it, turning his head into Melissa’s palm and away from Derek’s with a croaking whimper. Allison squeezes his hand.

“Are you in pain,” she asks gently, because he looks a little more comfortable now that Melissa is here and he’s surrounded by pack scents, but not by much. His face twitches and he nods once, sharp and short. Derek takes a deep breath and black veins start running up his arm from where his hand rests on Isaac’s cheek. Allison presses his pain pump and he stiffens until he goes completely limp as the drugs kick in, head lolling to the side and into Derek’s touch.

“Can I go home now,” he whispers at Melissa, big blue eyes wide in a way that he knows works on all three of them.

“No, Isaac, you can’t.” Melissa says gently, stroking his hair. Isaac whines a little and tosses his head

“Ally,” he mumbles, “Come up here?”

“I can’t, baby,” she says, and Isaac’s face scrunches and tears run down his cheeks.

“Derek?”

“Sorry, kiddo. You’ve got too many tubes and wires connected to you.”

Isaac coughs on his next sob and then starts gagging, turning his head to the side and wheezing. Derek lifts his head off the pillow until Isaac manages to clear his airway into a tissue Melissa presses against his mouth. Isaac looks so miserable it makes Allison’s stomach hurt.

“Oh, Isaac,” she breathes, and scoots her chair as close to the bed as possible. Isaac’s shoulders hitch with a sob that makes his face crinkle in pain and the tears come faster.

“Do you want something to help you sleep?” Melissa asks gently, “I know it’s a lot of work to come off a vent.”

“I want to go home,” he whimpers miserably, “I don’t want to sleep.”

“Isaac,” Derek says gently, voice pitched low and soothing, “Why don’t you try it? You’re hurting pretty bad, and I know you’re exhausted.”

“Don’t leave,” Isaac sobs, “You’ll leave if I go to sleep, you’ll leave me here-”

“No,” Melissa says, “Someone will be here with you as long as you want them here. I pulled some strings.”

“Derek?” Isaac whimpers, head falling to the side and eyes sliding out of focus, “Allison?”

“We’ll be right here,” Allison says, stroking his hair away from his face. Derek traces his mouth with an ice cube and Isaac opens his mouth for some more even as his eyes cross and start falling shut.

“Don’t wanna be alone,” he wheezes. Melissa checks the monitors.

“You won’t be,” she promises. Derek squeezes Isaac’s hand.

“Promise?” he slurs, almost completely unconscious.

“Forever,” she says. She leans down and presses their lips together as Isaac sighs on a breath, heartbeat going steady and slow in sleep, “I promise.”

[weirdesplinder]

Top ten fantasy

Qualcuno ha espresso curiosità verso i miei gusti di genere fantasy, e la risposta è piuttosto breve: mi piacciono i fantasy validi, non troppo complicati, magari con un che di classico, non troppo moderni, e con un pizzico di romanticismo. Chiedo poco no?

Scherzi a parte, si sa che i gusti sono estremamente soggettivi ed è anche capitato mi sia innamorata di libri che non corrispndevano affatto al mio ideale.

Oggi vi presento la mia top ten fantasy della vita, i dieci libri di genere fantasy che amo di più e credetemi è stato difficile dover citare solo 10 libri, in realtà sarebbero stati molti di più.

Non spaventatevi se non vederete tanti classici, tipo il Ciclo di Shannara, che ho letto ma non ho inserito, poichè ho scelto in base al numero di riletture che ne ho fatto e al mio maore personale per loro.

Spero possa esservi utile se state cercando spunti di lettura:

1.Serie MIRROR di Stephen R. Donaldson

Duologia formata dai libri:  Lo specchio dei sogni  e I cavalieri dello specchio

Link: https://amzn.to/3D681L8

Trama: Terisa Morgan è una ragazza che vive sola in una casa piena di specchi., che usa per rassicurarsi di esistere, poichè a volte si sente talmente inutile da avere l'impressione di scomparire. Ma un giorno crede addirittura di essere impazzita quando da uno degli specchi esce un uomo. Questi la spinge a venire con lui attraverso lo specchio in un mondo che ha bisogno di lei. Terisa non gli crede ma sente di doverlo seguire…finendo così in un mondo pieno di magia ma sconvolto dalla guerra.

La mia opinione: serie classica ma innovativa al tempo stesso, ha i suoi anni, ma non invecchia mai, l’ho riletta mille volte ormai e mi piace sempre. La trama è semplice, ma non troppo, con molti personaggi interessanti e diversi filoni narrativi, non seguiamo solo i protagonisti, salvare il regno sarà un lavoro collettivo di più individui tutti diversi e tutti molto ben descritti, sia buoni che cattivi. Serie molto umana e ironica ma anche romantica, ma anche seria...Veramente superconsigliata.

2. Serie Sharing knife e di Lois McMaster Bujold

Quadrilogia composta dai libri: Beguilment, Legacy, Passage e Horizon

Inedita in italiano

Link: https://amzn.to/2Rvobe9

Trama: La serie è ambientata in un mondo simile al West, ma in realtà molto diverso.C'era una volta uno stupendo regno magico, chiamto Regno dei sette laghi. Un regno governato da un re e da diversi lord in grado di manipolare la natura e i loro stessi corpi grazie alla magia con cui erano nati e che avevano coltivato tramite matrimoni combinati. Per secoli il regno aveva prosperato, e le leggende ancora oggi parlano di navi volanti con vele d'aergento, animali fantastici, ricchezze infinite, lord quasi immortali di una bellezza abbagliante, e dei che camminavano fra gli umani. Ma poi la sete di sempre più potere aveva causato una terribile guerra. Nessuno ricorda bene cosa l'iniziò, alcune leggende dicono che il sovrano in cerca di aumentare il suo potere cercò di aprire un portale verso un'altra dimensione, altri che rapì un dio….tutto ciò che è certo è che fu trasformato da quella magia in qulacosa di mostruoso, qualcosa che stava consumando il mondo intero assorbendone l'essenza. I lord si unirono per combatterlo e, non si sa come, riuscirono a spezzarlo. Non lo uccisero, ma lo frantumarino in milioni di pezzi che in una grande esplosione finirono sparsi per il mondo.Ora secoli e secoli dopo quel regno non esiste più, nè esistono più i laghi, ma vivono i discendenti di quei Lord che ormai però non posseggono che una capacità magica ridotta e molto diluita e che scontano la loro pena cacciando ancora i pezzi di quel re che tentano di riafuorare ed evolversi assorbendo l'esenza di cose persone e animali. Lakewalkers si fanno chiamare.E sono spesso in conflitto con i contadini, i discenenti di quel popolo privo di magia che viveva felice in quel regno e che solo ora dopo secoli ha iniziato a riappropriarsi dei terreni abbandonati perchè privi di vita.Questi due gruppi non comprendono gli usi e i costumi l'uno degli altri, e molto non ricordano del loro passato, vivono vicini ma separati, come indiani e coloni, ognuno con le loro usanza e ognuno convinto che l’altro poppolo sia barbaro. Nonostante questo e tutti i pregiudizi che ne conseguono, una giovane colona, Fawn e un Lakewalker, Dag, si innamorano e decidono di sposarsi. Ma dovranno superare molto più delle semplici barriere culturali, poichè tra loro c’è anche una grande differenza di età, lui ha 55 anni (ma ne dimostra meno di 40), mentre lei solo 18, una gravidanza non voluta, il fantasma della prima moglie di lui e il suo handicap (Dag ha solo una mano, l’altra gli è stata tagliata).

La mia opinione: Naturalmente trattandosi di un fantasy non mancano alcuni elementi magici, coltelli fatti d’osso con proprietà speciali e mostri da sconfiggere, ma sono veramente minimi, così come la storia in sè è piuttosto semplice ed è proprio per questa semplicità che l’autrice imbeve i personaggi e il loro mondo di una profondità e un realismo veramente fantastici, e affronta temi immortali come il pregiudizio, il sacrificio, la famiglia e naturalmente l’amore.

3. Trilogia di Kushiel di Jacqueline Carey

Composta dai libri: Il dardo e la rosa, La prescelta e l’erede, la maschera e le tenebre

Link: https://amzn.to/34mNDWq

Il regno di Terre d’Ange è nato dal passaggio di angeli sulla terra. Umani e immortali si sono uniti dando vita a un popolo in cui tracce dell’origine ultraterrena sono ancora visibili.Qui nasce Phèdre, il cui destino è segnato da un dettaglio fisico: una piccola macchia scarlatta nell’occhio sinistro, marchio di Kushiel, impietoso angelo della giustizia. I prescelti di Kushiel, gli anguisette, sentono il dolore fisico come piacere, caratteristica vantaggiosa in una società dai costumi sociali liberi come Terre d’Ange, fondata su un unico precetto: ama a tuo piacimento. Prima anguisette da generazioni, il dono e la maledizione di Phèdre la rendono uno strumento utile in una terra scossa da intrighi politici e giochi di corte. Educata dal misterioso Anafiel Delaunay, infatti, la ragazza imparerà ad usare le proprie abilità di cortigiana per ottenere informazioni diventando una spia abile ed efficiente. Ma quando il tradimento cambia la sua vita la ragazza dovrà imparare a vedere sotto le apparenze e a fare affidamento sulla propria, difficile, natura di anguisette.Confidando sulle proprie risorse e protetta da un giovane monaco guerriero, Joscelin Verreuil, Phèdre si muoverà tra intrighi e battaglie per difendere la propria terra, incontrando divinità, regine e barbari in un percorso che la porterà lontano.

La mia opinione: Un romanzo che esce dagli schemi tradizionali, molto bello e avvincente. Quando leggi la trama ti aspetti un certo genere di libro, ma quando lo sfogli ti ritrovi con qualcosa di molto diverso. In realtà è un affresco di respiro epico: re e divinità, corti di sapore rinascimentale, lotte civili e scontri con i barbari, e infine l'eroe (donna, in questo caso) che aiutata da vari comprimari deve eseguire una importante missione e salvare la sua nazione. Stupendo. Le ho deicato post specifici, perciò leggeteli per scoprire di più su questa serie.

4. Trilogia di Bitterbynde, di Cecilia Dart-Thornton

Composta dai libri La ragazza della torre, La dama delle isole e La signora di Erith

Link: https://amzn.to/3F6WSdC

Trama: In un mondo in cui creature misteriose infestano la terra degli uomini e vagare da soli nella notte vuol dire andare incontro a morte certa, gli umili servi che vivono nella Torre di Isse, al servizio dei Cavalieri della Tempesta, non riescono a credere ai propri occhi quando una giovane, muta e dal volto sfigurato, si presenta sporca e affamata alla loro porta. Senza alcun ricordo della sua vita passata, e senza neanche conoscere il suo nome, dopo anni di umiliazioni la ragazza decide di fuggire e di cercare l'unica persona che può guarirla e restituirle così una vita. Romanzo d'esordio dell'autrice, è anche il primo della trilogia “The Bitterbynde”.

La mia opinione: trilogia moderna di stampo classico che riprende l’idea del mondo Faerie delle leggende celtiche. molto affascinante, ha qualche difettto di ritmo nel mezzo, e cambia di tono almento tre volte in modo drastico, ma la considero comunque un piccolo gioiellino.Se non cercare libri dal ritmo serrato, ma anzi vi piacciono le descrizioni dettagliate e le storie all’interno di altre storie, credo possa fare per voi.

5. Serie di Darkover, di Marion Zimmer Bradley

Link: https://amzn.to/3Ceq9kB

Trama: Questa saga è ambientata nel futuro, gli uomini hanno iniziato a colonizzare lo spazio, e una delle loro navi, naufraga sul pianeta Darkover. Un pianeta dal sole rosso, molto strano e mistico abitato da esseri dotati di poteri psichici e telepatici. Ora gli umani sono dispersi e durante i secoli in cui rimangono isolati su questo pianeta si incrociano con gli alieni e ne nasce una popolazione umana ma dotata di poteri psichici. Questi umani speciali, costruiscono una loro società medievale, si scontrano in guerre, si incrociano fra loro cercando di accrescere i loro poteri…..finché millenni dopo i terrestri, che ormai hanno colonizzato molti pianeti e costruito una federazione galattica, riscoprono il pianeta di Darkover. I Darkovani intelligentemente nascondono ai terrestri i loro poteri ma la situazione è molto tesa. I terrestri vogliono controllare e sfruttare il nuovo pianeta , mentre i Darkovani rivogliono la loro autonomia. Questa, in soldoni, la trama generale della saga, ma ogni libro è una storia a sè, legata a una diversa epoca della storia di Darkover. Si parte dal naufragio, passando per i secoli bui, per arrivare all’incontro con i terrestri ei vari scontri che ne scaturiranno.

Di seguito la sequenza esatta dei libri della saga:

1)      Naufragio sulla terra di Darkover

2)      La signora delle tempeste

3)      La donna del falco

4)      Il sapiente di Darkover

5)      Gli eredi di Hammerfell

6)      La riscoperta di Darkover

7)      La spada incantata

8)      La torre proibita

9)      La matrice spezzata

10)  I regni di Darkover

11)  La città della magia

12)  Ritorno a Darkover

13)  Il signore di Storn

14)  L’erede di Hastur

15)   Le foreste di Darkover

16)   L’esilio di Sharra

17)   Il ribelle di Thendara

18)   La sfida degli Alton

19)   La matrice ombra

20)   Attacco a Darkover

La mia opinione: I miei libri preferiti della saga sono La sfida degli Alton, La Matrice Ombra e Attacco a Darkover, che formano una loro piccola trilogia all’interno della serie. Questi tre libri raccontano la storia di Marguerida Alton: Partita da Darkover all’età di sei anni, Margaret Alton vi fa ritorno molti anni dopo per studiarne il patrimonio musicale. Della sua terra - Darkover - Margaret Alton non riesce a ricordare più nulla, e forse nemmeno lo desidera. Dei pochi, travagliati anni trascorsi sul pianeta del Sole Rosso, le restano soltanto un padre perennemente in fuga e frammenti di un terrore senza nome che devasta i suoi sonni. Ma il suo arrivo porta lo scompiglio in quella comunità chiusa e legata alle tradizioni. Margaret infatti, quale erede dell’antica e nobile dinastia dei Comyn, possiede il Dono (una straordinaria facoltà telepatica risvegliatasi con il suo arrivo a Darkover). A poco a poco Margaret, fino ad ora ignara dei suoi poteri e della storia del suo pianeta natale, scopre oscuri episodi legati al suo passato di bambina, trovandosi suo malgrado intrappolata in una rete di avvenimenti più grandi di lei.

                              6. Duologia Queen’s quest, di Deborah Hale

Composta dai libri: Il risveglio del re e La regina predestinata (in italiano solo due libri sono stati pubblicati, in inglese sono quattro, ma comunque la serie anche con due ha un suo finale)

Link: https://amzn.to/3ojRcq1

Trama: Nel pacifico regno di Umbria, da tempo sotto il giogo degli spietati Han, l’anziano mago Langbard ha trasmesso il proprio sapere alla sua giovane pupilla e apprendista per prepararla ad affrontare il destino che l’attende. Maura è infatti la Regina Predestinata, colei che, secondo un’antica profezia, troverà e risveglierà il leggendario Re Dormiente dal suo secolare sonno magico e che lo aiuterà a restituire la libertà al suo popolo. Quando la situazione precipita e i feroci invasori uccidono Langbard, alla fanciulla non resta che partire alla ricerca del misterioso re. Suo unico compagno e alleato è il fuorilegge Rath, un giovane pericoloso come i nemici da cui entrambi fuggono, e che tuttavia esercita su di lei una potente attrazione. Durante il lungo e difficile viaggio il coraggio e la forza di Maura saranno messi a dura prova, eppure il rischio maggiore che dovrà affrontare sarà proprio quello di innamorarsi dell’uomo sbagliato.

La mia opinione: a confronto con le altre serie o romanzi singoli di questa lista, questa serie è veramente molto ma molto più semplice e basica, eppure a me, nella sua semplicità è sempre piaciuta molto. Niente colpi di scena, ma una storia semplice e romantica, da leggere senza impegno, che ogni tanto ci vuole.

7. Serie Study, o di Ixia, di Maria V. Snyder

Composta dai libri  Dark Moon La farfalla di pietra, Silver Moon Il serpente di pietra, Red moon ali di fuoco e altri tre libri però inediti in italiano Shadow study, Night study e Dawn Study

Link: https://amzn.to/3nb6kGA

Trama: Condannata a morte per omicidio, Yelena ha un'unica possibilità: diventarel'assaggiatore ufficiale del Comandante Ambrose, capo del regime militare diIxia. Ma le torture subite sembrano averle rubato l'anima, facendo di lei unsimulacro vuoto, una farfalla di pietra simile al ciondolo donatole dal suoinatteso salvatore. Emozioni e sentimenti sono banditi entro le severe muradell'antico palazzo reale, dove nessuno, amico o nemico, è ciò che appare...Compreso Valek: uomo affascinante e spietato assassino, maestro di veleni eraffinato scultore, sembra essere lui a detenere le chiavi del cuore dellafanciulla e l'antidoto al veleno mortale che le ha somministrato a tradimento.Una lotta per la sopravvivenza che investe l'esistenza stessa del pianeta,intrighi misteriosi e sconcertanti verità, e una protagonista, Yelena, checerca di ritrovare se stessa per spiccare il volo, di nuovo viva e palpitante.

La mia opinione: non ho concluso questa serie mi sono fermata se non ricordo male al terzo libro, ma mi aveva talmente colpito il primo libro, che è rimasta comunque una di quelle serie che mi piace consigliare, almeno il primo libro, perchè non è un fantasy tipico, ma nemmeno troppo moderno, con una buona trama. Parte molto ma molto bene, per poi calare nei libri successivi purtroppo, ma ci sono affezionata perciò rientra nella mia classifica più per affetto che per altro.

8. Il signore degli anelli, di Tolkien

Link: https://amzn.to/3HiUKBm

Trama: Composto da tre romanzi pubblicati in Gran Bretagna fra il 1954 e il 1955, Il Signore degli Anelli è uno dei più grandi cicli narrativi del XX secolo. J.R.R. Tolkien ha creato un mondo e un epos che da sempre affascinano e influenzano lettori e scrittori di tutto il mondo. La Compagnia dell'Anello si apre nella Contea, un idilliaco paese agricolo dove vivono gli Hobbit, piccoli esseri lieti, saggi e longevi. La quiete è turbata dall'arrivo dello stregone Gandalf, che convince Frodo a partire per il paese delle tenebre, Mordor, dove dovrà gettare nelle fiamme del Monte Fato il terribile Anello del Potere, giunto nelle sue mani per una serie di incredibili circostanze. Un gruppo di hobbit lo accompagna e strada facendo si aggiungono alla banda l'elfo, il nano e alcuni uomini, tutti uniti nella lotta contro il Male. La Compagnia affronta un cammino lungo e pericoloso, finché i suoi membri si disperdono, minacciati da forze oscure, mentre la meta sembra allontanarsi sempre di più.

La mia opinione: non si può parlare di fantasy senza nominare questo romanzo è impossibile. Un classico che va letto punto e basta. Poi ognuno può preferire alcune sue parti o averne una lettura più o meno approfondita, ma va letto, perchè è un mondo non solo un semplice romanzo.

9. Serie Abhorsen di Garth Nix

Trilogia composta dai libri Sabriel, Lirael e Abhorsen

Link: https://amzn.to/3c3kljh

Trama: La protagonista vive nella civile Ancelterra ed è una delle migliori allieve del prestigioso Wyverley College, però è nata al di là del Muro, nell'Antico Reame, una terra misteriosa che, a quanto si mormora, è governata dalla magia. Ed è nientemeno che la figlia di Abhorsen, un potente mago cui è affidato un compito fondamentale: impedire ai Morti di oltrepassare il confine tra il loro Regno e il Mondo dei Vivi. È dunque con un certo timore che, a poche settimane dalla fine della scuola, Sabriel aspetta l'arrivo del padre per discutere con lui del suo futuro. Ma il timore lascia il posto allo sgomento quando, invece dell'amato genitore, a Sabriel si presenta un messaggero con una rivelazione sconcertante: lo spirito di Abhorsen è prigioniero, incatenato nel Regno dei Morti, e soltanto lei può salvarlo, liberando così anche l'Antico Reame da una creatura malvagia, decisa a far trionfare i Morti sui Vivi.

La mia opinione: se seguite da un po’ il mio blog saprete che non mi piacciono molto i romanzi adolescenziali o young adult, ma per questo faccio un eccezione. Sono dei gran bei libri, che trattano anche temi molto pesanti, ma con la giusta leggerezza. Il mio preferito è Sabriel, poichè il suo gatto da solo vale il libro.

10.Serie Chronicles of the Warlands, di Elizabeth Vaughan

Composta dai libri Warprize, Warsworn e Warlord. Poi alla trilogia principale si sono aggiunti anche Warcry e Wardancer che però hanno protagonisti diversi.

Inedita in italiano

Link: https://amzn.to/3wEVVpP

Trama: Lara, sorrelastra del Re del regno di Xy, è una guaritrice. Per anni ha studiato medicina e quando i guerrieri delle pianure attaccano il regno, seguendo i precetti della sua arte, ella si prende cura anche dei nemici catturati in battaglia. Incontra così, un guerriero bruno dagli occhi blu verso il quale si sente attratta, senza sapere che lui è il capo dell’esercito nemico e che pretenderà di averla come Warprize, in cambio della pace. Ma cos’ esattamente un warprize, cosa diventerà Lara per il guerriero Keir? Una schiava o qualcosa di molto più importante? 

La mia opinione:  Si tratta di una serie fantasy ben scritta, avvincente, scritta in modo chiaro e scorrevole, che non contiene magia (o quasi), nè mostri, nè esseri soprannaturali. E che, ciliegina sulla torta, parte da un presupposto molto ma molto simile alla storia di Daenerys nel Trono di spade. Infatti la protagonista della serie, Lara, viene venduta dal fratello al capo di un popolo nomade e barbaro in cambio della pace, ma ciò che doveva essere un futuro degradante si trasformerà in una storia d'amore, seppure resa difficile dagli usi e costumi di quel popolo così diverso….Inoltre il tutto è reso ancora più interessante dal fatto che Lara non è passiva come Daenerys all'inizio, ed è un'abile guaritrice che porta perciò doni preziosi al suo nuovo popolo….

Lo so dovrei citare solo 10 libri, ma lasciatemi fare una Menzione particolare:

L’ombra della maledizione, di Lois MacMaster Bujold

Primo libro della  Trilogia di Chalìon

Link: https://amzn.to/3Dcrf1F

Trama: Provato nel corpo e nello spirito da una lunghissima prigionia, il comandante Lupe dy Cazaril ritorna nei regno di Chalion, in cui aveva servito come paggio, e viene nominato tutore di Royesse, bella e intelligente sorella dell'erede al trono. Ma quell'occasione di riscatto si trasforma presto in un incubo, poiché Cazaril scopre che a corte proprio quegli uomini che lo hanno tradito ora occupano posti di grande potere. E scopre soprattutto che l'intera stirpe di Chalion è gravata da una terribile maledizione, che non può essere annullata se non con la magia più nera…

La mia opinione: credo ormai si sia chiaro che amo questa utrice, la trovo molto innovativa e con questo romanzo lo conferma ncora una volta. Fa parte di una serie ma è autoconclusivo, poichè gii latri hanno altri protagonisti e il protagonista non è il classico eroe anzi è il classico personaggio secondario. La magia di questo universo è stranissima e affascinante, la trama incalzante, che dire se non consigliarvelo.

[dccomicsnews]

Review: Harley Quinn 1x03 - So You Need A Crew?

Review: HARLEY QUINN 1×03 – “SO YOU NEED A CREW?”

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Director: Cecilia Aranovich Hamilton

Writer: Jess Dweck

Starring: Katie Cuoco, Alan Tyduk, Lake Bell, Tony Hale

Reviewed By: Derek McNeil

    Summary

Harley Quinn 1×03 – “So You Need A Crew?: Realising that she needs a crew to pull off legit heists that will attract the Legion of Doom’s attention,…

[citrinedecades]

1300s Decade End Summary

As of the end of 1309, the Barrow household now counts 9 sims:

Frederik Barrow • 27 years old • Head of the household Rosemary Barrow • 25 years old Stefanie Barrow • 8 years old Brayden Barrow • 7 years old • Heir Frederik Jr. Barrow • 7 years old • Spare Noah Barrow • 5 years old Cailan Barrow • 3 years old Adrianna Barrow • 6 months old Gabriella Barrow • 4 years old

Our first side household, the Bakers, counts 8 sims:

Cecilia Baker (Barrow) • 29 years old Geoffrey Baker • 31 years old Katharine Baker • 6 years old Vasco Baker • 4 years old • Heir Matteo Baker • 3 years old • Spare Zayne Baker • 2 years old Vincenzo Baker • 1 year old Lucia Baker • 3 months old

Our second household, the Verviers, counts 4 sims:

Gemma Barrow AKA Emma Verviers • 25 years old Sir Amis Verviers • 47 years old Sir Lucan Verviers • 26 years old Tobias Verviers • 23 years old

There were 21 births, out of which 13 are still alive. Our average age at death is 10.7.

We had a total of 11 deaths: Alaina Barrow 1264-1300 Ann Hale 1301-1301 Thalia Baker 1301-1302 Enzo Baker 1302-1302 Brycen Hale 1301-1302 Emmalyn Hale 1302-1302 April Baker 1304-1304 Amie Barrow 1304-1305 Shanna Barrow 1275-1306 Juliana Barrow 1307-1307 Wendell Barrow 1261-1309