#Claire Pentecost

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alice Herman at The Guardian:

By 9am on Monday, hundreds of worshipers who had gathered under a tent in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, were already on their feet. Praiseful music bumped from enormous speakers. The temperature was pushing 90F (32C). The congregants had gathered in north-western Wisconsin for the Courage Tour, a travelling tent revival featuring a lineup of charismatic preachers and self-styled prophets promising healing, and delivering a political message: register to vote. Watch, or work, the polls. And help deliver the 2024 election to Donald Trump. Serving as a voter registration drive and hub for recruiting poll workers, it was no mistake that the Courage Tour came to Wisconsin just three months ahead of the presidential election in November. The tour had already visited three other swing states: Georgia, Michigan and Arizona. Heavy-hitting Maga organizations – including America First Policy Institute, TPUSA Faith and America First Works – had a presence outside the tent. Inside, headlining the event was Lance Wallnau, a prominent figure in the New Apostolic Reformation – a movement on the right that embraces modern-day apostles, aims to establish Christian dominion over society and politics and has grown in influence since Trump was elected president in 2016.

“‘Pray for your rulers,’ that’s about as far as we got in the Bible,” said Wallnau, setting the tone for the day, which would feature a series of sermons focused on the ideal role of Christians in government and society. “I think what’s happened is over time, we began to realize you cannot trust that government like you thought you could trust, and you can’t trust the media to tell you what’s really happening,” he exclaimed. What followed in Wallnau’s morning sermon were a series of greatest hits of the Maga right: January 6 (not an insurrection), the 2020 election (marred by fraud) and Covid-19 (a Chinese bioweapon). Many of the attendees had learned of the event from Eau Claire’s Oasis church – a Pentecostal church whose congregants were already familiar with the movement’s goal to turn believers into activists with a religious mission. “This is wonderful,” said Cyndi Lund, an Oasis churchgoer who attended the four-day event. “I teach a class on biblical citizenship – the Lord put in my heart that we have to be voting biblically, and if nothing else, we have a duty in America to vote.”

According to the preachers who sermonized on Monday, the correct biblical worldview is a deeply conservative one. The speakers repeatedly stated their opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion, ideas that were elaborated on in pamphlets passed around the crowd and on three large screens facing the audience. (“Tolerance IS NOT A commandment,” read one poster, propped up in front of the pro-Trump Turning Point USA stall outside the tent.) After Wallnau spoke, Bill Federer, an evangelist who has written more than thirty books weighing in on US history from an anti-communist and rightwing perspective, offered a brief and often intensely inaccurate, intellectual history of the US and Europe. During his talk, Federer dropped references to the villains of his historiography – among them Karl Marx, Fidel Castro, the German philosopher Hegel and, “a little closer to home”, the political theorist of the New Left, Saul Alinsky. The crowd, apparently already versed in Federer’s intellectual universe, groaned and booed when Federer mentioned Alinsky.

The Courage Tour led by Christian Nationalists and 7MD advocates Lance Wallnau and Mario Murillo serve one purpose: to elect Donald Trump and other Republicans into office.

[committingtothetbr]

The List.

Hi Everyone! After some demand, people would like to see the current TBR that I have in place for myself! For all the 63 books, we have a lot of different options. I kinda read everything haha (Please note that if I have the same series, I plan to read the series at least for the first book. If I like it, I will continue on.)

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

Too Hot to Handle by Tessa Bailey

The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez

Lightlark by Alex Aster

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

That Dark Infinity by Kate Pentecost

Book of Night by Holly Black

Sinner by Sierra Simone

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Bite of Loyalty by R.L. Caulder

The City of Brass by S.A. Charkraborty

Furyborn by Claire Legrand

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

Where the Crawdad Sings by Delia Owens

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Shadow Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

The Secret Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Namesake by Adrienne Young

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore

The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

Think Again by Adam Grant

These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan

Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco

Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Beach Read by Emily Henry

The Chain by Adrian McKinty

King of Battle & Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross

Yinka, Where is your Husband? by Lizzie Damilolam Blackburn

The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout

A Darker Shade of Magiv by V.E. Schwab

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa

The Curse of Saints by Kate Dramis

A Soul of Ash & Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Vicious by V.E. Schwab

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

The Awakening by Nora Roberts

The Girl Who Could Move Shit With Her Mind by Jackson Ford

Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova

Once More Upon a Time by Roshani Chokshi

The Duke & I by Julia Quinn

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

Any recommendations on where to begin? I could use help!

[sarkos]

Heavy-hitting Maga organizations – including America First Policy Institute, TPUSA Faith and America First Works – had a presence outside the tent. Inside, headlining the event was Lance Wallnau, a prominent figure in the New Apostolic Reformation – a movement on the right that embraces modern-day apostles, aims to establish Christian dominion over society and politics and has grown in influence since Trump was elected president in 2016. “‘Pray for your rulers,’ that’s about as far as we got in the Bible,” said Wallnau, setting the tone for the day, which would feature a series of sermons focused on the ideal role of Christians in government and society. “I think what’s happened is over time, we began to realize you cannot trust that government like you thought you could trust, and you can’t trust the media to tell you what’s really happening,” he exclaimed. What followed in Wallnau’s morning sermon were a series of greatest hits of the Maga right: January 6 (not an insurrection), the 2020 election (marred by fraud) and Covid-19 (a Chinese bioweapon). Many of the attendees had learned of the event from Eau Claire’s Oasis church – a Pentecostal church whose congregants were already familiar with the movement’s goal to turn believers into activists with a religious mission. “This is wonderful,” said Cyndi Lund, an Oasis churchgoer who attended the four-day event. “I teach a class on biblical citizenship – the Lord put in my heart that we have to be voting biblically, and if nothing else, we have a duty in America to vote.” According to the preachers who sermonized on Monday, the correct biblical worldview is a deeply conservative one. The speakers repeatedly stated their opposition to abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and inclusion, ideas that were elaborated on in pamphlets passed around the crowd and on three large screens facing the audience. (“Tolerance IS NOT A commandment,” read one poster, propped up in front of the pro-Trump Turning Point USA stall outside the tent.)

‘We have to be voting biblically’: the Courage Tour rallies Christians to get Trump in office | US elections 2024 | The Guardian

[globalworship]

Pentecost Batik Art by Solomon Raj, India

Dr. Rev. P. Solomon Raj “was born the son of a village mission schoolteacher in the West Godavary district of Andhra Pradesh, India in 1921. He was a Lutheran theologian from India which wrote his Ph.D. thesis on an indigenous church in India.

Solomon RAJ was not only a theologian but also an artist. His outstanding batiks and wood-cuts have been shown in numerous expositions in Germany, Britain and the USA. Dr. RAJ trained first as a freelance artist with Ramarao School of Arts in Rajahmundry, and later in the Indiana University School of Arts graduate program. A member and past president of Indian Christian Arts Association, he was also a member of the Asian Christian Arts Association. He died in 2019.

He produced quite a few books with his art. Here are some of his batiks on the theme of Pentecost.

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To go in-depth on the life and art of P. Solomon Raj, I recommend this book: "Incarnation of the Gospel in Indian Culture: A Study of the Art and Poetry of Pulidindi Solomon Raj." It was published in 2019.

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This is the latest blog post in my series on Pentecost art from India. See previous posts:

Jyoti Sahi https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/174037598240/pentecost-painting-jyoti-sahi-india

Sister Claire https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/144532448075/pentecost-art-india-sister-claire

Frank Wesley https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/144584775700/pentecost-art-india-frank-wesley

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The Spirit is a wild thing - Joan Chittister OSB: Feast of Pentecost

The Holy Spirit, God’s energizing presence among us, sounds the truth in us that we are more than we seem to be. Holy Spirit suffuses all of life, calls us into the mystery that is God, reminds us of the model that is Jesus, and brings us to the fullness of ourselves. Holy Spirit is the great anti-gravitational force that calls us out of somewhere into everywhere, that keeps us moving toward and through the black holes of life, certain that on the other side of them is light, waiting and wishing us on.

The Spirit embodies the life force of the universe, the power of God, the animating energy present in all things and captured by none. Because of the Spirit, Jesus is not gone and God is not distant, and the life force around us bears it proof.

The Spirit of God moves us to new heights of understanding, to new types of witness, to new dimensions of life needed in the here and now. The static dies under the impulse of the Spirit of a creating God. We do not live in the past. We are not blind beggars on a dark road groping our separate ways toward God. There is a magnet in each of us, a gift of God that repels deceit and impels us toward good. The gifts are mutual, mitered to fit into one another for strength and surety.

We are, in other words, in the most refreshingly trite, most obviously astounding way, all in this together—equally adult, equally full members, equally responsible for the Church. Nor does any one dimension of the Church have a monopoly on insight, on grace, on the promptings of God in this place at this time. The Spirit of God is a wild thing, breathing where it will, moving as it pleases, settling on women and men alike.

–from In Search of Belief by Joan Chittister (Liguouri)

[publiccollectors]

New Public Collectors publication!

The Courtroom Artist Residency Report: Residencies #4-8

[PURCHASE] $8.00

The second collection of reports from Public Collectors' meal-based artist residency that brings artists to observe Criminal Court in Chicago, followed by a meal and discussion. These reports provide a space for the residents to talk about their experience and share reflections, notes, and conversations related to their residency.

Featured in this booklet are discussions with Edward Marszewski, Tara Betts, Josh Rios, and Claire Pentecost. Activist Sarah Wild provides a response to my residency with Edward Marzsewski, filling in additional details on the case of police torture victim Gerald Reed. Josh Rios and I observed murderer ex-cop Jason Van Dyke's entire 9 hour sentencing hearing and Josh contributes an additional text on the victim impact statement read by the great uncle of shooting victim Laquan McDonald. Tara Betts turns in a beautiful page of thoughts about the women who stand by in support of their men who are trapped in the prison system. A conversation with artist Claire Pentecost takes some lighter turns as we discuss the art and photography in courtroom 700, as well as a judge's address to potential jurors in room 402.

[starrlikesbooks]

Happy October 🎃

These are just a few of the cool books coming out this month!

As always, check under the cut for more on each~

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling is a horror story with the classic mysterious "don't go here/look at me/etc" spooky husband trope. I'm not entirely sure what goes on beyond the, of course, breaking of the promise, and mistrust of her husband, because I am terrified to get spoiled but it looks so great and I've heard really wonderful things!

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall & Lisa Sterle is one I can vouch for being sublime. This is sort like a graphic novel take on Heathers if Heathers were about werewolves and rapist murdering, and also had a lesbian of color as the main character! This is actually the perfect October book, and I will die on that hill.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is the sequel to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and having read an advanced version of this book I can tell you it will make you feel just as much as the first book.

City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn is a sapphic sci-fi! This one has hostile tech, a greedy & manipulative father, and a gun slinging outlaw! This feels like a grand, technicolor space western adventure and I, for one, and ready for it.

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen is one of my all time favorite books of 2021. It's a retelling of The Goose Girl, with a main character who is conniving, cut throat, snarky, and also will do just about anything to not have an emotion. It's full of low gods, curses, investigations, and queer rep- including an asexual main character and love interest!

That Dark Infinity by Kate Pentecost has all the fan favorite characters you could ever want, wrapped up in a prophecy and an immortality curse. The Ankou, legendary mercenary, winds up taking care of Flora, hand maiden and last survivor of her kingdom, only to realize she may actually be one of the keys to finally killing him.The writing is as beautiful as it is funny, and I would die for every single character in this book.

Happy reading! ~

[contemporaryartdaily]

"The Conditions of Being Art" at Hessel Museum of Art

[lgbtqreads]

Can you give me recs for sapphic detective books? Like sherlock holmes? Thank you!

Yesss my fave PI series is the Roxane Weary series by Kristen Lepionka, but if you want an actual play on Holmes, try the SFF Janet Watson Chronicles by Claire O'Dell: https://www.goodreads.com/series/228780-the-janet-watson-chronicles

And here's a longer list, from here, if you just wanna browse more options:

Harlem Renaissance Mysteries by Nekesa Afia – L (Historical)

Virginia Kelly by Nikki Baker – L

Epitome Apartments by Candas Jane Dorsey – P

Aud Torvingen by Nicola Griffith – L

Bobbi Logan by Renee James – T

Betty Rhyzyk by Kathleen Kent

Jane Lawless by Ellen Hart

Charlie Mack Motown Mysteries by Cheryl A. Head

Jinx Ballou, Bounty Hunter by Dharma Kelleher – T

Micky Night by J.M. Redmann

Pentecost and Parker by Stephen Spotswood (Historical) – B

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (October 19th, 2021)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen 

Out of the Fire by Andrea Contos

That Dark Infinity by Kate Pentecost

Lies My Memory Told Me by Sacha Wunsch

The Color of Dragons by R.A. Salvatore & Erika Lewis

City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu

Where Echoes Lie by Shannon Schuren

Love & Other Sins by Emilia Ares

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

The Ghost Tracks by Celso Hurtado

The Witch Owl Parliament by David Bowles, Raúl the Third, Stacey Robinson, & Damian Duffy

New Sequels: 

Hunting by Stars (The Marrow Thieves #2) by Cherie Dimaline

___

Happy reading!

[honey-from-hell]

Alphabet TBR

Inspired by this TikTok 

Not-so TikTok popular books A-Z on my TBR

A- Amberlough by Lara Elena Donnelly

B- The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

C- Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

D- Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia

E- Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

F- For the Killing of Kings by Howard Andrew Jones

G- Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

H- Hell Followed with Us by Andrew Joseph White

I- In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

J- Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

K- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

L- Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

M- Missing, Presumed Dead by Emma Berquist 

N- Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove by Rati Mehrotra

O- The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He

P- Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

Q- The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sabastian

R- Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

S- Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

T- Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly

U- Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

V- Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

W- Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda

X- The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Y- You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Z- Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes by Cory O’Brien, Illustrated by Sarah E. Melville

[xmanicpanicx]

Mammoth List of Feminist/Girl Power Books (200 + Books)

Lists of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World by Ann Shen

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu, Montana Kane (Translator)

Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath

Tough Mothers: Amazing Stories of History’s Mightiest Matriarchs by Jason Porath

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs

The Little Book of Feminist Saints by Julia Pierpont

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz

Warrior Women: 3000 Years of Courage and Heroism by Robin Cross & Rosalind Miles

Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels by Linda Skeers & Livi Gosling 

100 Nasty Women of History by Hannah Jewell

The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser

Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen

The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience by Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton 

Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World by Laura Barcella

Samurai Women 1184–1877 by Stephen Turnbull

A Black Woman Did That by Malaika Adero

Tales from Behind the Window by Edanur Kuntman

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall

Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 by Max Dashu

Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch

Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani

Individual and Group Portraits of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment by Deborah Kops

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart

The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox

Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir by Cherríe L. Moraga

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants: The Female Gang That Terrorised London by Brian McDonald

Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment by Joyce Chapman Lebra

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus

The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt

The Women of WWII (Non-Fiction)

Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn J. Atwood

Skyward: The Story of Female Pilots in WWII by Sally Deng

The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich, Richard Pevear (Translation), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translation)

Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation by Anne Sebba

To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African-American Wacs Stationed Overseas During World War II by Brenda L. Moore

Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisters and Spies: The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne by Susan Ottaway

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

The White Mouse by Nancy Wake

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy

Tomorrow to be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion by Susan Travers & Wendy Holden

Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisterhood of Spies by Elizabeth P. McIntosh

Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan by Shrabani Basu

Women in the Holocaust by Dalia Ofer

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos by Judy Batalion

Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat by Bruce Myles

The Soviet Night Witches: Brave Women Bomber Pilots of World War II by Pamela Jain Dell

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein

A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II by Anne Noggle

Avenging Angels: The Young Women of the Soviet Union's WWII Sniper Corps by Lyuba Vinogradova

The Women of WWII (Fiction)

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

Night Witches by Kathryn Lasky

Night Witches by Mirren Hogan

Night Witch by S.J. McCormack

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

Code Name Verity series by Elizabeth Wein

Front Lines trilogy by Michael Grant

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

All-Girl Teams (Fiction)

The Seafire trilogy by Natalie C. Parker

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Effigies trilogy by Sarah Raughley

Guardians of the Dawn series by S. Jae-Jones

Wolf-Light by Yaba Badoe

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Burned and Buried by Nino Cipri

This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

The Wild Ones: A Broken Anthem for a Girl Nation by Nafiza Azad

We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto, Akemi Wegmüller (Translator)

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke

Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

Hell's Belles series by Sarah MacLean

Jackdaws by Ken Follett

The Farmerettes by Gisela Tobien Sherman

A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg

Feminist Retellings

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins by Emma Donoghue

Doomed by Laura Pohl

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

Kate Crackernuts by Katharine M. Briggs

Legendborn series by Tracy Deonn

One for All by Lillie Lainoff

Feminist Dystopian and Horror Fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

Women and Girls in Comedy 

Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin

Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim

This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry

Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliot

Bossypants by Tina Fey

We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy by Yael Kohen

The Girl in the Show: Three Generations of Comedy, Culture, and Feminism by Anna Fields

Trans Women

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

Nemesis series by April Daniels

American Transgirl by Faith DaBrooke

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout by Laura Jane Grace

A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt

George by Alex Gino

The Witch Boy series by Molly Ostertag

Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman by Laura Kate Dale

She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan

An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color by Ellyn Peña

Wandering Son by Takako Shimura

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

Feminist Poetry

Women Are Some Kind of Magic trilogy by Amanda Lovelace

Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty by Nikita Gill

Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters by Nikita Gill

The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill

A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris B. Hill

Feminist Philosophy and Facts

The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner

The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy by Gerda Lerner

Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice by Jack Holland

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism by Bushra Rehman

Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen

The Equality Illusion by Kat Banyard

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

I Have the Right To by Chessy Prout & Jenn Abelson

Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World by Kumari Jayawardena

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea Ritchie

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins

But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: Black Women's Studies by Akasha Gloria Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, Barbara Smith Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe L. Moraga, Gloria E. Anzaldúa

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDinn

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa

Power Shift: The Longest Revolution by Sally Armstrong

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Had It Coming: What's Fair in the Age of #MeToo? by Robyn Doolittle

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jody Kantor & Megan Twohey

#Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American Women by Lisa Charleyboy

Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle

Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement by Robin Morgan (Editor)

Girls Make Media by Mary Celeste Kearney

Rock She Wrote: Women Write about Rock, Pop, and Rap by Evelyn McDonnell (Editor)

You Play the Girl: And Other Vexing Stories That Tell Women Who They Are by Carina Chocano

Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco

The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor), Hollis Robbins (Editor)

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman Bread Out of Stone: Recollections, Sex, Recognitions, Race, Dreaming, Politics by Dionne Brand

Other General Girl Power/Feminist Awesomeness

The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza

Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

The Female of the Species by Mandy McGinnis

Pulp by Robin Talley

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

That Summer by Sarah Dessen

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

American Girls by Alison Umminger

Don't Think Twice by Ruth Pennebaker

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women by Alice Walker

You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories by Alice Walker

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Sula by Toni Morrison

Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell & Katie Cotugno

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Everything Must Go by Jenny Fran Davis

The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr

Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel 

Fan the Fame by Anna Priemaza

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

Gravity Brings Me Down by Natale Ghent

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

After the Ink Dries by Cassie Gustafson Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough 

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone

The Prettiest by Brigit Young

Don't Judge Me by Lisa Schroeder

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present by Lillian Faderman

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister

Paper Girls comic series by Brian K. Vaughan

Heavy Vinyl comic series by Carly Usdin

Please feel free to reblog with more!

[saint-hildegard-of-bingen]

“He wondered where they came from, these gifts that shaped a man’s nature. From God? Was it like the descent of the Paraclete, and the tongues of fire that came to rest on the apostles? He remembered the picture in the Bible in his mother’s parlor, the apostles all crowned with fire, and looking fair daft with the shock of it, standing about like a crowd of beeswax candles, lit for a party. He smiled to himself at the memory, and closed his eyes. The candle shadows wavered red on his lids. Claire, his own Claire—who knew what had sent her to him, had thrust her into a life she had surely not been born to? And yet she had known what to do, what she was meant to be, despite that. Not everyone was so fortunate as to know their gift.” Excerpt From: Diana Gabaldon. “Voyager.” iBooks.

This excerpt from Voyager is during Jamie’s time at Ardsmuir, after he was flogged. The men tended his wounds as best they could. Remembering Claire, thinking of her, always comforted him. He also found comfort remembering a Pentecost picture from his childhood. These small moments, insignificant though they may seem, enabled Jamie to continue to live and breath and have hope.

[globalworship]

A Pentecost Satsang (UK)

Friends with WEC Resonance Band and Ian Collinge are joining with Claire Pepperd, Vinay Mekwan, Ruwani Gunawardene, John Ruston and friends to celebrate Pentecost at Christ Church, Roxeth Hill, Harrow UK. That location is about 13 miles northeast of London.

The service will be preceded by an open rehearsal and refreshments. Please sign up https://bit.ly/SatsangWorship

For a model of a Yeshu Satsang in the UK a few years ago, see my previous blog post at https://globalworship.tumblr.com/post/627468315703541760/satsang-model-from-all-nations-christian-college

+++

Mosaic Church Harrow, an intercultural worshipping community was launched last Saturday. The service was blessed with liturgical dancing in the Bharata Natyam style by my friend Susanna Harrington with Scripture read in Sinhala and English.

[wednesdaysxreaders]

about me

tags for reach

so i’ve been wanting to make one of these for years. and now here i am.

i take x reader requests, but my first couple of posts might be scenes from various fics of mine to gain awareness. i’d prefer to write for underrated characters but i’ll absolutely do more popular characters as well. i’ll take smut requests but i can’t guarantee they’ll be good and not awkward lol.

also please please please be specific when sending in requests 🖤

fandoms i’ll write for can be found under read more (plus characters i’m eager to write).

keep in mind i’ll write for other characters as well these are just personal favorites of mine

marvel (mcu/netflix/fox/sony/blade/etc)

  hank mccoy

  alex summers

  raven darkholme

  kraglin obfonteri

  frank castle

  joshua “scud” frohmeyer

  asm/ps4 peter parker

  asm/ps4/raimi harry osborn

dc (dceu/dcau/cw/older films like burtonschumacher batman/etc)

  wally west (arrowverse)

  rory regan (arrowverse)

  rene ramirez (arrowverse)

  thea queen

  roy harper

  jason todd

  helena bertinelli

  harley quinn

  diana prince

  cisco ramon

  conner kent

star trek (preferably aos)

  pavel chekov

  leonard mccoy

  nyota uhura

  spock

star wars (original/prequel/au sequel)

  luke skywalker

  anakin skywalker

  poe dameron

  rey skywalker

  finn

  din djarin

  ezra bridger

  kanan jarrus

teen wolf

  brett talbot

  liam dunbar

  scott mccall

  isaac lahey

  lydia martin

  allison argent

  derek hale

  malia hale

the vampire diaries

  jeremy gilbert

  stefan salvatore

  katherine pierce

  rebekah mikaelson

  tyler lockwood

  matt donovan

  bonnie bennett

  caroline forbes

supernatural

  jack kline

twilight

  seth clearwater

  leah clearwater

  bella swan

  emmett cullen

  jasper cullen

  jacob black

resident evil

  leon s kenney

  claire redfield

  ada wong

  jill valentine

  carlos oliveira

  piers nivans

  jake mueller

(fear) the walking dead

  carl grimes

  daryl dixon

  benjamin

  siddiq

  glenn rhee

  maggie rhee

  beth greene

  enid

  nick clark

  alicia clarke

z nation

  10k

  roberta warren

  addy carver

  cassandra

the 100

  jasper jordan

  john murphy

  raven reyes

teenage mutant ninja turtles (bayverse)

  raphael

  april o’neil

stranger things

  steve harrington

  jonathan byers

  robin buckley

death note

  mail jeevas/matt

  mihael keehl/mello

  nate river/near

  misa amane

  touta matsuda

  l lawliet/l

black butler

  soma asman kadar

  agni

  mey-rin

  finnian

  bardroy

  grell suttcliffe

my hero academia

touya todoroki

tomura shigaraki

jin bubaigawara

shota aizawa

keigo takami

shoto todoroki

demon slayer

kyojuro rengoku

tengen uzui

tomioka giyu

mitsuri kanroji

tokyo revengers

ken ryuguji

manjiro sano

keisuke baji

percy jackson

  percy jackson

  annabeth chase

friday the 13th

  tommy jarvis

until dawn

  josh washington

  sam giddings

  mike munroe

mr robot

  elliot alderson

  darlene alderson

buffy the vampire slayer

  william pratt/spike

  buffy summers

  willow rosenberg

  cordelia chase

  faith lehane

the outsiders

  ponyboy curtis

  darry curtis

  dallas winston

it (adult losers preferred)

  adult!stanley uris

the last of us

  ellie williams

  dina

terminator

  john connor

harry potter

  neville longbottom

  ron weasley

  fred weasley

  george weasley

  luna lovegood

  hermione granger

  draco malfoy

  ginny weasley

transformers (bayverse + prime)

  mikaela banes

  cade yeager

  jack darby

  charlie watson

shadowhunters

  jace herondale

  isabelle lightwood

  clary fray

pacific rim

  raleigh becket

  mako mori

  jake pentecost

  amara namani

misc

  tomb raider

  the magnificent seven

  game of thrones

  bones

  criminal minds

  kick-ass

  mtv scream

  the vampire chronicles

  now you see me

  the umbrella academy

  saw

  american horror story

there’s most definitely more but these are all i have documented somewhere. if you don’t see something here, don’t hesitate to ask!

now, onto characters i absolutely will not write for reasons i won’t specify (unless you really want to know, then i suppose you could ask).

  kylo ren

  armitage hux

  negan

  pennywise

  jason voorhees

  freddy krueger

  michael myers

  tate langdon

  marius de romanus

  thanos

  transformers x human (the concept makes me uncomfortable, but if you really want it, i might consider it)

  billy hargrove

  theo raeken

  peter hale

  the bowers gang

enji todoroki

also any requests for canonly gay characters will be written with the proper gender reader in mind

[bandidoguapo]

The History of 'La Cerveza Más Fina' - Nexus Studios & Corona from Nexus Studios on Vimeo.

Under the direction of Nicolas Ménard, Nexus Studios presents this epic stop-motion film takes viewers on a journey through 90 years of the intertwined history of Mexico and iconic beer Corona. Narrated by actor and producer Gael García Bernal and inspired by the art of Pedro Friedeberg, our studio team worked with Andy Gent’s team at Arch Model Studio to design, create and animate a cast of 71 miniature characters, 8 beautifully detailed sets and 350 individually made miniature glass bottles.

From post-revolution Mexico and the birth of Corona, the film leads us through the country’s Golden Age of Cinema and Peso Crisis to see Corona’s international growth, before we arrive in modern day Mexico.

Client: Corona, Mexico. Chief Executive Officer: Carlos Lisboa BU Chief of Marketing: Carlos Ranero Brand Marketing Director: Clarissa Pantoja Experiential Marketing Director: Rodolfo Vargas Connections Director: Javier Garcia Communications Manager: Alejandro Gershberg Content Marketing Manager: Cesar Alcantara Project Leader: Susana Medina

Agency: Observatory Marketing Co-Chief Creative Officer: Todd Hunter Creative Directors: Jessica Hundley & Nicole McDonald Head of Production: Chris Totushek Producer: Lula Fotis Senior Brand Director: Erin Heyns Brand Executive: Mack Montague

Production Company: Nexus Studios ECD / Co-Founder: Chris O’Reilly

Director: Nicolas Ménard Executive Producer: Luisa Murray Producer: Jo Bierton Production Manager: Rebecca Archer Lead / Supervisor: Nico Domerego Art Director: Jack Cunningham Character Design: James Graham Graphic Design: Cecilia Serafini Design: Jamie Jones & Sarah Deane Environment Design: Callum Strachan & Antoine Perez Character Modellers: Andy Hickinbottom & Matt Clark 3D Generalists: Heloise Courtois, Victori Jalabert, Maxime Dartois, Zach Pindolia, Jerémie Cottard, Chloe Plat 2D Animation: Isaac Holland & Duncan Gist Director of Photography: Malcolm Hadley Camera Assistant: Mark Swaffield Gaffer: Tim O'connell Moco: Stuart Galloway Rigging: Justin Pentecost Spark: Max Milner Strike Spark: Daniel Ansell

Puppet and Set Fabrication: Andy Gent Art Department: Marina Ralph, Mick Chippington, Josie Corben, Magda Madra, Sofia Serrano, Mark Fisher, Vaida Klimaviciute, Claudia Brignalezi, Angela Pang, Louise Pratt, Andrew Saunders, Tom James, Gavin Richards, Claire Middleton, Claudia Brugnaletti, Jade Gerrard, Clea Raguideau, Angela Chorlton, Roy Bell, Annick Bosson, Beth Quinton, Fiona Stewart, Grant Humberstone, Ola Kucharska, Michael Nowacki, Mitch Barnes, Colin Armitage, Duncan Mude

Practical Lighting: Gary Welch Runner: Chiara De Propis Stop Frame Lead Animator: Tobias Fouracre Stop Frame Animators: Matthew Cooper & Max Martin BTS Cameraman: Thomas Heleta & Mark Van Heusden BTS Photographer: Jacob Robinson First Aid: Darren Boyling Post Production: Freefolk Lead Flame Artist: Steve Murgatroyd Flame Artists: Brandon Danowski & Andy Copping Nuke Artist: Rob Sheridan Colourist: Duncan Russell Post Producer: Laura Ricketts

Shooting Studio: Black Island Lighting Equipment: Panalux Camera Equipment: Clapham Road Studios

Editor: David Slade

BTS Editor: Thomas Heleta & Michael Rohrbaugh

Assistant Editor: Bruno Collins Music: Bridget Samuels

Sound Design And Mix: Barking Owl

[dreadnought-dear-captain]

Happy (Slightly Belated) Birthday, Baghdad Waltz!

*CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BAGHDAD WALTZ UP TO CHAPTER 37*

I know these are stressful times right now, but I wanted to post a little something for BW’s third birthday on 3/13/2020 (and I’m a little late because I had a lot to say). THREE!! I cannot believe it. Truly, I cannot, but here we are. I know there are still a few stragglers hanging around from when I first started posting this story (extra hearts to you all), so many people who have come and gone and sometimes return again, and so many new people joining this crazy journey all the time. 

You are all so great, and you make it possible for me to keep writing this. I probably would have quit a long time ago without your support, because this shit has been quite hard to sustain sometimes. I know I am very bad at keeping up with comments and things, and I’m so sorry.  I am terrible with social media, too. People IRL will say the same thing about me. I am super old school and still talk on the phone with my friends. I KNOW. 

(Heyyyy Bayside High)

I’ve prepared a couple of things for BW’s birthday. First, a few statistics I thought I’d whip up. Then a few questions and answers about BW, both from myself and from my beloved beta, @pitchforkcentral86​. And I’m still trucking away diligently at chapter 38! I just have a few scenes to go. 

 -- BW Statistics -- 

---------------------------------------------

Words to date: 526,011

Chapters to date: 37

Shortest chapter: 3,821 words (Prologue)

Longest chapter: 31,395 words (Chapter 33)

Number of words per chapter: 12,530 (median), 14,257 (average) (note: the median is probably a better measure, since this is such an abnormal distribution - see below for the changes in chapter length over time)

Estimated total work to date: 2,890-3,120 hours (approx 18-20 hours/week). This includes writing, rewriting, editing, research, conversations with beta, outlining, and a small portion of the brainstorming. This is a conservative estimate and only includes a fraction of the ambient thinking I do about this story. And God, I do so much processing when I sleep! Perhaps I will be a BW “expert” -- estimated at around 10,000 hours I guess? -- by the time I am done with the story and all my revisions hahahahaaaaaa D: 

Money spent to date (estimated): $600-700. This includes books on various subject matter and writing craft, video access to therapy education resources, and other educational materials. This does not include the incalculable sum in lost productivity from thinking about BW when I’m supposed to be doing other things!

Most of you probably don’t know this, but @pitchforkcentral86​ is not just a beta reader. She is my partner in crime with BW. She knows my characters as well as I do, sometimes better. She helps me troubleshoot scenes, she tells me when my writing sucks, when my I’m not being true to my characters, when I’m not being real enough (sometimes when I’m being TOO real). She gives me porn inspiration and listens to me bitch and calls my bullshit and makes this story what it is. I really mean it - this story would not be nearly as good without her, and you can see how much better it gets once she starts to get involved around chapter 17. 

So I decided I would answer some silly little questions about BW. Just my own personal opinions about stuff! And asked @pitchforkcentral86​ to contribute as well. See below. 

What are my favorite scenes in BW and why? 

In no particular order: 

The 9/11 memory (Chapter 26): When Steve is in therapy with Hope remembering when Bucky returns from Ground Zero. This was one of the first times I experimented with writing in a sort of stream-of-consciousness way (though certainly not the last!). I have done several tweaks to it since the original version, texturing it more. It’s so rich in detail, visceral detail, little details about their relationship, pieces of Bucky’s past, clues about his alcoholism, the way he handles stress, his difficulties letting Steve in, the love Steve has for him, Bucky’s need to be loved and cared for and his aversion for it, it’s so, so rich. Gah. I love it. (GUH and @buckydunpun​’s ART - just murder me. Thanks.)

The Thor “breakup” scene (Chapter 28): This is the moment I think that many people realized Bucky is not a reliable narrator. Maybe they suspected it before, but this is when it’s very obviously apparent. His entire interpretation of his relationship with Thor is thrown into question. He built a rich fantasy about what they were, holding hands in the grass, all this bullshit, and he could actually say they were boyfriends, which makes complete sense because there were never any stakes. It was always surface. There was never any intimacy except as veteran/soldier friends who had sex, which is about as deep as Bucky can go anyway without getting utterly terrified. 

This is in such stark contrast to Steve, where there is actual intimacy, ongoing demand for more intimacy, and this relationship feels VERY real to Bucky, and it’s very frightening to him. And that’s why he runs from the term “boyfriend” with Steve. It’s all so real. It’s easy to engage with a fake boyfriend. But still, he didn’t deliberately realize he was doing this, so it was devastating to find out the truth of his own self-deception. And to hear that he’s not the kind of guy you settle with, he’s the guy you fuck… wow. But how can you really hate Thor? (I’m sure some of you can but…) He’s a nice guy. Even Bucky knows it. So he’s run from something good and real (Steve) to something good but false (Thor) and then he gets rejected from both. It’s horrible and so self-defeating and so quintessentially Bucky. I love it. 

A Close Second (Spent Brass fic): This whole side fic came together like a glorious dream. I love everything about it. It’s such a wonderful look into their relationship, into their dynamics, into their individual personalities, their idiosyncrasies, so much push-pull between them. Whispers of things that have happened to Bucky in the past, a lack of understanding from Steve, a desire to know, so much affection. Some good sex. I love this SB. But I love all the Spent Brass fics. They are so close to my heart. 

Honorable mention: Bucky’s masturbation scene during his bender (Chapter 32). I had an absolute BLAST writing this. Thanks to @pitchforkcentral86​ for proposing that Bucky’s core sexual/romantic desire is just to be kissed. Dayum. It all unfolded from there. 

Who is the character I think about the most? Bucky. I think because he’s got the most complex history and the most complicated psychology. He’s actually fairly rule-bound in terms of how he operates, but he’s got a lot of back story that explains how he became the way he is, and I spend a lot of time considering what happened to him and how he developed his self-image, his coping strategies, and his ideas about others and the world. I think a lot about his relationship with his parents. I think a LOT about bby Jamie. It’s not because Steve is not important or any less complex. But Bucky’s childhood experiences have shaped him in very specific ways, and I want to make sure that I represent them very thoughtfully. 

Who is my favorite character to write? Bucky. His voice and thought processes come to me more easily than Steve’s. Perhaps in part because of my personal penchant for the word “fuck.” I love writing his perspective, his preferences, his interpretations of situations. I love imagining the way he imagines the world. 

Who is my favorite supporting character? Winnie. I know she’s a very polarizing character, but I have so much affection for her. I think she’s a badass. She joined the military as a female officer back in the 1970s, which is incredible and rough. She kept her maiden name. This is a Southern conservative woman, an Air Force brat, raised by very conservative Southern people in a very conservative Pentecostal church, but she has always had an irrepressible rebellious, feminist badass streak in her even before she knew what feminism was. She might not even define herself as a feminist now. She has always done the best she can under very difficult circumstances, and she loves her kids, even though she sometimes sucks quite badly at mothering them. I love her for her imperfections. 

Favorite topic to research this year: I’ve been really enjoying researching emotionally focused couples therapy, which was developed by Sue Johnson, EdD. I’ve been watching therapy videos of couples going through this and having a wonderful time imaging Bucky and Steve going through something similar with Claire. I don’t think Claire is the strictest adherent to EFT, but I think she’s informed by it. It’s tough, because I’m very used to cognitive behavioral type therapies, so this one has been different to think about writing. I’ve also been really getting into reading about childhood sexual abuse and its effects on boys and men. It’s greatly helped my conceptualization of Bucky and Bucky and Steve’s relationship. I mean, it’s a grim topic, but there have been some fascinating threads in terms of understanding one’s self perception of sexual orientation, etc. and thinking about how Bucky would consider and contextualize his experiences. 

Am I more of a Steve or a Bucky? Hmm. I don’t strongly relate to either, but I think if I had to choose, I’m a bit more of a Steve. I’m pretty expressive of my affection and positive emotions, and I’ll complain about daily life things enough. However, when it comes to major life events that really bother me, I tend to err on the side of not processing them and turning my feelings into headaches and other physical afflictions. In other words, I’m a suppressor of major emotions and events. It’s FINE. I’m FINE. Nothing to see here. But I am definitely not as tidy as Steve, nor as smart, and definitely not as buff or hot. So that’s where most of our similarities end lol. I do eat a lot of tofu though. 

Who would I want to hang out with for a day? I initially thought Rikki, but like @pitchforkcentral86​, think she’s actually too cool and smart for me, and I would probably just make an ass out of myself. I think probably Elektra. I know, this is a left field answer, but it’s one day! To do whatever with anyone! I want to choose someone who’s going to make it worth my while. So many of the characters are either too busy, too rigid, too anxious, too conventional, etc. I would want to run around NYC with Elektra for the day and have drinks with her and Matt afterwards at some weird-ass underground bar. My more infield answer would probably be Hank. I want him to tell me gay stories about gay things. I want to see his apartment. I want to drink coffee with him. I want him to tell me about what the AIDS crisis was like for him. I want to hear about his relationship with Howard. I want all the shit that Bucky takes for granted every day. He can be my fairy godmother any day. 

Who would I want to be friends with? Probably Sharon. She’s one of the most reliable, loyal, and level-headed people in this world. She’s smart, she’s flexible, she rolls with things pretty well but also doesn’t take a ton of bullshit. She also has a good sense of humor about things. I feel like she’s someone I could call with my Zack Morris phone and talk with for hours about all sorts of things. We could also split a bottle of wine and talk some real shit. 

Wait - Why not Bucky or Steve? I don’t think these two are entirely likable, to be honest. They’re good humans, they mean well, but I don’t think they’re very well equipped in the friendship department.  I care about them very deeply (I hope that’s clear), but I don’t know if I’d want to be particularly close to either of them at this point in their lives. They’re both lacking in the skill and perspective to be good friends and partners, which is a major reason why they are in therapy. 

Who would I want to be my therapist - Hope, Bruce, Scott, or Claire? Claire. Given how much I suck at talking about the things that are really deeply bothering me, I think I would need an emotionally focused therapist who is going to dig in there and really get me to focus on all the emotions I’m trying to shove away. I would probably try to over-intellectualize everything and deflect, and I don’t think she’d let me get away with that. 

Okay, on to @pitchforkcentral86​~~~~~

What are my favorite scenes in BW and why? 

Oh boy. Well, this is a difficult question to answer since it feels like every chapter becomes a new favorite simply due to sheer amount of time spent planning and composing and revising and whining and complaining. And also my memory sucks. BUT, with that said, I think I would like to mention three scenes specifically:

1)      Bucky on deployment, cleaning a Humvee (Chapter 7), Steve standing nearby. This scene conveyed the tension of deployment and between Steve and Bucky so well, and, perhaps more importantly, built my respect towards Bucky as a competent, caring NCO (to that effect, the small scene in which we see Bucky the NCO on film telling all the little grunts to eat so they can become big and strong is another favorite).

2)      Beautiful Boy (Spent Brass), Steve’s memory from childhood with Sarah at the park, naming animals. I really don’t have a good reason other than that scene was so clear to me in my mind and was especially tender.

3)      Steve sleeping with Sharon in DC (Chapter 33). Honestly, it was just a great scene, and we had a really good time planning it out.

I can include many more, and certainly the ones Dread mentioned are favorites too, but I have to stop or this will just be a squeee fest.

Who is my favorite supporting character?

 Hank. His particular brand of honesty is extremely appealing to me, and I think Bucky secretly, or not so secretly, loves him too. And also Quill, just for shits and giggles because he is reliably there as an ice breaker, that lovable Mountain-Dew-drinking goof.  

Favorite topic to research this year: 

Well, I don’t do the research myself, but I spend many, many m-a-n-y hours listening to and conversing with Dread about all the things he’s delved into for this fic. So I guess maybe I’ll turn this question into favorite topic to discuss/conceptualize. In that respect, Bucky’s and Jack’s relationship has been by far the most intriguing, grueling, fascinating and difficult aspect of this fic to conceptualize – those were some of the best talks in the process. [Dreadnought edit: You will see much more of this in future chapters, folks!] And for a fun answer, planning out sex scenes is hilarious.

Am I more of a Steve or Bucky?

Bucky, no doubt. Sometimes it feels like Dread has climbed into my brain, found a horrible nugget of truth about me, and then put it into words coming out of Bucky’s mouth. Those moments are both wonderful and terrible in equal measure.

Who would I want to hang out with for a day?

For a whole day? Can it maybe be a coffee or, like, a quick lunch? I honestly don’t know… Neither Steve nor Bucky will be very good company, I think. Not in their current versions, anyways. Rikki is hella cool but she intimidates me, so, not her. Um.. Huh. Nope, don’t have an answer.

Who would I want to be friends with?

Probably Hank, again. He has a really good attitude. I’m starting to feel like not picking Steve/Bucky is selfish because it’s like “oh, they have too many issues and it won’t be fun”. But it’s also true! Friendship is reciprocal, and I really don’t think that’s where they’re at. (But I would have totally been dying to be friends with Steve in his bookshop days). 

Who would I want to be my therapist - Hope, Bruce, Scott, or Claire?

Hope or Claire. Both are no-nonsense competent therapists. But I think maybe Hope will be too put-together for me. So, yeah, probably Claire. 

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Okay, everyone. Back to the grind. I’ll update as soon as I can!  Remember to wash your hands with the fastidiousness of BW Steve Rogers. (And also remember to sing the “happy birthday fucking everyone” song, which should actually be sung TWICE or resentfully enough that it lasts 20 seconds.)