#Dick Whalen

[aithusiel]

you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

[blackcrystalball]

ANGELAAAAA

God she is so beautiful. She looks so good in dark makeup.

They are all so beautiful. I cannot wait to watch CC omg.

I think I'll rewatch every play in their backlog in the run up to the day I watch it.

[mybrainontv]

It’s episodes like these when I remember that it’s a Dick Wolf show and that I very much do not like Dick Wolf. He always goes for the heartbreak and the drama. I just want the happy and the friendships and the romances.

Dick Wolf can go suck a moldy rotten egg 😡

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my Spooktober Filmfest...Child's Play 3 (1991) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #movie #movies #horror #ChildsPlay #childsplay3 #DonMancini #chucky #BradDourif #JustinWhalin #PerryReeves #jeremysylvers #donnaeskra #travisfine #andrewrobinson #deanjacobson #peterhaskell #rippeterhaskell #edangross #michaelpatrickcarter #DickWarlock #90s #vintage #vhs #spooktober #halloween #october

[fade-steppin]

notes: I specify female lead because Draco Malfoy was not a lead role. Daughter in Trail To Oregon! is definitely co-lead, but I can only have so many characters per option. Holy Musical B@man did not feature a female lead. Honestly I forgot about Lex.

[featherstonevintage]

Top: Sanchita Ajjampur Skirt: Plein Sud Shoes: Dick Whalen for Yeohlee

W Magazine, April 1994

Photographed by Martin Brading

[anoramactir]

book recs! tagged by @rosenfey & @jennystahl. blows kisses to both of you <3 i'll tag @a-treides, @katsigian, @dekarios, @shellibisshe, @devilbrakers, and @frankensteined.

last book you read. the salt grows heavy by cassandra khaw.

horror/fantasy, kind of a little mermaid retelling? i had mixed feelings about it. there was definitely an interesting plot in there, but i thought it was bogged down by purple prose. felt more like a challenge to write the prettiest sentences possible - and there were v lovely lines! - than a story at times.

book you recommend. fight club by chuck palahniuk.

hard q, but i went with this one because i feel like the reputation the movie + it's fans have makes people avoid it. i could repeat all the soundbites about it being a brilliant satire & criticque of toxic masculinity (especially if you read the narrator as closeted) but tbh... i'm reccing it because i think it's fun. that's really it.

book you couldn't put down. bunny by mona awad.

disclaimer: i've seen this one hyped as the weirdest shit you'll ever read in your life but i didn't think it was that weird. lower your expectations. i did like it enough to finish in three days, though. idk what to say about it that won't spoil the plot— kinda heathers meets frankenstein? more eerie than scary.

book you've read twice or more. the queen's thief series by megan whalen turner.

society if this was the old school ya fantasy that blew up on booktok instead of shatter me: ☀️🌊🌳 i read this one back in high school and it rewired my brain permanently. attolia irene is the only girlboss that matters. i come back to it every few years (rereading book 4 now) & i think it still holds up.

book on your tbr. last call at the hotel imperial by deborah cohen.

it's a non-fiction about a group of reporters that covered ww2. i picked it up randomly at a bookstore because the cover was pretty, lol.

book you've put down. the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon.

i know i'd love it if i finished but it's just so long. 😭 i've tried like three times and i always lose steam about halfway through. at this point i'll finish it by 2050.

book on your wishlist. hollow places by christopher hadley.

ambie actually recced this to me ages ago and i've been dying to read it. it sounds so interesting! but it's not available as an ebook or at my library, and i'm banned from buying physical books until i get through my stupidly tall tbr stack. one day.

favorite book from your childhood. howl's moving castle by diana wynne jones.

nobody is surprised. it's probably my favorite book of all time. a+ vibes, characters, romance, everything. i own three copies and refuse to get rid of any. if i could find an autographed version, i'd own four.

book you would give a friend. interview with the vampire by anne rice.

i need you all to become obsessed with lestat & louis and then watch the amc series so it gets renewed for season 3. please & thank you.

book of poetry or lyrics you own. time is a mother by ocean vuong.

haven't read it yet, but i've heard great things!

nonfiction book you own. girl sleuth: nancy drew and the women who created her by melanie rehak.

goes into the creation of nancy drew & how it evolved through the years, especially how it was shaped by the original ghostwriter and the daughter of the creator, and their decades-long beef with each other. i came out of it with a parasocial grudge against a woman who died in 1982.

what you're currently reading. a conspiracy of kings by megan whalen turner.

book 4 of the queen's thief series. crown prince sophos has been kidnapped and sold into slavery and it's all very dramatic.

what you're planning on reading next. moby dick by herman melville.

i've never gotten around to this one and i feel like i have to eventually. there's a 75% chance i'll get sidetracked and pick up something totally different, though.

[dynamoe]

still dicking around with my Triple Threat design

Bruce Timm-ish/Batman: The Animated Series-style character rendering. Some Tuxedo Mask inspiration snuck in with all the roses... maybe she throws them to initiate battling evil doers?

I actually really don't like superhero shit (tough considering the direction VBros took in later seasons), but even with my distaste I wanted to do justice to the references.

🌹 more 🌹 →

🌹 Triple Threat in the 1980s

🌹 Rose Whalen (old)

🌹 Billy's prom date

Triple Threat's costume is meant to represent a Broadway chorine, but also it's a bit like a majorette... antiquated military uniform but pantsless. Very gendered. The old-fashioned/family friendly version of sexy... but not TOO sexy.

Visual reference to both the pants-less white tie tails of Zatanna the magician of DC Comics and the stage costumes from the "burlesque" Broadway musical revue Sugar Babies

The revue starred Mickey Rooney in his Broadway debut, Ann Miller... The revue subsequently had a short-lived National tour which starred Carol Channing and Robert Morse, from August through November 1980. (Carol Channing is the model for Rose's speaking voice, obvs.)

Billy's mom as a character sucks— she's introduced as [out-of-touch old person] who becomes [smothering mother] archetype— but in just a few appearances implies potential depths not explored. She's the only canon character I've written aside from Billy & White, in a series of flashbacks to Billy's childhood with her in Boy Genius (← read it on AO3)

Based on the hair, this flashback is mid-1960s. Maybe a bit later. OG Team Venture have been painted as Jonny Quest, Doc Savage and the Fabulous Five and James Bond, but this scene has a real TV Batman '66 feel to it. Best arena for a campy Broadway-musical-themed crime-fighter.

Triple Threat would be interesting to explore in the trajectory of comic book superheroes going from Golden Age goofy to the '80s X-treme en-darkening/en-seriousning (imagine Triple Threat reimagined as a Punisher type). At the same time, her Pollyanna American Exceptionalism/Moral Purity message (that Action Man wants to soil with his filth) would get dragged through the mud as she makes "hard choices" aka being a hypocrite in service of her all-American values.

She buys into moral panics. She warns against rock and roll and drugs, despite being a Baby Boomer. She is defiantly "a square" (as well as gullible to propaganda).

Female Conservatives are fascinating as they are gross. The Anti-Feminist Feminist. She's never shown to be motivated by religious fundamentalism (she seems fine with the possibility of her son being gay), it's more insidious than that. Is she machiavellian like a super-powered Phyllis Schlafly or, like the moral panic stuff, she's really gullible to conservative messaging? I see her more as a Kissinger Neo-Con than a MAGA conspiracy rube. She's not angry or hateful in her conservativeness, just reactionary and myopic.

Another ill-defined aspect... does Triple Threat have superpowers? She can still do flying leap kicks at age 60ish which suggests she's more than just "really good at fighting." What if she had been part of some Captain America super-serum ultimate-soldier program that screws her up medically, later causing Billy's genetic birth defects? Is she filled with guilt? Angry at the government for not telling her about the side effects?

→ → More on Rose Whalen's history

all my Billy & White stuff at → FAILURES of SCIENCE index

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

Breathing

First posted: May 28, 2018

Focuses on: Jason (and his family)

My favorite bookmark: "Jason Todd is sassy monster and Bruce has PTSD from this asshole dying. 🥺🤣"

My second favorite bookmark: "I CANT STOP CRYIIINNNG WTFFFU"

Tier: Pretty middle of the road in terms of metrics, but one of my personal favorites.

This is my "behind the scenes" series where I indulge myself frightfully by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

This fic was dedicated to @starknjarvis27 because she came up with the idea on one of our many BatFam discussions, and being a Megan Whalen Turner superfan, I couldn't not take on the idea.

For those unaware, this fic lifts the bones of an absolutely wonderful scene in The King of Attolia, the third (and best) book in the Queen's Thief series. I made sure you didn't need to know the series at all to enjoy "Breathing," but the girlies who know shriek more.

Jason was still breathing when Bruce found him.

Most of my fics, I may not totally know where they're going, but I know my first line. No exception here.

The voice of this one doesn't feel fully Bruce to me, which makes sense because it's so early on in my written works. Also I'm telling myself that's just young Bruce not sounding quite like his more mature self. Ah, the tales we tell ourselves sometimes. 💀

Jason’s chest, or what was left of it, rose again, the cavity of smashed ribs deepening as his lungs fought to work.

I don't know enough medical things to comfortably get too detailed on Jason's injuries (and I wasn't friends yet with Audrey to ask), but since this was Bruce's POV, I worked to make it adequately gruesome.

If those panicked, roving blue eyes with their black-blown pupils could see anything beyond his own fear.

And sometimes I make up words for fun.

He wanted to hold him. Wanted to scoop that broken body into his arms and shelter it with his own until the miracle he was praying for arrived. Bruce wanted to hold his boy. But his stupid, awful, useless brain hissed warnings of spinal injuries and paralysis, of the harm he could cause by giving into sentiment at just the wrong time.

Apparently I also knew how I wanted this section to end because I was deliberately writing toward

And, at last, Bruce held his son.

This.

Trying to figure out the setting of the second half was tough because I didn't care about where they were coming from. I wanted it to be vaguely comic cliche and hopefully not racist or otherwise offensive but that's all.

Also, ugh, staging. Staging. I hate staging. Trying to mark where everyone is and why and keep them all straight as they start to move. Bah.

Of course, now, looking back, hewing more closely to the original scenario where the main figure (Attolis, Jason) turns and smiles at the narrator just before disaster, that sure would have been something, wouldn't it.

But Jason. The odd man out. The wild card, for good or ill. The unpredictable ace up their sleeve. Their magnet for trouble, collector of odd experiences. Too cynical to be Dick, too rash to be Tim, too undisciplined to be Damian. Raised on the streets. Trained by a Bat and a Flying Grayson. Raised again by assassins. Comrade of drug dealers, mercenaries, and thieves. Their family stories always seemed to twist on a “but Jason.”

I like this bit a lot, personally.

He had never seen Jason kill like this. It was the blinding flash of blades, the blur of a tan leather jacket and dark curls, the splatter of red blood on grey stone. And then it was done.

BAMF JASON TODD!!!

At the weight of three sets of eyes landing on him, Jason turned only his head and met Dick’s gaze. His face was pale, almost green, and splattered with a fine mist of blood. It took Dick a moment to piece his coloring together with the slant of his jaw and the blaze in his eyes. He was angry. No, he was furious. But when his eyes met Dick’s, he smiled. All teeth. “Let’s not keep Daddy Dearest waiting, boys.”

Jason is scary and I love him. I think if I could pick an audio narrator for him, especially the way I wrote him in the beginning, I'd pick the guy who does the Raven Boys audiobook, specifically in the voice he uses for Ronan.

“I could use a hand on this next part,” Jason admitted, voice steady and cool. 

And my brain recites, oh gods, stairs.

“I’m dying, Dickie. My insides are on my outsides."

Direct. Hecking. Quote.

“I probably won’t even make it to the Batplane,” Jason moaned. “You’ll have to leave me here. They’ll make me a trail marker. Reach the skeleton with the sweet jacket and you’re halfway to the temple of doom.”

A nice little trail marker. So like a thief in a ditch, one might say.

Jason lay still on the narrow cot, conscious but boneless. Even the furious greenish tint of his skin had faded away into a bloodless pale. Alfred had pulled up his shirt to reveal the truth. Jason’s grip down the mountain hadn’t been only to stanch the bleeding, but to hold himself together. At some point in the blurred fight, a blade had snuck under his defenses and slit open his abdomen, nearly from hip to hip. The blood that had trickled through his shirt and over his hand had been nothing compared to the steady flow that had soaked unseen into his pants. Over Alfred’s shoulder, Jason opened his eyes and met Dick’s.

This is full-scale lifting, my obscene apologies to Megan Whalen Turner, I love your work.

Alfred’s back blocked most of Jason’s body from view. Dick could see Jason’s face and upper torso. Bruce, being taller, could probably see a little more. Damian and Tim, being shorter, could probably see a little less. Both boys stood further back as well, Tim just behind Bruce and Damian behind Dick.

friggin blocking, my foe. Just lining up the stupid little dominoes so they fall right in a minute.

Six people breathing. Five people breathing.

I'm a genius. Good job, me.

Jason erupted like a tiger caught in a snare. He clawed at the cot, trying to push himself up. Alfred cried out, warning of wounds and fresh blood and popped stitches as he tried to force Jason back down. Dick sprang forward and tried to grab his brother, but got a fist to the face for his troubles. He staggered back.

Againnnnnnnnnn I'm so sorry Megan Whalen Turner

Dick slowly unclenched his fingers, first releasing Jason’s hair, then his wrist. Violent red streaks branded Jason’s skin like a cuff

I am a clever little clog with my symbolism and because these fics are for me, I can be smug about it

At least a couple people have said this fic have pushed them to read Megan Whalen Turner which is all I could ever want or hope for.

[fzndomultix]

Rush hour 2 carter x black!reader

Carter grinned as he stepped into their spacious kitchen. His grin growing into a smile as he leaned over on the counter getting a glimpse of her bare backside. The only thing that was on her body was his white button up shirt which was only buttoned by 2 middle buttons. y/n smiled as she knew he was behind her . “I don’t even get a good morning bae .. nothing she said turning around to face carter who was biting his lip and staring lovingly at her. I’m sorry you’re just so fucking perfect he spoke coming around the island and placing his hands on her hips. You’re too but when I wake you up in the morning don’t I say good morning and I love you first? Not necessarily, remember that one time you woke me up by throwing a pillow at me and then proceeded to scream at me for eating your pineapples ?”or what about that time your woke me up by riding me , NOW THAT-! That was amazing he spoke making y/n laugh. I still said I love you and good morning “ that was after I came inside you, so it’s not the first thing that happened to you as soon as I opened my eyes he retorted and she rolled her eyes. Whatever my point still stands you’re just horny “ ‘yeah horny for you he responded and she laughed as he practically wrapped himself around her sitting her on the counter. After they shared their happiness and laughter the two of course caught in a heated make out session. Carter was infatuated with her, so it was a bit hard for Him to be calm and keep his hands to himself Whalen she was around. She didn’t mind though y/n loved that he loved her 10x as much she loved him. They pulled back and y/n bit her lip looking at carter, her fingers traced the band of his sweat pants, his upper half being bare. Who’s horny now ? “ “ Shut up and fuck me “ “ you got it beautiful. Carter hurriedly removed his pants making y/n laugh at how eager he was. “We just fucked last night and you’re so ready like you have been deprived of sex for months. “ She said he just chuckled a bit before picking up her left leg and pressing it against his chest. He pulled her forward a bit and smirked at her before pushing his hard length inside of her. Mm fuck-“ she voiced as carter breathing shook. “ you always feel so good around me “ he groaned giving her THAT look. y/n moaned loudly throwing her arms over his shoulders and keeping intense eye contact as he fucked her dumb on their kitchen counter. “ It feels so good daddy please don’t stop “ “I don’t plan on it, in fact I wanna do much more “ he spoke before pulling her body away from his. She let go confusion but just let him do what he wanted with her. She laid back on the counter propped up on her elbows as he slammed into her watching as her beasts bounced every time he slammed his dick inside. “You’re just so fucking thick, I can’t believe all this is mine” he spoke grabbing harshly at her thighs. I’m gonna fuck my cum into you baby, so you could be full and stuffed with my seed while you walk around the house with nothing but my shirt on “ he said and she felt her head get light. He never failed to make her weak in the knees , not only when he’s fucking her either. “Cum in me daddy, fuck my pussy full of your cum “ “ I will, my pretty fucking cumslut “ he said as he kissed her, but never slowed and stilled himself. y/n begin to scream out his name as the pleasure became hard to handle. “ daddy I can’t “ she spoke looking at him in his eyes. “You can and you will princess, now cum for me , make a mess all over my dick baby” he coaxed her to her orgasm as he took his thumb rubbing her clit in a slow circle motion. A few seconds later he was filling her to her brain with cum and she came a few seconds after him. “That felt so good , you can’t convince me “ you’re not some type of pussy fairy of something “ he chuckled falling over y/n for a second “ I might be “. She smiled and laughed to herself the two breathing hard and sweaty. After they gotten themselves together and cleaned the kitchen y/n sighed. “ Now I need a shower “ “ can I join carter asked giving her a cute smile. “ if I say no you be pouting

[a-ramblinrose]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge || November 30 || Read In November:

107. Moira’s Pen by Megan Whalen Turner ★★★★ 108. Dracula by Bram Stoker ★★★★ [K] [RR] 109. A Rainy Day Story by Ruth Calderon ★★ 110. Onions & Garlic by Rebecca Sheir ★★★ 111. How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler ★★★ 112. Shuna’s Journey by Hayao Miyazaki ★★★★★ 113. The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System Vol.4 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù ★★★ 114. Heaven Official’s Blessing Vol.4 by Mò Xiāng Tóng Xiù ★★★★ 115. Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson ★★★ 116. Joha Makes A Wish by Eric A. Kimmel ★★★ 117. The Alienist by Caleb Carr ★★★ 118. There’s Treasure Everywhere by  Bill Watterson ★★★★★ 119. Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn ★★★ 120. Born to Kvetch by Michael Wex ★★★ 121. Yiddish with Dick and Jane by Ellis Weiner & Barbara Davilman ★

[penguins-united]

Books read in 2022!!

rereads are italicized, favorites are bolded

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

2. Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

3. Saints by Gene Luen Yang

4. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

5. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

6. Immortal Poems of the English Language by Oscar Williams

7. Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway

8. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

9. Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix by JK Rowling

10. The Dead by James Joyce

11. Soldiers Three by Richard Kipling

12. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

13. Richard iii by William Shakespeare

14. Balcony of Fog by Rich Shapiro

15. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

16. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

17. I have no mouth and I must scream by Harlan Ellison

18. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

19. The moment before the gun went off by Nadine Gordimer

20. The importance of being earnest by Oscar Wilde

21. A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway

22. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

23. Rules for a knight by Ethan Hawke

24. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling

25. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

26. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

27. Gerard Manley Hopkins: The Major Poems by Gerard Manley Hopkins

28. Highly Irregular by Arika Okrent

29. The Green Mile by Stephen King

30. The Swan Riders by Erin Bow

31. The King’s English by Henry Watson Fowler

32. The Truelove by Patrick O’Brian

33. The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett

34. The Wine-Dark Sea by Patrick O’Brian

35. The Commodore by Patrick O’Brian

36. An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

37. Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill

38. The Disaster Area by JG Ballard

39. The Tacit Dimension by Michael Polanyi

40. Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan

41. The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh

42. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

43. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

44. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

45. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

46. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

47. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner

48. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

49. Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

50. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

51. Confessions of St. Augustine by St. Augustine of Hippo

52. Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett

53. The Yellow Admiral by Patrick O’Brian

54. Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre

55. The Russian Assassin by Jack Arbor

56. The ones who walk away from Omelas by Ursula K LeGuin

57. Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling

58. The Iliad by Homer

59. The Treadstone Transgression by Joshua Hood

60. The Hundred Days by Patrick O’Brian

61. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead by Tom Stoppard

62. The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

63. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

64. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Pearl, and Sir Orfeo (unknown)

65. Persuasion by Jane Austen

66. The Outsiders by SE Hinton

67. Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

68. The Odyssey by Homer

69. Dead Cert by Dick Francis

70. The Oresteia by Aeschylus

71. The Network Effect by Martha Wells

72. All Art is Propaganda: Critical Essays by George Orwell

73. This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar

74. The Epic of Gilgamesh (unknown author)

75. The Republic by Plato

76. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

77. On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche

78. Ere the Cock Crows by Jens Bjornboe

79. Mid-Bloom by Katie Budris

80. Blue at the Mizzen by Patrick O’Brian

81. 21 by Patrick O’Brian

82. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

83. Battle Cry by Leon Uris

84. Devils by Fyodor Dostoevsky

85. The Uncanny by Sigmund Freud

86. The Door in the Wall by HG Wells

87. Oh Whistle and I’ll Come to You My Lad by MR James

88. The Birds and Don’t Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier

89. The Weird and the Eerie by Mark Fisher

90. Blackout by Simon Scarrow

91. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

92. No Exit and Three Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre

93. The Open Society and its Enemies volume one by Karl Popper

94. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

95. The Ethics of Ambiguity by Simone de Beauvoir

96. The Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease

97. The things they carried by Tim O’Brien

98. A very very very dark matter by Martin McDonagh

99. The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich A Hayek

100. The Lonesome West by Martin McDonagh

101. A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh

102. The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh

103. Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche

104. The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

105. The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth

106. Things have gotten worse since we last spoke and other misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

107. Each thing I show you is a piece of my death by Gemma Files

108. Different Seasons by Stephen King

109. Dracula by Bram Stoker

110. Inker and Crown by Megan O’Russell

111. Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis

112. Killers by Patrick Hodges

113. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

114. The Rise and Reign of Mammals by Stephen Brusatte

115. Any Means Necessary by Jack Mars

116. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche

117. In A Glass Darkly by J Sheridan le Fanu

118. Collected Poems by Edward Thomas

119. The Longer Poems by TS Eliot

120. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

121. The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

122. The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche

123. Choice of George Herbert’s verse by George Herbert

[wordsgood]

WE ARE OFFICIALLY ON LAST-WEEK-OF-THE-YEAR READING LOCKDOWN

no stardew valley! no youtube rabbit holes! no dicking around on pinterest despite its utter hostility and unusability! we are going to finish our top-priority reading list by saturday 11:59!

current said list, in order of importance:

the best american science and nature writing of 2014, ed. deborah blum (last Read Harder challenge)

for a muse of fire, heidi heilig (december’s monthly motif challenge)

moira’s pen, megan whalen turner (required 2022 reading obviously)

heaven official’s blessing vol. 5, mxtx (ditto above)

destination unknown, bill konigsberg (current audiobook, just have 3 hours left so it shouldn’t be a problem but I started my tma relisten and the plot just kicked in and to me a horror podcast about my most favorite tired ace archivist is more appealing than a book set during the aids epidemic. but it’ll happen, I just need self control)

we can do this!!! crunch-time motivation is the best motivation!!!

[raindropsonroses123]

Books Read in 2022

rereads in italics, favorites in bold

1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling

2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J K Rowling

3. Boxers by Gene Luen Yang

4. Saints by Gene Luen Yang

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J K Rowling

6. Topaz by Leon Uris

7. Politics and the English Language by George Orwell

8. The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling

10. A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

11. All Systems Red by Martha Wells

12. Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War by Charles B Dew

13. The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov

14. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J K Rowling

15. The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles’ Antigone by Seamus Heaney

16. The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

17. Hidden Mercy: Aids, Catholics, and the Untold Stories of Compassion in the Face of Fear by Michael J O’Loughlin

18. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

19. A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom, Including Their Own Narratives of Emancipation by David W Blight

20. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

21. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

22. Confederate Reckoning: Power and Politics in the Civil War South by Stephanie McCurry

23. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J K Rowling

24. Desolation Island by Patrick O’Brian

25. Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay by James Alison

26. Richard III by William Shakespeare

27. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

28. An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

29. A Long Day’s Journey Into Night by Eugene O’Neill

30. The Fortunes of War by Patrick O’Brian

31. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab

32. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

33. The PIllowman by Martin McDonagh

34. Free Thought and Official Propaganda by Bertrand Russell

35. The Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

36. The Open Society and its Enemies, Volume One: Plato by Karl Popper

37. The Problem of Pain by C S Lewis

38. The Open Society and its Enemies, Volume Two: Hegel and Marx by Karl Popper

39. Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield

40. Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America by David Hackett Fischer

41. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard

42. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

43. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

44. Persuasion by Jane Austen

45. Dead Cert by Dick Francis

46. Art by Yasmin Reza

47. His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

48. Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

49. The Constitution of Liberty by Friedrich A Hayek

50. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

51. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

52. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

53. Blackout by Simon Scarrow

54. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

55. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

56. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

57. The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol

58. This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War by Bruce Catton

59. The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde

60. Recitatif by Toni Morrison

61. Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II by Alex Kershaw

62. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

63. How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell

64. The Trial by Franz Kafka

65. To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson

66. The City of Brass by S A Chakraborty

67. Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett

68. Common Sense by Thomas Paine

69. The Crisis by Thomas Paine

70. Dracula by Bram Stoker

71. The Soviet Experiment: Russia, the USSR, and the Successor States by Ronald Grigor Suny

72. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

73. One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

74. Angels in America by Tony Kushner

75. Melmoth by Sarah Perry

76. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

77. How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell

78. The Poverty of Historicism by Karl Popper

79. The Shepherd by Frederick Forsyth

80. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

81. The Birth of Tragedy by Friedrich Nietzsche

82. Cue for Treason by Geoffrey Trease

[burningexeter]

I have (yet another) idea for an American made sequel/spin-off series to Attack On Titan, for Adult Swim and Toonami, that this time is called Attack On Titan: Folksong In The Night (hope that's a good title) and is an action/horror/magic series that not only goes back to the horror roots of the manga and anime but also goes back to the grounded roots of them both while at the same time making it its own thing to where it can stand out on its own.

• The series is set about four years after the events of "The Final Chapters - Part 2" (obviously) and one year after the epilogue and focuses on Historia Reiss, now going by her old alias Christa Lenz, having decided to put aside her crown and role as Ruler Of Paradis so she can put her past behind her and be a loving mother to her daughter Ymir, something she never had as a child herself. The two of them are currently living in an undisclosed location deep in the forest that is only known to a specific few and under new identities with most wondering of the mysterious disappearance of the Queen. It's here and with this set-up that Historia's past that she's been trying to run away from catches up with her when through her actions, she ends up coming face-to-face and nose-to-nose with an encased Mikasa Ackerman in a cement tomb and accidentally frees her. Mikasa ends up dragging her into a hidden world and underbelly of crime, witchcraft, experiments, surrealness and grounded fantasy all within the woods as the feelings between the two begin to surface.

• The whole idea of doing a high quality American made sequel/spin-off came from a more than interesting and even awesome cancelled project called Godzilla Reborn, an American made sequel to Godzilla 2000 (wait for it) that was to be directed by Joe Dante and had a planned cast of Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Campbell, Dick Miller, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Lee and others. The only carring over influence is the voice cast for the new characters that I have in mind being Christian Slater, Sean Whalen, Joe Taslim, Crispin Glover and Kristen Wiig - distinctive actors for distinctive roles in a distinctive project.

• The animation and aesthetic will go right back to the animation and aesthetic of the anime's first two seasons, meaning that yes, the lips will be back as if nothing had ever happened before. Anime logic. But it will be more expressive and at times, be more atmospheric. The first four Silent Hill games, Deathwatch (2002), Jacob's Ladder, The Others and The Secret Of NIMH serve as the main influences for both the darker look and the very wet, almost isolated yet stylized atmosphere. At times, it even makes you feel alone and having to fight the odds by yourself.

• Even though it's a really shitty game, this GIF is the only good example of what I'm talking about. Just like with its predecessor but in its own dark fantasy way again as a way to stand out from what came before, Folksong In The Night (still the title) will have an incredibly dark, intense and even scary edge to it to show the grounded level danger Mikasa and Historia are in. Case in point, in a horrifying throwback to when Ymir ate Historia in S2, Historia accidentally ends up landing on Mikasa who proceeds to immediately devour her whole in one big gulp.

• But why would it would be a throwback to Ymir? Because Mikasa and Historia will become an official couple in the series and the story will end with them getting married.

Hot steamy sex on their honeymoon?

Nah, but good thought though.

[very-grownup]

I posted 568 times in 2022

That's 160 more posts than 2021!

197 posts created (35%)

371 posts reblogged (65%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@emilreloaded

@powerfromthegreenwitch

@taskmastercaps

@simzart

@u3pxx

I tagged 311 of my posts in 2022

Only 45% of my posts had no tags

#quotations - 176 posts

#mo xiang tong xiu - 21 posts

#moby dick - 20 posts

#herman melville - 19 posts

#gene wolfe - 17 posts

#grief - 15 posts

#ace attorney - 14 posts

#megan whalen turner - 11 posts

#maggie stiefvater - 10 posts

#heaven official's blessing - 10 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#the evolution of i'm not sure if good omens 2 is a good idea without terry pratchett to oh john finnemore is involved this will be wonderful

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

"(...) When you gone to get married? You need to have some babies. It'll settle you." "I don't want to make somebody else. I want to make myself."

Sula, Toni Morrison

24 notes - Posted July 29, 2022

#4

He was daydreaming, and his thoughts, moving like the sea, gradually turned from the rhythm of the waves to that of the long, slow passage of time, and hence to the inevitability of growing old -- and he suddenly caught his breath. He had never looked forward to the wisdom and other vaunted benefits of old age. Would he be able to die young -- and if possible free of all pain? A graceful death -- as a richly patterned kimono, thrown carelessly across a polished table, slides unobtrusively down into the darkness of the floor beneath. A death marked by elegance. The thought of dying suddenly spurred him with a desire to see Satoko, if only for a moment.

Spring Snow, Yukio Mishima

28 notes - Posted May 25, 2022

#3

I responded to back-to-back trauma by writing fanfic for the first time in ... 15 years?

Since people are returning to tumblob for Reasons, maybe it is a good time to promote my current creative outlet and maybe we can do it without being self-depreciating!

I’ve been writing Ace Attorney fanfic, specifically focused on Apollo Justice. In chronological order, because all things are linked in my brain:

Camouflage; or A Field Analysis of the Habits and Disposition of the Average American Teenage Boy: Apollo and Clay have a sleepover in high school. About being a teenager and forming friendship bonds and parental loss.

Begonia, Bittersweet: post-Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Apollo visits Vera Misham in the hospital to have a circuitous talk about forgery and victimless crimes.

The Normalacy of Grief: post-Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice, Apollo, Nahyuta, and Rayfa talk about dead dads.

Snatching Closure from the Jaws of Chaos: hey you know how Shu Takumi left the series after Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney and the games that followed it that weren’t by him seemed to drop a lot of things that could have used further exploration?

*Citation Needed: WIP about Klavier visiting Apollo in Khura’in after the above story. There’s kissing. Hypothetically. Eventually. AND dead bodies. Eventually.

Lanugo: formerly amnesiac mother has some complicated feelings about meeting the son she thought was dead and then was amnesiac about with both of them knowing who the other is.

Missing You/Missing Time: some mystical bullshit goes down while Apollo and Klavier are juggling a long-distance relationship and it sucks and everyone hates it.

WE WILL NOT MAKE THE SELF-DEPRECIATING COMMENTS TO CLOSE OUT THIS POST THERE ARE SOME STORIES I HAVE WRITTEN THEM YOU CAN READ THEM PEACE.

73 notes - Posted November 14, 2022

#2

This seemed to resonate with some folks on the other social media site

Also now reading "Moira's Pen" (2022) by Megan Whalen Turner because I'm not taking "The Odyssey" into the bath to be dropped by my tiny hands.

You would think that a collection of short stories - although it's not really that (errata maybe) - published after the conclusion of an author's series would be full of answers to narrative gaps, things readers have always been curious about, elaborations from the ending.

So I'm absurdly pleased that Turner continues to answer basically no questions beyond "what is the age difference between two characters?" and "who is Gitta?" and instead has scattered dozens of new questions for the reader.

I might have further thoughts in terms of how this all fits with Turner's approach to series structure as a whole because I continue to find that fascinating. If I don't, though, cheers for more material confirming Relius as the least wholesome queer character. What a gift.

See the full post

96 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Li Shimin." Gao Qiu plants his elbow on the golden tablecloth and points at Shimin, designed black robes gleaming with a leather shine. "We barely have to do any rebranding for you. You're the baddest of bad boys. The ultimate alpha male. You live by your own rules, not giving a fuck about what other people think, and that's exactly what makes you so alluring. Men want to be you; women want to be protected by you." "Um," Shimin says. "Okay."

Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao

903 notes - Posted April 16, 2022

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