#Ellie will be Jackdaw

[mkarchin713]

Seconds after the portal closes it opens again and spits out more even more children.

Now Bruce has an 8 year old son (Danny), a 10 year old daughter (Jazz), a 12 year old son (Dante), and a 4 year old daughter (Ellie)

Bruce finally reads the sticky note on his new son Danny’s forehead

More will come when the time is right

-CW

…

Bruce- Alfred!

Alfred- yes master Bruce

Bruce- you remember when you told me where babies come from

Alfred-…. Yes?

Bruce- you forgot to mention the glowing green portal.

Prompt 44

You know who has been slept upon for DCxDP crossovers? Battinson, Batman 2022 Bruce. The B o i. 

Imagine, you are an anxious mess of a man, you are barely an adult, very stressed, very autistic, just wants to curl up with some MCR and hang out with your bat friends after you’ve finally managed to get over your phobia of bats. We all keep yelling to give Battinson a Robin, but can you imagine, being this man, and some sort of portal opens in the cave, in your super secret base. Your anxiety is through the roof, you’re going to either have a meltdown or grab a weapon or both. And then a child is yeeted through. And like, you’re not going to just let them fall onto the cave floor?? And by the time you look up the portal or whatever it is has closed and leaves you with a whole ass child blinking up at you with equal befuddlement and a green sticky note on their forehead. 

[hamliet]

What do you think about the romance in titanic?

It's truly great. Titanic is a good story and a good movie. I would actually recommend Lindsay Ellis' video on it.

But as for my thoughts...

The romance itself is a little alchemical, at least in terms of their names. Rose DeWitt-Bukator: Rose=red, symbol of the stone and red stage; DeWitt="of white," or the white stage. Rose is the philosopher's stone. Jack Dawson: reference to jackdaws, a symbol of the black stage). Which makes sense since James Cameron pitched it as Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic, and Romeo and Juliet is mega alchemical. (Also Cameron captured the spirit of Romeo and Juliet far better than most. It's hopeful!)

Jack and Rose aren't the most complex characters to grace the screen, but they don't have to be to be compelling (and they don't pretend to be more than they are, either). Their struggles are timeless and complementary, which helps them resonate with audiences around the world and across cultures.

Jack wants a better life, but he wants a better life for those around him, too. His joy and way of finding beauty in everything around him is contagious. He might have "nothing in [his] pocket" to offer, but he still finds moments of cheering about being the "king of the world" at the bow with Fabrizio, makes friends with those around him, plays with kids like Cora, and is fundamentally... kind. He saves a distraught woman from ending her life and didn't even defend himself when he was accused of attacking her. He captures his joy of life in his art, drawing what he sees as beautiful.

Rose wants a better life, just like Jack, but instead of being determined to live her best life where she's at, whatever she has or doesn't have, she has no freedom. Instead of being contagious in joy to where she draws others in like Jack, Rose must instead withdraw to survive. She can't trust anyone around her because they're all counting on her to save them (her mother wants Rose to save them from financial ruin, her fiancé wants Rose as arm candy). But Rose is seventeen. Jack's kindness to her inspires her to save him when he's accused of attacking her, and his love for life and for her just--they give Rose hope.

Is there anything more hopeful than seeing someone else truly alive?

Of course, then Jack dies saving Rose. And no, he could not have fit on the wood and also when water's that cold your limbs do not work perfectly so they could only make so many attempts to get on the wood in the first place, and yes if she'd stayed on the lifeboat he may have lived. but--that's not the point of the story. Rose is a seventeen year old girl who is tired of having people value her life as only what she can give them. Even Cal saving her by getting her on a lifeboat has nothing to do with Rose living and everything to do with her surviving to benefit him, not Rose.

Rose jumping off that lifeboat is her choice to live, even if it means she'll die.

It's a powerful choice, and people who nitpick or act like an abused, suicidal 17 year old facing trauma would think rationally are just... idk killjoys. Go watch Batman vs Superman or whatever pseudo-noir pretentious drivel tickles your fancy instead.

Anyways. So this motif of life coming from death is again, alchemy! It's a romantic tragedy, because even though Jack dies... there is life that comes from his sacrifice. Rose does live, physically as well as emotionally and spiritually. Even when she "dies" in the end, it's left ambiguous as a deliberate question--is she dying or dreaming? Does it matter, when the point is the same--that she's alive and Jack is alive and they are all together, whether in the afterlife or her dream?

[fog-and-rust]

Hogwarts Legacy Incorrect Quotes Part 7 (feat. my Hufflepuff!MC, Ellie)

Zenobia: I'm going to be an adult in 4 years and I only have a vague idea of what I'm going to do.

Ellie: I’m gonna be an adult in less than a year and I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.

Professor Garlick: I'm an adult and I don't know what I'm doing with my life.

Ominis: Three types of people.

***

[After summer break]

Ellie: *running towards Ominis with open arms*

Ominis: *moves out of the way*

Ellie: Hey, why'd you move?!

Ominis: I thought you were going to attack me.

Ellie: I was going to hug you!

Ominis: Why would you hug me?

Ellie: WHY WOULD I ATTACK YOU!?

***

Lenora: Something tells me Ellie's going to be a bit more unhinged today...

Ellie, with armful of Chinese Chomping Cabbages: Leave me be, cousin Leander isn't here to stop me, I'm going feral.

[A few moments later]

Garreth, pointing a camera at Ellie: There she is, our precious cinnamon scone.

Ellie, leading her little army of cabbages and chasing Puffskein Dunkein: What-?

***

Imelda: Madam Kogawa asked me to tell you about your new assignment, but I think it might make you jump from Astronomy Tower again.

Ellie: Just say it quick, like ripping off a band-aid.

Imelda: You have to teach Ominis how to fly on a broom.

Ellie: ... put the band-aid back on.

***

Ellie: In Garreth's defense, I’ve done some pretty dumb stuff even before I tried his latest concoction.

***

Ellie, in Headmaster's Office: I'll write Professor Black a friendly note. Dear... Incompetent... Dumbass...

***

Leander: I don’t care what anyone thinks about me.

Ellie: Ok.

Leander: Wait, why such a muted reaction? Did that not sound cool?

***

[Beasts are like Pokemons, gonna catch them all]

Ellie: Hey, you want a tarot reading?

Duncan: Those are Beasts cards.

Ellie: You got a Golden Snidget.

Duncan: ...

Ellie: It means 'you're fucked'.

***

[Let's speculate on other games]

Ellie, setting down a card: Sorting Hat.

Amit, pulling out an Arithmancy card: +4.

Poppy, pulling out a Beasts card: Grindylow, I choose you!

Leander, trembling: What are we playing?!

***

Leander: Can we talk about that howlers you sent?

Amit: All it says is, "I'm back on my idiocy".

Ellie, shrugging: The people need to know.

***

Richard Jackdaw: Don't joke about murder. I was murdered once and it offends me.

***

Leander: Ellie and I were at Summoner's Court, and Duncan flew by and shouted at us.

Ominis: What did she do?

Leander: She chased him to Ravenclaw tower, and broke into the Common Room, and-

Ellie: *dropping from above, casting Levioso on herself* Who wants a new broom seat?

***

Ellie: Garreth is a precious angel who’s never done anything wrong in his entire life!

Leander: Never done anything wrong?! He set our dormitory on FIRE!

***

Ellie: Where is that blasted Daedalian key?

Amit: Ellie, Zenobia and Lucan are around, can you say it a little nicer?

Ellie: May I ascertain the whereabouts of the LAST BLASTED DAEDALIAN KEY?!

***

Ellie: Your potion station is in the bathroom?

Garreth: Leander says this is the perfect place for my work. I’m just now realizing that remark may not have been entirely complimentary.

***

[In Great Hall]

Garreth: Amit won't come from Astronomy Tower but I really need his help with homework.

Ellie, to Zenobia: Please, go to Amit and tell him I said something.

Zenobia: Like what?

Ellie: Anything factually incorrect.

Zenobia, shrugging: If you say so.

[A few moments later]

Amit: Did you just say the sun is a PLANET?

***

[In Hogsmeade]

Ellie: We’re going to Honeydukes?!

Leander: No! It’s nighttime, Honeydukes is closed.

Garreth: We’re gonna ROB Honeydukes?!?!

Leander, sighing: No-

***

Ellie: Guess what?

Leander: What?

Ellie: No, you have to guess.

Leander, thinking: I don’t know.

Ellie: I've been to Azkaban.

Leander: Why would you make me guess that?!

Leander: What happened?!

***

Leander: Ellie just insisted I remember a code word in case I'm ever confronted by someone impersonating her under Polyjuice Potion and I'm not sure which is the real her and which is the imposter.

Leander: Some families have a fire escape plan, but not us.

***

Leander: *receives an owl* Oh! It’s Ellie.

Garreth, excitedly: Did she get me the stuff?

Leander: Yeah, she says she got you the Fwooper feathers, dried Billywig stings and 12 gallons of Troll blood.

Garreth: Wow! Where’d she find 12 gallons of fake Troll blood?

Leander: You wanted fake blood?

Garreth: ...

Leander: I’ll go write Ellie.

[tendebill]

[oc]

decided to make a list of silly oc facts for my and hopefully your enjoyment :3

David is missing a chunk of his left ear, as a cat bit it off when he was a kid. since then he's been terrified of cats (but wont admit it)

Sephoras didnt know his hair was wavy for YEARS because he grew up in really bad conditions (financially, emotinally, etc.) and never learned good hygene habits + never had the money to buy good hair products

Lucy is part shapeshifter, her father being an animal-shifter who could change into goats, deer and other similar creatures. while shes unable to shapeshift herself, she does have goat ears and horns, and a deer's tail (this also means she has a lotta bodyhair, including chest hair and sometimes facial hair). also this kind of shapeshifter hybrid (one that has a shapeshifter parent but doesnt have the ability to shift themselves) in Drakenterra is called a caminist :3

Angelica's parents, Johann and Hecate Emperor, have about 14 (?) kids in total, 7 biological and 6 adopted. Angelica is the oldest.

Huen has no surname. When she became a senator and was asked for her full name, she kept saying "just Huen :)" and staring menacingly at them, until they lost their nerve and decided she would be, in fact, just Senator Huen (no last name given).

Angelica Emperor's full name is Angelica Ordolia Celeste Eudora Barbara Emperor, as her parents had so many names they liked and couldn't just pick one (they later stuggled to come up with names for their other 6 biological children, Angelica's youngest sister being named Angelica II).

Angelica's has a munchkin cat named Fluffy Baron Cecil Vanilla Cosmo Tabby I, Tabby for short.

Maffi has a jackdaw named espresso, but her youngest brother Bernard INSISTS on calling it Muffin (David finds it funny).

Bernard almost always accidentaly camouflages wherever he is. He will stand next to a blue walpaper dressed in a shirt and vest of the exact same color. He will blend into the curtains. People often forget he's even there.

Angele knows how to sew and always makes amazing costumes for halloween (once Ellie introduces her to cosplaying, the game is on).

Ellie often makes references to Nullterra's popculture, which confuse the characters from Drakenterra (and a few other dimenstions) immensily. ("And who is this.... General Kenobi???" "Who tf is Bob Ross??" "What the fuck is a thor?" "No, I dont wanna have a bad time??" "I guess I am filled with determination?" "who is rick and why does he roll?" etc.)

Ellie was a fandom kid and probably wears FNAF and Undertale merch around the others (causing further confusion).

Sephoras has a thing for dumb brand names and slogans. He will point them out and complain about how nonesensical they are frequently.

Cyan's music taste changes all the time, one time they'll be making trap remixes of any song they get their hands on, next they're blasting classical music during a car ride, then they're listening to old rock bands the next time you see them. no one knows how many instruments they can play

Lucy can play ukulele and guitar

James collects flowers and Lucy always takes them and puts them into a herbarium. They often try to make teas out of stuff they find too, or use them as herbs. they also make flowercrowns together

Dots and Angele are the rich kids in the friend group, while Cyan and Seph have both experienced poverty at some point in their lives.

Ellie is a child of divorce.

thats it for now :3

[ojcobsessed]

oooh this is a good one. i've gotten this question on this blog a few times over the years and people yell at oliver in his instagram posts' comments about this too. i have a lot of thoughts about this so this is so fucking long, jeez.

in a nutshell, i guess in a way i think he is typecast at this point but it's not bc he doesn't want other jobs. it's just the only kind of role he's gotten for a while.

1 - so for example i do think the characters of james and will are very similar, which to me is unfortunate because the character of will in the original source material for wilderness was soo different. he was more like a promiscuous himbo charmer and was even funny here and there but the show turned him (imo) irredeemable and unlikable for plot purposes.

now i feel you could argue that james in surface isn't really a bad person, just someone who hides a lot of secrets but with good intentions toward the female protagonist, but in practice they were both 8 full episodes' worth of unlikable, untrustworthy toxic men and a lot of people did comment on social media about this seeming like a very unpleasant creative rut for oliver.

2 - people who complain he went from playing an abusive piece of shit in the invisible man to an abusive piece of shit in bly manor need to remember peter quint isn't the role oliver signed on to a second season for. the show was originally announced with oliver and victoria pedretti as the two leads and in this interview oliver says that he was jamie in the original draft of the season before it was written, but netflix forced mike flanagan to recast jamie because they thought audiences wouldn't be able to handle actors who formerly played twins to play lovers (ahs does this kind of thing successfully all the time but ok netflix).

oliver has also said that he signed on to the second season when it was just a pitch, before anything was written. so it wasn't really his fault that he went from luke crain to adrian griffin to peter quint!

3 - likewise oliver said he originally read for the part in the lost daughter that eventually went to jack farthing, the boring disconnected husband that the lead character ((played by jessie buckley) cheats on with peter sarsgaard's older man professor character as a young woman. so the role he wanted in that project wasn't a toxic criminal like toni, just dull and unsupportive.

4 - its very true that though he's played a lot of shady characters very few of them have been outright villainous! but i'm also not convinced that's a nuance that mainstream audiences or industry people necessarily pick up on unfortunately. we know they're different but to a lot of casual viewers, adrian, toni, peter, james and will are all the same character in different fonts.

5 - so i don't necessarily agree that oliver is deliberately seeking out these toxic shitty boyfriend/husband roles specificallly, at least not that it's a niche he gives any special preference for just like horror hasn't been something he's sought out specificallly.

instead i think it's just been coincidences mixed with circumstances.

6 - a big thing being he is at an age where most male actors who aren't getting leading roles are instead getting boyfriend/husband roles. it's just what's available and for whatever reason, he's not yet getting bigger or leading roles in bigger projects.

tbf i just don't think his looks fit into the current hollywood zeitgeist for what's popular among lead male actors in the 25-40 range right now. so he gets these supporting roles and a lot of times they're a foil bf husband character. aka sketchy!

7 - however, we do know he tries out for bigger and different things. there was the bigger lost daughter role above, and he also has said that he tried out for the young albus dumbledore role years ago in the fantastic beasts franchise many years ago before they decided to skew the role much older and cast jude law instead, and we ALSO know from his talking about it that he was on the short list for the role in mike flanagan's 2013 film oculus which eventually went to brenton thwaites and which is how he met mike flanagan and got cast in hill house a few years later.

8 - also as marvel stans on twitter have bemoaned every day for the last 2.5 years, he was very open to trying out for the role of marc spector/moon knight in the marvel tv series until marvel said they wanted a big name in the role.

9 - there was a rumor circulating on twitter in very early 2021 which i can't find now for the life of me (prob deleted) that he had been on the short list for a role in a star wars related project that he ultimately didn't get either.

note….. due to the timing of it i'm confident it was andor but no clue what role it was for.

10 - finally in the video interview with jackdaw director jamie childs that i just posted, jamie says that when he told oliver about the script he was working on, just chatting as a friend, oliver asked him for advice about what directors might look for in auditions for action lead roles.

so i do think he's interested in and trying for different kinds of roles but he's just not getting them just yet for a wide variety of reasons that have nothing to do with his effort or talent.

anyway for anyone who's got "oliver jackson-cohen toxic bf/husband character" fatigue, his next 2 roles in both jackdaw and the world will tremble are both lead hero roles. so who knows, maybe his career trajectory is going to turn some kind of corner with those. here's to hoping!

do you think oliver's been typecast, as far as the 'scummy man' role goes? I know he feels that these characters are pretty different but... lol idk it's a lot. invisible man, bly manor, lost daughter, etc

i feel like typecast has some negative connotations but honestly yes! he definitely has a type that he enjoys playing and has been pretty vocal about what he doesn’t enjoy (rom-coms / action-y movies [which is ironic considering jackdaw]) but he’s been playing these ‘dark/scummy’ roles for his entire career, so they’re not really new.

i think a lot of people became a fan of his through hill house which skewed their opinion of him since it was a bit of a departure from his regular type of role and then were confused when he went back to playing the “bad guy”. imo only like 8 (9 depending on how you feel about lucas/roan) roles out of his entire filmography (28 listed on imdb) would i consider to be “good guys”.

i also really don’t think the back to back roles of james and will have done anything to reassure people he can play diverse characters since they are so deeply similar. but at the same time it’s unfair that people seem to completely ignore mr. malcolm’s list and emily (usually forgotten bc they are movies and period pieces) which are so different from his usual tv roles.

anyways, yes i think he is typecast for darker roles but i don’t think it’s against his wishes!

[tuxedo-birds]

Daurian Jackdaw (Corvus dauuricus)

© Paul Ellis

[corvid-mania]

Daurian Jackdaw (Corvus dauuricus)

© Paul Ellis

[strawberrycamel]

WIP Tag Game

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have WIPs (or as many peeps as you want, really- ‘tis just for fun!)

started by @wipbigbang and tagged by @bibliophilea 💚

(hooo boy there's a lot gimme a min here)

Hellbent (chapter 3)

Once Shattered, Now Whole (chapter 3)

jerkwad league #3

challenge accepted uwuplasmiusuwu

a blob, a halfa, and a huntress get stuck in the ghost zone

umm, thanks? (skulker & wes)

danny's an asshole and vlad's polyam

literally gonna be venting

ufs - blind date + shenanigans

the JL learns the true christmas of spirits idk

haunted something or other

Ghost boy on campus, what crimes will he commit

coffin time :)

Bet on it - wes

Oh Robin, My Robin

WTLE! one-shots

dante's angst bingo

Clocky McCuckwork

Dark ages accidentally married

Pressure - Jazz

Jazz has two little brothers

Bolb the Blob Rancher

Amnesiac Tim from Tim POV

Ectoplasm Pudding

Fulfillment (maddie x vlad dissec)

gaweek 2021 - day 4 corruption - jl/dp

dp x yj all his fault

thanks for the memories (dp/yj crossover starting at bereft)

A speedster's return and an archer's embrace

Scalie sam lol

Dan wasn't built in a day

caught dead to rights

Ellie and her hoes (DC edition)

Not Your Son - bad end

dp rottmnt crossover

Not Your Son meeting the nurse

what the fuck is a gender - dp but projecting

DP/YJ - something like drowning

Danny Phantom is a funny guy

wulf and wolf

Rottmnt fic draft #2

The freedom to fly (beast boy fic)

Danny is bad at secret ID's

DP a fishy ghost girl plays with Danny - ልዕልት

glowstick bones and badger cereal

Ancients sitcoms

DP/YJ but w/ the outsiders

danny hasn't decided to come out as the ghost 'boy' yet

That one monthly shit on danny club based on wreck it ralph fic

this is all the fic wips i got and i never really counted how many i had until now (49, the answer is 49 and i am in pain)

i dont think i know 49 people & i dont wanna tag anyone bib already did but uhhh

tags: @princessfanonanona @ghost-pasta @pennerjones @redead-red @bigjbonk @tytach @bubblegumbeech @jackdaw-sprite @datawyrms @dp-marvel94 @ectoplasmicsoda @themockingcrows @ectoblastfromthepast @apinklion01 @cleanlenins @catmiint @grubchen0217 and anyone else who wants to!

[victorianbelovedanimals]

Top, PRB: The Wombat, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1869).

Jane Morris leading the Wombat, from an album of 60 caricature drawings; WL to front. 1869 Pen and brown ink, over graphite. © The Trustees of the British Museum

Introduction:

Dante Gabriel Rossetti wrote this short poetic postscript on 10th September 1869 in anticipation of his wombat’s arrival at his villa. The painter owned his own private menagerie on 16, Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London, where he collected diverse exotic animals and let them roam free in his garden. He had purchased the marsupial for £8 from Jamrach’s, a shop located in the East End where one could buy and sell all sorts of animals (including elephants, alligators and tigers...) As Rossetti had retired to Penkill Castle in Scotland because of his ‘insomnia and failure of eyesight’, his studio assistant, Harry Dunn, picked up the wombat and brought it to Rossetti’s villa. The latter sent some sketches of the animal to Rossetti who, inspired by the marsupial, wrote this ‘Ode to a wombat’. Rossetti returned to London and first met his wombat, who he decided to name ‘Top’, on 20th September 1869. The marsupial was often present at the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s debates and discussions as Rossetti allowed him to sleep in the middle of the dinner table, surrounded with Edward Burne-Jones, William Morris, Algernon Swinburne and others…

Poem History:

Dante Gabriel Rossetti composed this short poem and sent it to his sister, Maria Francesca Rossetti on 10th September 1869 from Penkill Castle, Scotland. He also sent the poem to Jane Morris on the following day.

Description:

Title: The Wombat/ Parted Love!

Date: 10th September 1869

Rhyme: aaaa

Meter: anapaestic tetrameter

Genre: poetic postscript

The Wombat/Parted Love!

Oh! how the family affections combat Within this heart; and each hour flings a bomb at My burning soul; neither from owl nor from bat[1] Can peace be gained, until I clasp my Wombat![2]

[1] In his memoirs, William Michael Rossetti wrote a detailed description of  his brother’s private menagerie at 16, Cheyne Walk: ‘There were a Pomeranian puppy named Punch, a grand Irish deerhound named Wolf, a barn-owl named Jessie, another owl named Bobby […] rabbits, dormice, hedgehogs, two successive wombats, a Canadian marmot or woodchuck, an ordinary marmot, armadilloes, kangaroos, wallabies, a deer, a white mouse with her brood, a racoon, squirrels, a mole, peacocks, wood-owls, Virginian owls, Chinese horned owls, a jackdaw, laughing jackasses (Australian kingfishers), undulated grass-parrakeets, a talking grey parrot, a raven, chameleons, green lizards, and Japanese salamanders.’

[2] Even though Rossetti owned several exotic animals, he had a particular fascination for wombats. The Rossettis were frequent visitors of the Zoological Society’s Gardens in Regent’s Park. John Simons argues that the Regent’s Park Zoo welcomed its first wombat on 26th October 1830. Dante, William, Christina and Maria were most likely fond of the small marsupials as children. As an adult, Dante remained a regular visitor of the gardens and often met other members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood by the ‘Wombat’s Lair’.

Bibliography

Rossetti, William Michael, Dante Gabriel Rossetti: His Family-Letters with a Memoir (Volume One) (n.p.: Ellis, 1895).

------- Rossetti Papers 1862-1870 (London: Sands, 1903).

Simons, John, Rossetti’s Wombat: Pre-Raphaelites and Australian Animals in Victorian London (n.p.: Middlesex University Press, 2008).

[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!

[inclineto]

Books, March - April 2020

Desire Lines - Elizabeth Kingston

The New Me - Halle Butler

Track of the Cat - Nevada Barr

Kingdom of Summer - Gillian Bradshaw

Anne of Avonlea - L. M. Montgomery

A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly

Tales from Earthsea - Ursula K. Le Guin

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version - Philip Pullman

The Mercies - Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Plain Secrets: An Outsider Among the Amish - Joe MacKall

Finn Family Moomintroll - Tove Jansson

The Other Wind - Ursula K. Le Guin *

Secret Water - Arthur Ransome

The Heaven Tree - Edith Pargeter

The Harrowing of Gwynedd - Katherine Kurtz [do you ever worry that there are authors who enjoy writing about executions just a little too much?]

Whitehall - Liz Duffy Adams et al.

We Ride Upon Sticks - Quan Barry

King Javan’s Year - Katherine Kurtz [q: why do I keep reading these? why does everyone talk like they work for Deloitte? and here’s the thing: so Rome and Jerusalem both exist, although no one ever goes there, as do Islam and Judaism (and Latin, Arabic, and Gaelic), there are adjectives like “Celtic” and “Moorish,” there’s clearly something playing the role of Mediterranean trade routes and given that it exists - presuming Rome and Jerusalem are where we left them - I see no reason not to assume it’s the Mediterranean, but we also have fantasy not-quite-Catholicism in our fantasy British Isle-y peninsula (subcontinent?), butted up right next to the fantasy Persian Gulf, which is next door to fantasy France, which shares a border with evil fantasy Byzantium (except when it’s evil fantasy Russia), which has some fantasy Eastern Orthodoxy going on and besides all my serious concerns about the geography I JUST WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE POPE.]

Wanted, a Gentleman - KJ Charles

The Desire for Dearborne - V.B. Kildaire

Inventing Victoria - Tonya Bolden

She Rises - Lucy Worsley * [I liked this quite a bit - below-decks Age of Sail plus a classic maid & mistress narrative, and in many ways what I’d hoped for from Confessions of the Fox - but I also need to warn for a lot of sexual violence and one section with the n-word over and over and over]

The Bastard Prince - Katherine Kurtz [a: it’s because they flip the Canon Error; Apply Fanfic? switch really decisively, even though I don’t]

Jackdaw - KJ Charles [I nearly quit on this during the first sex scene, but I’m glad I didn’t: magic! pining! the fresh sea air! learning to live with your formerly(?)-felonious flying ex(?)-boyfriend! all in all, a delight]

Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution - Peter Kalmus [when you give a Buddhist a vegetable oil-powered car...]

Magic for Liars - Sarah Gailey

Lilli de Jong - Janet Benton

Bookburners: Season One - Max Gladstone et al.

If You Lived Here You’d Be Home By Now - Christopher Ingraham

Rag and Bone - KJ Charles

Weather - Jenny Offill

A Corruptible Crown - Gillian Bradshaw

Invitation to the Dance - Tamara Allen

Land of Mist and Snow - Debra Doyle and James MacDonald [I’m not going to claim this is good, and the part where a Mayan priest with no personality besides evil is sacrificing people for the Confederacy is definitely dicey, but I will tell you that it features a 19th-century abolitionist vestal virgin stripping down on the quarterdeck to commune with the spirit of a battleship and first of all, what???, and second, I was 100% there for it]

Frankissstein - Jeanette Winterson

Mourning Raga - Ellis Peters

The Apple-Tree Throne - Premee Mohamed

The Weight of Ink - Rachel Kadish

The Downstairs Girl - Stacey Lee

We Wish You Luck - Caroline Zancan * [Some awkwardly MFA-marked passages I’d like to edit, but I finished this on a Friday night and reread it on the Saturday]

Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities - Amy Stewart

Romancing the Inventor - Gail Carriger

Spin the Dawn - Elizabeth Lim

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzi Lee

Walden & On the Duty of Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau

A Face Like Glass - Frances Hardinge *

[vawendytoo-blog]

Sunday

Fountains Abbey

Today started with a traditional English breakfast:

Roasted tomatoes Bbq Beans Bacon (not our regular bacon -- which is “streaky bacon” but back bacon which is the cut of bacon that is considered Canadian Bacon, but cured like our regular bacon. Really Really good stuff! Sausage Black pudding Poached eggs

On to Fountains Abbey

These are Jackdaws:

Our first deer

After a cream tea at the tea room, we went back home, exhausted.

Dinner was a starter of Yorkshire Pudding. (I STILL don’t understand how popovers are a “pudding”! Then we had a Sunday roast. Another delicious dinner. 

After dinner we had “pudding” -- which was a chocolate cake roll with a whipped cream and raspberry filling.

After Ellie left, we watched Horrible Histories Tv show and Antiques Road Show.

[fog-and-rust]

Hogwarts Legacy Incorrect Quotes Part 2 - Cousin Edition (feat. my Hufflepuff!MC, Ellie)

I'm having way too much fun with quotes generator.

I headcanon that MC was believed to be a Squib until their abilities suddenly awakened. So they were homeschooled in subjects that don't require using a wand. This explains why we can theoretically and practically beat Imelda's records and brew decent potions and why we know the magical lore but have to learn spells from scratch. My MC and Leander are cousins.

***

[A year before MC started attending Hogwarts, during winter holidays]

Ellie: How was last term, Leander? Leander: Yeah, fine, last month there was an anti-bullying week. Ellie: Oh? And what did that mean? Leander: It meant I couldn't bully anyone for a whole week. Ellie *confused, but being supportive*: That's truly unfortunate.

***

[When she started attending Hogwarts]

Leander: I am in charge of this disaster! Ellie: I have a name, you know.

***

[When she is away running errands for everyone else]

Leander *sending her an owl*: Reply when you’re back safely. Ellie *flying on a broom past Gryffindor tower late at night*: I’m back dangerously! Leander *not bothering to open his eyes*: Stop it. Ellie: I’m back lethally!

***

[Standing in front of Ravenclaw common room]

Eagle knocker: What goes up but never comes down? Leander: The amount of stress Ellie is bringing our family. Ellie: How would the knocker possibly know that? [The door opens] Ellie: I climbed all these stairs to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now.

***

Leander: Seriously, Ellie, how many people would you have killed if our classmates'd asked you to? Ellie: That’s not important Leander: I DISAGREE.

***

[When she tells him that her next trial is to tame a graphorn]

Leander: You can do it, cousin! Leander: But if you can't, at least your death will be quick, painless, and really cool to watch.

***

[When she does parkour Merlin trials]

Leander *watching her jumping around, ready to catch her if she falls*: This is a bad idea. Ellie *calculating her next jump*: Then why are you coming along? Leander: Someone has to carry your injured ass back to school.

***

[After the quest with Richard Jackdaw]

Duncan: Go to Azkaban! Ellie: Oh! I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely. Leander *trembling*: What did you do this time?

***

[in the schoolyard just above Hufflepuff common room]

Leander: Hello, Poppy, where's Ellie? Poppy: Around Leander: Around? Leander: You don't have any idea, do you? Ellie *dropping down from nowhere, holding the field guide*: Did you know that the frog statues can eat you?

***

Leander: Where have you been all day? Ellie: Oh, just dealing with things way beyond my maturity level.

***

Ellie *summing up Sebastian's questline*: There are three ways to handle a difficult situation. The right way, the wrong way, and the Sebastian way. Leander: Isn't that the wrong way? Ellie: Yes, but it's faster.

***

[After the Sorting Ceremony, when they get a chance to talk]

Leander: Why were you late? Ellie: I have seen a lot of murders in my time, and all six of them were that day.

[mustlovetights]

Goodbye 2018!

As this strange, surreal year draws to a close I felt it might be nice to recap a resolution I made at the beginning of the year: to read more published books. My goal was 2 per month minimum.

Maybe it was a blatant need for escapism in any form, but I read a crap ton this year.

Never let it be said I do anything half way. Ahem.

In the interest of some form of organization I am dividing this literary amalgamation into categories: Fiction, Art & Hobbies, and Children’s Lit (I adore beautifully illustrated picture books. This isn’t a surprise.) My favorites are marked with bold and italic.

Fiction: Fiction consumed the latter half of the year, consisting of 1 action/adventure book and... a few dozen m/m romance novels. (Again--not a surprise). In the order of reading here are the spoils (with Amazon links, for which I get absolutely nothing.): 

Artemis by Andy Weir

The Adventures of Charls, the Veretian Cloth Merchant: A Captive Prince Short Story (Captive Prince Short Stories Book 3) by C. S. Pacat

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Witchmark (The Kingston Cycle Book 1) by C. L. Polk

The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies Book 1) by KJ Charles

A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies Book 2) by KJ Charles

Flight of Magpies (A Charm of Magpies Book 3) by KJ Charles

Band Sinister by KJ Charles

Jackdaw (A Charm of Magpies World) by KJ Charles

Rag and Bone (A Charm of Magpies World) by KJ Charles

A Queer Trade (A Charm of Magpies World) by KJ Charles

A Fashionable Indulgence: A Society of Gentlemen Novel (Society of Gentlemen Series Book 1) by KJ Charles

A Seditious Affair: A Society of Gentlemen Novel (Society of Gentlemen Series Book 2) by KJ Charles

A Gentleman's Position: A Society of Gentlemen Novel (Society of Gentlemen Series Book 3) by KJ Charles

An Unseen Attraction (Sins of the Cities Book 1) by KJ Charles

An Unnatural Vice (Sins of the Cities Book 2) by KJ Charles

An Unsuitable Heir (Sins of the Cities Book 3) by KJ Charles

Spectred Isle (Green Men Book 1) by KJ Charles

Think of England by KJ Charles

It Takes Two to Tumble: Seducing the Sedgwicks by Cat Sebastian

The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian

The Lawrence Browne Affair by Cat Sebastian

The Ruin of a Rake by Cat Sebastian

 A Gentleman Never Keeps Score: Seducing the Sedgwicks by Cat Sebastian

 Provoked (Enlightenment Book 1) by Joanna Chambers

Beguiled (Enlightenment Book 2) by Joanna Chambers

Enlightened (Enlightenment Book 3) by Joanna Chambers

A Minor Inconvenience by Sarah Granger

Widdershins (Whyborne & Griffin Book 1) by Jordan L. Hawk

Threshold (Whyborne & Griffin Book 2) by Jordan L. Hawk

Stormhaven (Whyborne & Griffin Book 3) by Jordan L. Hawk

Whyborne and Griffin, Books 4-6: Necropolis, Bloodline, and Hoarfrost (The Whyborne & Griffin Series Box Sets Book 2) by Jordan L. Hawk

Whyborne and Griffin, Books 7-9: Maelstrom, Fallow, and Draakenwood (The Whyborne & Griffin Series Box Sets Book 3) by Jordan L. Hawk

Balefire (Whyborne & Griffin Book 10) by Jordan L. Hawk

Restless Spirits by Jordan L. Hawk

Dangerous Spirits by Jordan L. Hawk

Guardian Spirits by Jordan L. Hawk  

SPECTR: The Complete First Series (SPECTR Box Sets Book 1) by Jordan L. Hawk

Introducing Mr. Winterbourne by Joanna Chambers

Mr Winterbourne's Christmas by Joanna Chambers

A Ferry of Bones & Gold (Soulbound Book 1) by Hailey Turner            

Art & Hobby: I love learning new things, and along with reading and studying several art books, I also took a few online art classes this year (two at JeanneOliver.com and several over at Skillshare). I’ve mentioned it before but I let my creative side slide for several years, giving up painting and drawing because I thought there was no point since art wasn’t my “Career”. (Spoiler: I was wrong). In no particular order, these were the art books I read (and refer back to), along with a few “lifestyle/creative living” books too.

Botanical Drawing in Color: A Basic Guide to Mastering Realistic Form and Naturalistic Color   by Wendy Hollender

Botanical Illustration Course: With the Eden Project by Rosie Martin & Meriel Thurstan

Imagine a Forest: Designs and Inspirations for Enchanting Folk Art by Dinara Mirtalipova

My Name is Girl: An Illustrated Guide to the Female Mind  by Nina Cosford

The Art of Kiki's Delivery Service: by Hayao Miyazaki

The Art of Howl's Moving Castle by   Hayao Miyazaki

The Art of My Neighbor Totoro: A Film by Hayao Miyazaki 

Paint and Frame: Botanical Painting: Nearly 20 Inspired Projects to Paint and Frame Instantly by Sara Boccaccini Meadows 

By Hand: The Art of Modern Lettering  by Nicole Miyuki Santo

Watercolor With Me in the Forest by Dana Fox 

Art Starts with a Line: A creative and interactive guide to the art of line drawing by Erin McManness

Draw Your Day: An Inspiring Guide to Keeping a Sketch Journal by Samantha Dion Baker

Modern Watercolor: A playful and contemporary exploration of watercolor painting By Kristin Van Leuven 

The Little Book of Life Hacks: How to Make Your Life Happier, Healthier, and More Beautiful by Yumi Sakugaw

Other-Wordly: words both strange and lovely from around the world by Yee-Lum Mak, Kelsey Garrity-Riley

The Joy of Watercolor: 40 Happy Lessons for Painting the World Around You by Emma Block

Everyday Watercolor: Learn to Paint Watercolor in 30 Days  by Jenna Rainey 

Urban Watercolor Sketching: A Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Storytelling in Color by Felix Scheinberger

100 Days of Drawing (Guided Sketchbook): Sketch, Paint, and Doodle Towards One Creative Goal Jennifer Orkin Lewis 

Brush Lettering Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Workbook to Create Gorgeous Freeform Lettered Art by Chrystal Elizabeth

Mindfulness & the Art of Drawing by Wendy Ann Greenhalgh  

Children’s Books: I follow many illustrators on instagram and YouTube and many of those have written or illustrated children’s books. Mary Blair has long been my favorite illustrator, and I already own two books featuring her work for Walt Disney & Little Golden Books among others. I love collecting children’s illustrated picture books, but I usually do pass them along to my nieces and nephews. Here are a few I would have a hard time letting go...

Home by Carson Ellis

How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green

Walt Disney's Cinderella (Reissue) (Walt Disney's Classic Fairytale) by Cynthia Rylant; illustrated by Mary Blair

Jane, the Fox, and Me by Fanny Britt, Isabelle Arsenault, Christine Morelli, Susan Ouriou

Mary Poppins (picture book) by Dr. P. L. Travers, illustrated by Genevieve Godbout 

And that’s it! Whew! I’m not much for resolutions usually, other than reaffirming my own personal goals and promises to myself to take better care of

me

and giving back to the earth / being conscious of how I contribute to the continuation of a healthy planet. But reading was a good one for me. It gave me an outlet I didn’t realize I had missed quite as much as I did.

Can you believe I still read fanfic after all of this? I DID! Admittedly not as much as in previous years (and I accomplished very little writing of my own, but I did a little bit here and there and that’s okay too).

For now, it’s Goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019! If you have any really wonderful LGBTQ authors to recommend, I would love to have some new blood! I’m pretty loyal when I find one I like and sort of inhale their catalogue. 

Happy New Year!!

[sols-actual-main-blog]

10 Question Tag

I was tagged by @itstheenglishkid on my main, @sol-martell , but I’d rather answer it on here. Thanks for tagging, tho. :)

1. If your WIP was made into a (good) film or TV show, which actors would you want to be in it? Oh my god, do you know how long I waited for this question? My ideal cast would be the following:

Josephine - Ellie Kendrick Violet - Faye Marsay/Kristen Stewart Gary - Iwan Rheon Jackdaw - Harry Lloyd Alistair - Aidan Gillen Diana - Diane Neal Arthur - Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Frank - Benedict Cumberbatch Lisa - Renee Olstedt Benley - Pierce Brosnan Aunt Abby - Meryl Streep Mr. Chamberlaine - Richard Gere Henry - Grayson Russell Reilly - Olivia Wilde Fox - Martin Freeman Craig - Gerald Butler Ava - Michelle Fairley Hank - Robert Sean Leonard Charlotte Dale - Kerry O'Malley Mrs. Barrett - Kate Dickie Mr. Barrett - Hugh Laurie

Erm. *pretends to not have this prepared for ages* 2. Have you ever written something in a genre you don’t read (at all?) Hm. Don’t know. I never really read a steampunk novel, because I simply never found one worth reading, but I’m totally determined to write one. 3. What is your current favourite TV show? Also hm. I used to love Game of Thrones, but it became so horribly bad over the last three seasons, I no longer watch it at all, so I’ll go with The Simpsons and the heute-show (literally today-show; a German political satire show, kinda similar to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver). 4. Is it currently raining where you live? It’s pouring since I returned from Italy here. Hello autumn, I guess. 5. Why did you choose your URL name? Well, because my internet pseudonym for almost everything is Sol Martell in different variations, but I used that for my main already, so I simply called this blog sols-writer-blog, because that’s literally what it is. Not very original, but yeah. 6. Do you play video games? Nope. 7. Would you ever want people to write fanfictions to your book? Yes, I’d feel honored, because people loved my work so much they want to write more of it. Most probably I’d ask them to stay away from smut, because I think blatant smut in general a little offensive to the author, but in the end, I don’t have to read it, so it’s kinda unimportant. 8. What is your favourite kind of ice cream? I like coffee ice cream, also vanilla and yoghurt. 9. Who is your least favourite OC? What is their favourite ice cream? Not sure, but it’s probably Art. He just doesn’t feel right to me, a bit too shallow maybe or too cliché, I don’t know. Anyway, his favourite ice cream is After Eight, of course. 10. Do you think a hotdog is a sandwich? Why, no? (To be fair, a sandwich in German is probably something else than elsewhere, so maybe I misunderstood the question a bit).

Here, have my questions:

1. Do you have a writing idol? Who is it and why? 2. Do you write real people into you stories? 3. If you had to stick to one genre only, which would you choose? 4. If there was a TV show or film of your WIP, who should star in it? (Yes, stealing this question. It’s just too damn good!) 5. Are there any songs you associate to certain characters from your works? 6. A romance as the main plot, yay or nay? 7. What would you want to study, if you could choose any subject? 8. Character-driven or plot-driven story? 9. Real world setting or inventing a new world? 10. Where do you position yourself politically? As I already did this once and probably already tagged you the first time, feel free to ignore me: @seriophi @blackgirlmagicwrites @quiet-tiime @isnappedmypencil @edoqawa

[tessatechaitea]

Kamandi Challenge #1

If this is as big a trainwreck as DC Challenge, I'll definitely solve it before DC does! I still don't think they solved that one.

I'm surprised Keith Giffen is doing the art. Unless this is Koblish trying to look like Kirby but instead looking like Giffen!

Kamandi, the not quite last boy on Earth, races off across town to try to catch the school bus at its last stop. It seems like if he can catch the school bus by cutting through town, he can probably just race straight to school. Not that I know the layout of his town! This is a mystery, by gorsh! Knowing the topographical features of the local locale could give away the mystery! Kamandi is stopped by a cop who takes the law a little too seriously. He says, "I don't care if you're the last boy on Earth, no one crosses against the red." Dude. If he's the last boy on Earth then there's no danger crossing against the red! Unless the last girl on Earth is driving like a fucking maniac and coming from the other direction. Okay fine. I guess the cop has a point. Plus there are all those sentient animals who drive in the future. But maybe in their society, they cross on the red and stop on the green? Take that, Mr. Fascist Cop! Some creatures crash through the sky as if it were just the top of a dome painted like the sky. Kamandi's fellow citizens pull out weapons to begin fighting them and urge Kamandi to rush home. I guess this is Command "D" and Kamandi lives in a simulated environment with his grandmother. Did I just solve the mystery? No? Oh, yeah, that's right. I just comprehended what I was reading. Never mind. I'll get that mystery yet though! The Kangarat Murder Society has broken into Command "D" because there's a bounty on Kamandi's head. The villagers protect him because they're just robots built to protect the last boy on Earth. Kamandi rushes home thinking, "So when I fucked Sarah Lou Ellen behind the bleachers, I actually had my dick in a...a...machine?!"

Is that the mystery? The Case of Kamandi's Missing Parents?

After being shoved through The Void, Kamandi learns he's in a terrible spin-off of Heroes when he hears a voice say, "Find your parents. Save the world." Also, Heroes itself was fucking terrible. I will admit there were some interesting things about it but it was lazy in that the characters in every series were motivated by either a vision of the future or a prophecy. When a writer uses those devices to get the action moving, it means they're terrible writers. Kamandi comes out of the other side of The Void with long hair and three months worth of piss and shit staining his torn up jeans. He winds up in the clutches of the Tiger-men! That means he's about to meet that pervert, Doctor Canus! Did I just solve the mystery? The pervert is Doctor Canus? But before he can meet Doctor Canus, Kamandi must survive in the arena against Tiny. And you know with a name like "Tiny," he's got to be big. Even in the future, they stick to nickname clichés.

Based on what Kamandi knows, this statement makes no sense. Even if he's riffing on what the cop told him earlier, Kamandi has no idea that he's currently the last boy on Earth so if he dies, he'll, um, still be the last boy on Earth but with a slightly altered meaning.

And that's the end of part one! That's a pretty simple cliffhanger to solve! Kamandi just needs to beat Tiny. I bet he's swallowed whole by Tiny and then he kicks his way out of Tiny's stomach from the inside! No wait. That's preposterous. Maybe he'll do that thing that Luke did to the Rancor but instead of using a large thigh bone, he'll use the last boner on Earth. Or maybe Doctor Canus will stop the match because he likes the smell of Kamandi's asshole. However it's solved, I'll find out immediately because Dan Abnett takes over for Dan DiDio right here in the middle of the issue! Oh yeah. Dan DiDio wrote the first story because of course he did. He seems to have called Dibs! on all of Jack Kirby's characters since The New 52 began (and maybe even earlier!). Part Two is called "K is for 'Kill'!" K is also for Kamandi! And kissing! And kleptocracy! Oh! And klue! A klue to the mystery! Which is still a complete mystery! Prince Tuftan watches bored as he waits for Kamandi to be torn to bits. I guess this is entertainment for tigers. It's probably like watching America's Test Kitchen on PBS. It's definitely making me hungry. As Kamandi tries to escape Tiny (who is much bigger when drawn by Eaglesham than when drawn by Giffen!), he discovers the walls of the arena are electrified. Boo! Hiss! That's a cheating shortcut! Electricity is always the way the hero takes out the unstoppable foe! This Cliffhanger Solution rates a 3 out of 10! Did I boo yet? BOO! Tiny is knocked unconscious from the electrified walls. That's got to be a lot of electricity running along those walls to drop a beast like that! I guess the Tiger-men's post-apocalyptic world isn't so bad if it has such generous power reserves. Prince Fuzzypants is impressed by Kamandi's resourcefulness even though that resourcefulness has been used over and over again in all kinds of books and movies and television shows. How lucky that there's always some kind of electrical danger nearby when the hero is about to be torn to pieces. Kamandi is brought to Doctor Canus to be trained. Doctor Canus begins slathering peanut butter all over his cock.

You'd be shocked too if your dog began talking to you while you were crouched in front of it with your crotch covered in Jif.

Doctor Canus takes Kamandi on a walk and shows him Tiger City. Upon seeing the Brother Eye symbol outside the Hall of War, Kamandi tries to investigate it. But it will have to wait until Kamandi becomes best friends with Prince Fuzzypants. For now, he's just a lowly animal being trained to fight in the arena. I hope the second cliffhanger isn't another bout in the arena! Maybe all the cliffhangers will be bigger and bigger opponents in the arena. Great Caesar returns with a load of leopard slaves and a nuclear missile. Kamandi slips his leash and loses Canus in the celebrating crowd. He heads straight to the Hall of War where he was just told he couldn't go. Somebody is going to be called a bad human and thumped on his tender nose. Guarding the Hall of War are a bunch of Jackdaws. They're sentient humanoid crows and probably the next cliffhanger. Oh, no. There are still too many pages left. I guess this diversion was just so Kamandi could learn that the tigers of Tiger City are stockpiling ancient weapons. That might be a clue for later! It's hard to tell though because I still don't know what the mystery is. But I think I do know what the next cliffhanger will be!

Silly tigers! Nukes are for...uh, I mean, they're greeeeeeeeat!

The stupid tigers set the bomb to detonate in five minutes. What a cliffhanger! Kamandi only has five minutes to convince Doctor Canus that the tigers will die if he doesn't disarm the bomb! And he'll only have thirty seconds to do that since he'll spend most of the time licking off that peanut butter! What Did I Learn? Well, I haven't learned what the mystery is yet, that's for sure! Is the mystery how the world was destroyed? Or why Kamandi needs to find his parents? Or why he needs to remember Command "D" (other than so everybody thinks that's his name)? Or why the world needs saving? Or why the tigers are so stupid and careless? Maybe the mystery is how a dog became a scientist! The Ranking! Well shit. It's not too bad because I love stupid gimmick comic books like this!