#Kevin J. Fellows

[kristipetersenschoonover]

34 ORCHARD ISSUE 10 IS HERE!

This issue plunges into the cavern of feeling forlorn, lost, and left behind; sasquatches, mermaids, street dwellers, siblings and jobseekers watch as the world chugs on without them. But although abandonment may feel like a death knell, we shouldn’t underestimate its positive power: a woman seeks justice, a grieving spouse turns grateful, and a mother finds strength. If you’re feeling forgotten…

[queer-ragnelle]

Hi! I was wondering if you have any recommendations for some pre-Chrétien Kay appearances? From what I understand the versions differ a lot, and the guy intrigues me even more

Thank you in advance!

Hi anon!

There aren't a ton of pre-Chrétien Kay appearances, mostly Welsh stuff, plus Geoffrey of Monmouth. But I recommend them, they're fun!

The Black Book of Carmarthen

The Mabinogion translated by Lady Charlotte Guest

The Welsh Triads translated by Rachel Bromwich

The History of the Kings of Britain by Geoffrey of Monmouth translated by Aaron Thompson

The Quest for Olwen by Gwyn Thomas & Kevin Crossley-Holland

The last one is a picture book I scanned myself. It's beautifully illustrated by Margaret Jones. Cai and Bedwyr are even on the cover! Lastly, I'll give you a handful of "academic" or informational resources which will undoubtedly give you some more to chew on.

Warriors of Arthur by John Matthews, Bob Stewart, & illustrated by Richard Hook

Cei & The Arthurian Legend by Linda Gowens

Sir Kay, Seneschal of King Arthur's Court by Harold J. Herman

The Arthurian Handbook by Norris J. Lacy & Geoffrey Ashe

The Arthurian Companion by Phyllis Ann Karr

The New Arthurian Encyclopedia by Norris J. Lacy

You'll see several of these author names popping up repeatedly (just look at all the people Harold J. Herman cites!). These fellow Arthurian enthusiasts reference each other and collaborate frequently. All to provide us with this Kay content! Enjoy!

[winterchimez]

describe your relationship with your moots using tbz ships!!

weeee i haven’t done a moot game in a while and i do miss it!! im gonna just tag the ones i talk to often so im sorry if you’re not on the list ><

@sungbeam (sangyeon & changmin)

im not saying this just cs ive assigned both of us to our biases, but yknow how sangkyu are always real sweet to each other thats us 🥺 but at the same time yall know how changmin is always hitting his hyung thats beam when she bites back 🤓 and the way how changmin always say “ah hyung!” when he gets annoyed thats beam to me when the *cough* horny thoughts are at its peak ✨ but i always imagine us as the sangkyu piggyback vid from the b-zone cs you’re my precious lil 妹妹 🥺💕

@juyeonszn (sangyeon & haknyeon)

remember when sunwoo said sanghak is the best ship in tbz, thats me and fawn periodt ✨ never in a million years would i have expected to get close to her (cs god i was admiring her works sm 🤧) but now we’re like long lost sisters 🥺 you’re the hakkie to my yeonnie, and i’ll protect you forever 🫂❤️

@from-izzy (jacob & kevin)

who would’ve thought i’d find my soulmate all the way in australia? its crazy how we went from just getting to know each other, and then finding out we have so much in common (i’d say almost 99.9999% of the things we do & enjoy) like its crazy how we’re not placed in the same continent 😤 we’re basically moonbae and nobody can tell me otherwise 💅 btw pack your bags bcs i might be able to visit you next year along with j either in mel or syd!!!

@daisyvisions (sangyeon & eric)

we all know how sangyeon basically cares for his lil baby eric 24/7 and thats daisy to me 🥺 but then we’re also super chaotic behind the scenes which also screams sangric to me LMAO trust me the day we meet irl the world would not be ready for it 😤🫂❤️

@aimeecarreros (sangyeon & hyunjae)

we just gotten close recently and omg i can’t believe i was able to click so quickly and well with elena like she’s so funny & chaotic and I LOVE IT 🤣 sangmil will forever be one of my fav ships and that’ll be me and you 🥰

@snowflakewhispers (sunwoo & eric)

my fellow SEA moot who lives so so close to where i am 🥹 its funny how we gradually got close after that sangyeon fic you dropped and the rest is history 😌 i think the way we relate to so many things is actually what made us become to close & chaotic (god i love our dms i love the mess and we singing gimme gimme more) we’re sunric fs 😘❤️

@flwoie @hanniluvi (sangyeon & jacob)

you two are literally the sweetest lil cuties ever 🥺 from supporting my work since the beginning of my journey like im floored im beyond grateful for you two always 🫂💕

@heemingyu (chanhee & changmin)

we literally have an ongoing series tgt + that way we just clicked from the start is insane. we’re newkyu. i said what i said. sana is WILD which makes me give her the side eye 24/7 but then its what made us close, and the way how newkyu are always tgt thats also me & sana 🤞🏻

@cloverdaisies (hyunjae & haknyeon)

omg where do i even begin!! we go wayyyy back during summer when i was still in EU and when i found out we live literally next to each other i was just????? im sad i didn’t get to know you earlier cs i would’ve come visit you when i was there!! but i promise i will do everything i can to come back UK one day fs (i said what i said so dont come for me again vajfbrnrhrjd) you’re literally hyunjae. sweet but also likes to tease & like seeing me lose my shit 🙄 but i love hyunjae so that also means i love you so i’ll let it pass 💚

@justalildumpling (jacob & sunwoo)

ahahahaha the chaotic parent and child duo is here 🤪 j is literally the sweetest to me when we first met, only later down the line when we got closer that i found out abt her chaotic ass (but i love it so keep it coming LMAO) my little dongsaeng ilysm, i’ll always be here whenever you need me (gurl for you i’ll stay on call with you for 24 hours again 😤😤😤) counting down the days i come visit you & izzy!! 💪

@zzoguri (sunwoo & changmin)

i was debating to put jacob but then i think sunkyu works slightly better for us? pls moni is so sweet but also REALLY FUNNY AND CHAOTIC shjendnrnd i love their reactions i love going through your stories all the time cs they make me laugh 😭 and you have such a good taste in music just like changmin 🥺 you can interchange between these two and you always have a special place in my heart my moni 💜

@itsbeeble (younghoon & hyunjae)

yknow how in tv shows they put this gold light or smth with the audio for the main charas/good looking ppl lmao bsjfbekrm thats bbangmil and that would be us so yall better make way for us 😤😤😤 we’re as chaotic as the two, esp with how reese is always getting me to sleep early BUT THEN I DONT 🤓 and we’re both swifties ugh love a fellow good woman who listens to good songs 💕💕💕

@kimsohn (younghoon & eric)

its only ever since coming back to asia that i got to spend more time talking to you in the gc!! (timezone sucks in EU 😭) and god you are so funny and chaotic too lmao bandndm you’re just like eric, but then yknow how younghoon is always the first one to support and care for the maknae thats me to you 🥺❤️

honorary mentions:

@daisyvisions @aimeecarreros (the lee bros)

make way for the 3 grand sangmil girlies ✨💅 our everyday dms are always loud, chaotic, fun, and a sprinkle of msg aka sexiness 🥰✨ the day the 3 of us meet it would make history in deobiland istg watch us get a ring on our finger by the lee bros themselves bcs delulu is free and it’s the solulu 😚

@cloverdaisies @heemingyu (the kyeopmuda line)

the OG trio ✨ it went from me being moots with clo, and then sana being clo’s biggest fan, made a gc and the rest is history 😌 the 3 of us could talk for hours and often times way past our bed times (esp clo im looking at you pls fix it) just like how close kyeopmuda line is, thats also the 3 of us, we’ve always got each other’s back, and always ready to text and vc anytime 🫂 looking forward to the holidays when the 3 of us are free and we’ll vc for hours fs 😤❤️

[sealovinq]

hai its time for the kelcy lore dump 🎤 aside from jose, are there other fellow survivors you think kelcy would get along with and why 🥺🎤

ooohhh girl you got my brain racking for this 😩

ngl many of the survivors are fucked up in their own ways 😭 especially in jose's match, they seem to be extremely distrusting of each other. hell, two of them are even murderers. kelcy is just a Girl idk if she can handle them /j

however, if it has to be someone from the match, i think she'd at least get along with vera well. kelcy sympathizes with vera because she herself has a second identity and knows how it feels to want to forget traumatic memories. she just... doesn't approve of vera's way of coping, but she understands the perfumer nonetheless.

everyone else is just... eh. 😭 edgar is arrogant and will most likely see her as inferior, kevin does respect her but would berate and question her why she married jose, and patricia is a literal enchantress who puts curses on people. idk what else to tell you /lh

i don't know enough of the other survivors to determine how they would treat kelcy... she could be acquaintances with norton because she does portray herself as middle class and most likely won't tell him her true identity. if we somehow connect kelcy and irene in their lore, then that idea would be even more plausible. though idk how he'll react when he finds out kelcy is married to a noble, but i'm sure his future wife can convince him. :3

kelcy could also be potentially friends with demi, since the barmaid does go to the manor a little later after jose's match. plus, her brother is a drinking buddy of jose's, i'm pretty sure kelcy would be friends with the guy as well. as such, she would be fond of demi and spend time with her.

if it can be anyone, even if their canon time lines are far apart, kelcy would be friends with/mother figures to helena and naib.

[awkwardchaosposts]

Dilf Chishiya

(Part 1)

Please note: this is not proofread and has a long introduction. All of this is fiction and does not reflect actual people or places

Trigger warning: mentions of absent mother and arranged marriage

/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\

Shuntaro has always been picture perfect and ensured he was successful enough to deserve Chishiya as his last name. He had a stable job,he was well educated and mannered,he married young. He hadn't even met her before their engagement party.

They weren't rude to each other. Just ...disconnected and indifferent. His now ex wife felt caged in by their arranged marriage and expectations from their families. Thus she abruptly left him and their daughter when Etsuko was only four months old. He was angry at first but in some way he understood his ex wife's pain she must've felt

"You can't have tomato sauce for breakfast" He said firmly to which his daughter protested.

"Nuh uh"

"We are not having this discussion. You can either have cereal or pb and j. Take your pick"

"I want a tomato sauce sandwich!"

Despite his stern parenting style he had a soft spot. Besides it was already 7am and he had work soon. This wasn't a hill he was ready to die on "Fine but eat your fruit first"

~~~~~~

"What you looking at?" the sound of a fellow coworker made him look up from the pamphlets. His thirty minute lunch break was the only time he really got to look over these things.

"Schools"

"So soon? isn't she like 5?"

"She's six" He corrected Kevin and hummed in response when the rookie spoke about how "They grow up so fast" He knew that already. He doesn't need a reminder

"So..." Kevin awkwardly stood there and tried to revive this deadbeat conversation "Where were you thinking of sending her? I heard Ducky's Primary is such a sweet school"

He held back a scoff. Ducky's Primary? No,no. Chishiya wouldn't send his daughter to a mediocre school. She deserves the best education so she can succeed.

"I was thinking more of something like Sakura Primary"

He didn't like how Kevin laughed at his mention of the school. Chishiya despite being a single parent earned a stable income due to being a surgeon. So why the hell was this guy laughing?

"What's so funny?"

"Nah man I'm not laughing at you I just- Sakura Primary? I mean...that place is super hard to get into. I don't think they even allow single parents" it's unfortunate but a child with only one parent was still seen as a taboo where they lived.

The problem was he'd never even thought a that.

"You ok man?" Kevin leaned in "You look a little tense"

"I'm fine"

Well that was just a lie

~~~~~~

"You know you can always lie"

"And you don't think they'll get suspicious when my supposed 'wife' never shows up for the interview or school events?"

"Touché." Kuina acknowledged. Shuntaro had a big problem. She knew how badly he wanted Etsuko to get a good education "And you're absolutely sure that Akira wouldn't agree to attend?"

"She hasn't been here for almost over six years. I don't even know where she is right now"

"I don't know. Hire an actor" she jokingly suggested

"Yeah cause that's normal"

~~~~~~~~~

"Did you have fun today?" he asked while washing his daughter's hair for her. Her eyes were squeezed shut despite it being a no tears shampoo for small kids.

"Mhm! we made paper masway hats" the kindergardener talked about her day with such enthusiasm,he couldn't help but but smile in return

"Paper masway? You mean paper mache?"

"No it's paper masway!"

With a chuckle he shook his head but kept his opinions to himself "Alright,alright. Paper masway"

He rinsed out the shampoo twice just to be sure before helping her out of the tub "Time for bed"

"I want Green eggs and ham"

He was about to tell her no since he had work that he needed to get to but the man stopped himself. "Hmm fine but then it's lights out after that"

Chishiya's aware he can't be the perfect parent. No one can. They were only human. But he always swore to himself that he'd be better than his parents were. He'd make sure she'd never have to cry about missed recitals or feel ignored. He'd ensure she knows she's loved and cared for. Always

That night he stayed up late with paper work when " Hire an actor" Kuina's light-hearted words replayed in his head.

Maybe he was desperate or tired but the suggestion didn't sound as crazy right now.

He searched for over an hour when he finally found something 'Findyourfamily.tom'

The more he looked into this the more skeptical he was what kind of website it was. Would he really stoop so low as to hire him a wife for the day. How was he going to explain that to Etsuko?

~~~~~

Being an actor hired to be people's wife, sister,mother,etc wasn't exactly your dream job but it pays well and sometimes it's kind of fun. You always get creeps with this kind of job though.

With an exhausted sigh you plopped down in bed while scrolling through your emails. Business was drying up recently so seeing a message from a new customer was a nice surprise. It was from this guy going by the email ChishiyaShuntaroCo with the subject heading reading 'I need your help'

/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\/⁠ᐠ⁠｡⁠ꞈ⁠｡⁠ᐟ⁠\

[lord-riverstyxx]

Welcome to my blog friends

As you guessed from my bio, I am a Steven Stoughton irl. My source media is the pokepasta Strangled Red (and the other parts Door’s Open and Strangled) and you may have heard of me from the FNF mods Hypno’s Lullaby or Pokepasta Perdition. Apart from irl/fictionkin, I am also otherkin.

Other irls include:

Grey (currently exclusive to FNF Hypno’s Lullaby mod) [weaker irl] 💿🪦

Alternate!Cesar Torres (Mandela Catalogue) ☎️🥀

Kevin (Spooky Month) 🍬💢

Adam Murray (Mandela Catalogue) 👁️‍🗨️🍎

Inosuke Hashibira (Demon Slayer) 🐗🗡️

John Doe (John Doe) 👁️🦷 (has a separate blog @lil-doedoe +18 ONLY)

Hank J. Wimbleton (Madness Combat) 💣🎱 (has yet another separate blog @bl00dysexpxrty but warning for weapons and violence)

Vincent Charbonneau (Dead Plate) 🔪🥩

I also kin (but not to an irl extent like Steven):

Astarion (Baldur’s Gate 3) 🦇

Kotoko Utsugi (Danganronpa) 🎀

Ruby (Pokespe) 🧵

Kuromi (Sanrio) 😈

Medic (Team Fortress 2) 🏥

Mukuro Ikusaba (Danganronpa) ⛓

Seiko Kimura (Danganronpa) 💊

Kirumi Tojo (Danganronpa) 🕸

Tavros Nitram (Homestuck) ♉️

Giyu Tomioka (Demon Slayer) 🌊

Nezuko Kamado (Demon Slayer) 🎋

Black Pearl Cookie (Cookie Run Kingdom) 🔱

Randall Purpura (Purple) ☔️

Astolfo (FGO) 💗

Rosaria (Genshin Impact) 🛐

Lisa (Genshin Impact) (we even share the same birthday!!) 📚

Tate Frost (Purple/Frost Bite) (except he’s super fucking cunty /hj) 🪓

Maison Talo (House Hunted) (MIGHT be irl but I’m not sure yet) 🏠

Pest (Roblox Regretevator) (questioning if irl) 🪲

Deimos (Madness Combat) ⌨️ [and maybe the rest of S.Q./Sanford and 2BDamned but I feel like that’s something else as a whole..]

And many more to come… (these lists are subjected to change)

(More below the cut):

My otherkin types (this list subjected to change):

Alternatekin (like the Mandela Catalogue)

Vampirekin

Dollkin

Eldritchkin

Cryptidkin (more specifically, Mothman)

⚠️ Warning!! ⚠️

This blog may possibly contain shocking, terrifying or suggestive content that may not be suitable for certain ages or people. Viewer discretion is advised.

If you choose to ignore this warning and enter this blog intentionally regardless of what I have said, then so be it. I’m not warning you again so don’t blame me for your negligence and inability to obey my rules.

Minors!! This also applies to you too. Don’t be looking at stuff you shouldn’t be looking at and go.

Also, don’t like what you see? Then move along or just block me. I don’t want to deal with you throwing a tantrum over my stuff.

Who is welcome:

Fans of FNF Hypno’s Lullaby or Pokepasta Perdition

Irl or fictionkin

Autistic/any form of neurodivergent

LGBTQ+

Vampire lovers

Weirdcore/dreamcore/nostalgiacore (tw for derealization?)

Creepypasta/pokepasta/general horror fans

Vintage/retro/silent film lovers

Goth, Emo, EGL, anyone alt

Roblox players

If you like male yandere/crazy boy dating sims

Fellow horror villain/slasher kinnies and irls (so I feel less lonely and learn to accept myself more)

General people who aren’t fucking assholes

DNI:

Basics (racist kkk nazi shit, homo/transphobe, allow cringe culture, pro harassment, ableist, always bringing some kind of discourse in normal spaces /s, etc)

Anti otherkin, fictionkin, irl, etc (why are you even here?)

Anti xenos/neopronouns (they’re not that hard to use but no pressure)

Minors (remember: some of the content here may not be suitable for anyone under 18)

If you judge others quickly/make fun of them based on their irl/kintypes or forbid someone from dating another because of their irls/kintypes (I love my partner dearly and I will make sure you understand that)

If you make fun of someone for their interests

General shitty people

I also tend to block freely, so if I see something that makes me feel uncomfortable in your blog then I apologize in advance

Interact with caution:

Steven simps: Some of you guys are.. interesting to say the least. But PLEASE do not be weird to me because I am a person with feelings too.

Astarion simps: While not as bad as the two above me, I humbly request that you don’t obsess over me.

Ruby haters: Yes people are allowed to have opinions but don’t let it be your whole personality. And this is not a place to express how much you hate me/Ruby.

Medic simps: I’ve only seen a few but Medic simps seem to be like Steven simps. Please please PLEASE don’t be weird to me because I won’t accept your feelings.

Alt!Cesar simps: I was once a Cesar simp denying his feelings until I found out I was an irl of him. And oh my god the simps are no different than Steven simps. And for that reason I really don’t want you to be weird to me please.

Adam simps/haters: It just gets better/worse. If you’re here to slobber over me or be pissy to me I’d rather you not because I am not providing you with anything.

Giyu or Inosuke simps: Why do I keep getting the baddies /j but as per usual don’t be a creep.

And that’s all I have to say. Please be civil and kind on this blog and do NOT spread negativity here. Nobody has time for such trivial stuff and I know I don’t so just be fucking nice and if you see something you don’t like then just leave. I have zero time for your tears.

Have a good day and sending kisses to you all, especially a certain person out there ���💋💋

-Steven

[sunny6677]

SKIDDAD. EXPLODES HIM WITH MY BRAIN

ALSO SO REAL!!! SUNNY X LILA!!! 🪼🪼🪼

I’m a very avid self shipper I will support you bro

HEHEHEHE YEAAHHHH FELLOW SELF SHIPPER TOO!!

I also kinda like Kevin in a romantic sense but I can't tell if that's because he's a fictional man and I just like him, or if that's because I also have daddy issues /j

CARMEN X CLOWNAZON IS ALSO VERY REALLLL!!!

[texasobserver]

“The Texas Observer’s 2023 Must-Read Lone Star Books” by Senior Editor Lise Olsen, with help from Susan Post of Austin's Bookwoman:

Despite a disturbing rise in book bans, Texas is, against all odds, becoming more and more of a literary hub with authors winning accolades, indie bookstores popping up from Galveston Island to El Paso, and ban-busting librarians and other book-lovers throwing festivals. So as you ponder gifts this holiday season or consider what to read by the fire or by the pool (who can say in December?), pick some Lone Star lit. 

Here’s a list of #MustRead 2023 books by Texans or about Texas compiled by the Observer staff with help from Susan Post of Austin’s independent Bookwoman. (Several talented Texans also made best book lists in Slate magazine, The New Yorker, and NPR’s Books We Love.)

NONFICTION

We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Dallas journalist Roxanna Asgarian (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) is a dramatic takedown of the Texas foster care and family court system. It’s both a compelling narrative and an investigative tour de force.

The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine (Simon & Schuster) by Ricardo Nuila, a Houston physician and author, is an eye-opening and surprisingly optimistic read. Nuila delves deeply into what’s wrong with modern medicine by painting rich portraits of the patients he’s treated (and befriended) while working at Harris County’s Ben Taub Hospital, which offers free or low-cost—yet high-quality—care against all odds. Each of them had been forced into impossible positions and suffered additional trauma from obstacles and gaps in insurance, corporate medicine, and Big Pharma.

Waco: David Koresh, the Branch Davidians and a Legacy of Rage (Simon & Schuster) by Fort Worth journalist Jeff Guinn is one of two books that mark the 30th anniversary of the standoff between the Branch Davidians and federal agents that ended with 86 deaths. (The other is Waco Rising by Kevin Cook.) Both authors recount how the 1993 tragedy shaped other extremist leaders in America—and still influences separatist movements today.

Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers and Other Sole Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan (University of Texas Press) by Alex Pappademas and Joan LeMay has been described as the quintessential Steely Dan book. As part of the project, LeMay, a native Houstonian, created 109 whimsical portraits of characters that sprang from the musicians’ lyrics and legends. In a review, fellow artist Melissa Messer wrote: “Looking at Joan’s oeuvre makes me feel tipsy, or like I’ve drunk Wonka’s Fizzy Lifting Drink and I’m swimming through the air after her, searching for the same vision.”

Memoir

Black Cameleon: Memory, Womanhood and Myth(Macmillan) by Debra D.E.E.P. Mouton, the former Houston poet Laureate, shares lyrical memories of her own life mixed with ample asides on Black culture and family lore. Her storylines sink deeply into a dream world, and yet readers emerge without forgetting her deeper messages.

Leg: The Story of a Limb and a Boy Who Grew from It (Abrams Books) by Greg Marshall of Austin has been described as “a hilarious and poignant memoir grappling with family, disability, and coming of age in two closets—as a gay man and as a man living with cerebral palsy.” NPR’s Scott Simon, who interviewed Marshall, described the memoir as “intimate, and I mean that in all ways—insightful and often laugh-out-loud funny.”

Up Home: One Girl’s Journey (Penguin Random House) by Ruth J. Simmonsis a powerful memoir from the Grapeland native who became the president of Brown University and thus, the first Black president of an Ivy League institution. Simmons begins by sharing stories about her parents, who were sharecroppers, and about her life as one of 12 children growing up in a tiny Texas town during the Jim Crow era. For her, the classroom became “a place of brilliant light unlike any our homes afforded.” (Simmons’s other academic credentials include being the former president of Smith College; president of Prairie View A&M University, Texas’s oldest HBCU; and the former vice provost of Princeton.)

Novels and Short Stories

An Autobiography of Skin(Penguin Random House) by Lakiesha Carr weaves together three powerful narratives all featuring Black women from Texas. Carr, a journalist originally from East Texas, plumbs the depths of each character’s struggles, sharing tales of gambling, lost love, abuse, and the power of women to overcome. 

Holler, Child (Penguin Random House), a new short story collection from Latoya Watkins, was long-listed for the National Book Award. Her eleven tales press “at the bruises of guilt, love, and circumstance,” as the cover description promises, and introduce West Texas-inspired characters irrevocably shaped by place.

The Nursery (Pantheon Books) by Szilvia Molnar—a surprisingly honest, anatomically accurate (and unsettling) novel about new motherhood—begins: “I used to be a translator and now I am a milk bar.” It’s a riveting and original debut by Molnar, who is originally from Budapest, was raised in Sweden, and now lives in Austin.

Two legendary Austin writers weighed in with new novels on our tall stack of Texas goodreads: The Madstone (Little, Brown and Company) by Elizabeth Crook, the 2023 Texas Writer Award winner, and Mr. Texas, a fictional send-up of Texas politics by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright. 

Poetry

Bookwoman’s Susan Post, who contributed titles to our list, also recommends filling your holiday shelves with poetry by and about Texans:

Dream Apartment (Copper Canyon Press) by Lisa Olstein; 

Low (Gray Wolf Press) by Nick Flynn; 

Freedom House by KB Brookins (published by Dallas’ Deep Vellum Bookstore & Publishing Co.) 

Essays

Pastures of the Empty Page: Fellow Writers on the Life and Legacy of Larry McMurtry (University of Texas Press) edited by George Getchow, contains essays from a who’s who list of Texas writers about Larry McMurtry’s influence on Texas culture and their lives. It includes an array of reflections on history and the writing process as well as anecdotes about McMurtry’s off-beat and innovative life. 

To Name the Bigger Lie (Simon & Schuster) by Sarah Viren, an ex-Texan who now teaches creative writing at Arizona State University, (excerpted in Lithub) includes reflections on Viren’s experiences (and misadventures) as an “out” academic and writer in states like Florida, Texas, and Arizona. As she dryly notes, “Critiques of the personal essay, and by extension memoir, are often gendered—not to mention classist and racist and homophobic.” 

Can you help us survive, and thrive into our 70th year during this challenging time for the journalism industry?

Right now, all donations to the Texas Observer will be matched. Donate now!

[dicknelson9988]

2024 ASC The China Problem by Air & Space Forces Association Via Flickr: Air, Space & Cyber Conference.The China Problem — Dr. Brendan Mulvaney, Director, China Aerospace Studies Institute, Air University — Dr. Kevin Pollpeter, Director of Research, China Aerospace Studies Institute, Air University Moderator: J. Michael Dahm, Senior Resident Fellow for Aerospace and China Studies at AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies September 16, 2024. Photo by Mike Tsukamoto/ Air & Space Forces Magazine

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 8.17

Beer Birthdays

Joy Campbell (1948)

Jennifer Garris (1971)

Shawn Connelly (1972)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Robert De Niro; actor (1943)

Maria McKee; pop singer (1964)

Colin Moulding; English singer-songwriter and bassist (1955)

Maureen O'Hara; Irish-American actor (1920)

Boog Powell; Baltimore Orioles 1B (1941)

Eric Schlosser; writer (1959)

Famous Birthdays

Francesco Albani; Italian painter (1578)

Luther Allison; blues guitarist and singer (1939)

T. J. Anderson; composer (1928)

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt; English poet (1840)

Sam Butera; saxophonist and bandleader (1927)

Belinda Carlisle; pop musician, singer (1958)

Larry Clinton; trumpet player and bandleader (1909)

Evan S. Connell; novelist, poet, and short story writer (1924)

Davy Crockett; explorer, frontiersman (1786)

Mirella Csikis (porn star; 1994)

Mark Dinning; pop singer (1933)

Sue Draheim; fiddler and composer (1949)

Henry Drummond; Scottish writer (1851)

Larry Ellison; Oracle billionaire (1944)

Julian Fellowes; English actor (1949)

Pierre de Fermat; French mathematician (1607)

Jonathan Franzen; writer (1959)

Marcus Garvey; Jamaican organizer (1887)

Georgia Gibbs; singer (1919)

Samuel Goldwyn; film producer (1879)

Leslie Groves; general and engineer (1896)

Jon Gruden; football coach (1963)

Sib Hashian; rock drummer (1949)

Ted Hughes; English poet (1930)

Richard Hunt; Muppet performer (1951)

Colin James; pop singer, songwriter (1964)

David Koresh; cult leader (1959)

Oliver Waterman Larkin; historian (1896)

Julia Marlowe; English-American actress (1865)

Herta Müller; Romanian-German poet and author (1953)

V.S. Naipaul; Trinidadian-English writer (1932)

Laurence Overmire; poet (1957)

Duke Pearson; pianist and composer (1932)

Sean Penn; actor (1960)

Rachel Pollack; author (1945)

Francis Gary Powers; pilot (1929)

Dave "Snaker" Ray; singer-songwriter and guitarist (1943)

John Matthew Rispoli; Maltese philosopher (1582)

Larry Rivers; painter and sculptor (1923)

Kevin Rowland; English rock musician (1953)

Jean-Jacques Sempé; French cartoonist (1932)

Gene Stratton-Porter; author (1863)

Gary Talley; guitarist and singer-songwriter (1947)

Guillermo Vilas; tennis player (1952)

Donnie Wahlberg; pop singer (1969)

Mae West; actor (1893)

Monty Woolley; actor (1888)

[aaknopf]

We asked Richie Hofmann, author of the sexy collection A Hundred Lovers, to choose a poem by one of his Knopf forebears. He came back within minutes with J. D. McClatchy’s “Late Night Ode.” Richie writes, “I adore McClatchy’s poem, a wry and witty tribute to middle age and the middle of the night—‘It’s over, love’ the perfect opening—which fights back its precise and beautifully rendered breakup song to reveal something romantic, lush, and unforgettable. Even after love is gone, the poet reminds us, we’re still reaching for it through the ‘bruised, unbalanced waves.’”

Late Night Ode

It’s over, love. Look at me pushing fifty now,      Hair like grave-grass growing in both ears, The piles and boggy prostate, the crooked penis,      The sour taste of each day’s first lie,

And that recurrent dream of years ago pulling      A swaying bead-chain of moonlight, Of slipping between the cool sheets of dark      Along a body like my own, but blameless.

What good’s my cut-glass conversation now,      Now I’m so effortlessly vulgar and sad? You get from life what you can shake from it?      For me, it’s g and t’s all day and CNN.

Try the blond boychick lawyer, entry level      At eighty grand, who pouts about the overtime, Keeps Evian and a beeper in his locker at the gym,      And hash in tinfoil under the office fern.

There’s your hound from heaven, with buccaneer      Curls and perfumed war-paint on his nipples. His answering machine always has room for one more      Slurred, embarrassed call from you-know-who.

Some nights I’ve laughed so hard the tears      Won’t stop. Look at me now. Why now? I long ago gave up pretending to believe      Anyone’s memory will give as good as it gets.

So why these stubborn tears? And why do I dream      Almost every night of holding you again, Or at least of diving after you, my long-gone,      Through the bruised unbalanced waves?

More on this book and author:

Learn more about Plundered Hearts by J. D. McClatchy and A Hundred Lovers by Richie Hofmann.

Browse other books by J. D. McClatchy and follow Richie Hofmann on Instagram @richiehof.

See Richie Hofmann in conversation with fellow poets Willard Spiegelman, Michael Dickman, and Deborah Landau at the Montclair Literary Festival on April 27. The “Becoming a Poet” panel begins at 1:45 pm in University Hall on the campus of Montclair State University.  

Hear Richie Hofmann join Kevin Young on The New Yorker's Poetry Podcast to read “Twilight,” by Henri Cole, and his own poem “French Novel.”

Visit our Tumblr to peruse poems, audio recordings, and broadsides in the Knopf poem-a-day series.

To share the poem-a-day experience with friends, pass along this link.

[kristipetersenschoonover]

Announcing 34 ORCHARD’s Autumn 2024 ToC!

The ToC for 34 Orchard Issue #10, Autumn 2024, has arrived! In our tenth issue, twenty-two artists appreciate the emotional state of post-abandonment. Sasquatches, mermaids, forgotten street dwellers, siblings and jobseekers all feel sadness, longing, and despair. But although abandonment may feel like a death knell, we shouldn’t underestimate its positive power: Sometimes, things are left behind…

[sail-southern]

J/22 District 5 April Update - Upcoming Circuit Stop in Shreveport!

Those of you on the J/22 District 5 rolls and email list will have received this recent message from 2024 District Governor, Colin Feik. Here’s a great recap of recent district happenings and a reminder: Crew get your skippers and skippers get your crew and get yourself on your way to Shreveport Yacht Club for the next District 5 Circuit stop.

Hello District 5 J/22 Sailors - First off, I want to thank Eric Simonson for doing an awesome job as district governor the past few years, I am quickly learning just how much time and effort he has put back into the sport with his leadership the past few years, I know we are all very grateful!

Second - recap of the season so far: The season is well underway with the first circuit stop completed in Dallas at Rush Creek Yacht Club in early March. The local boats dominated with a 1-2-3 finish led by Jeff Progelhof winning 5 of the 6 races, followed by a solid showing from Bill Draheim in 2nd, and Jake Scott dusted off his boat to round out the podium in 3rd! Conditions were nice and warm and breezy, hopefully we can mimic those conditions next year when midwinters will be held at Rush Creek. A couple weeks ago the midwinters were held in New Orleans with 27 boats on the line with 7 boats from our district making the trip over to the Big Easy. Glenn Darden hails from FWBC and took home the hardware winning the event on a tiebreaker. They won the final race by passing fellow District 5 member Kevin Orff on the final leg of the regatta race to secure the overall victory. Congrats to Kevin and crew on finishing second in that race, now they will have to go to worlds in Annapolis to continue putting up those single digit finishes at big events! Pics on the class page on facebook!

Next Up: Circuit Stop - Shreveport The next circuit stop is scheduled for April 20-21 at Shreveport Yacht Club on Cross Lake (link below to register and NOR also attached). 6 local Shreveport boats have already registered, so we should have a really great event. SYC's hospitality and steak dinner is second to none! In the past a few lucky sailors have even been allowed to stay at the SYC club, contact Tom Hadel (thomashadel@bellsouth.net) to inquire.

J/22 Southwest Circuit Regatta - Shreveport, LA. : J/22 Southwest District (regattanetwork.com)

Other Circuit Updates:

The 3rd circuit stop originally scheduled for Austin Yacht Club in May will not be possible due to low water levels, so the Shoe Regatta at LYC in Houston will be the replacement event May 18-19. J/22 Southwest Circuit - Shoe Regatta

Due to a conflict with J/24 worlds, the J-Fest Southwest event has been pushed from its original date in October to the first weekend of November (2-3rd)

Make plans to attend the World Championships in Annapolis in October (21st thru 27th), start banking that PTO now! I hope to see a lot of y'all there!

More details about the District and the circuit can be found on the District's website: http://www.j22southwest.org/

Become a class member or renew here!!

https://www.j22.com/class-office/join-the-class/

[ashadowofburnedoutstardust]

a woman has been sexually harrassed by some pervs on the internet but you say she doesnt deserve your sympathy bc she hasnt tweeted about palestine.

in other words sexual harrassment is ok if i dont like the person being harrassed" - you

Y'all called me a liar and bullied me about getting raped but that never seemed to bother any of you........and you want to complain that unlike them I've stood on the right side of history the entire time

Unlike them I don't have the influence they do

And yet they sit silent until something directly affects them, nothing has been done for years about what has happened to many other women and because a bunch of people decide some rich white girl is "important" it finally time to do something

How pricelessly privileged and Americana of them

Deciding who's important enough to bother protecting or standing up for

What you clearly don't understand is that she was targeted by AI and misinformation, meaning she was targeted by technology in the hands of Israel to prevent her from speaking out and using her influence to actually help anyone

I tried to warn you all but you wouldn't listen, they are trying to undermine and control anyone with a platform who may be willing to speak out and influence the outcome

Taylor Swift has been targeted.....just like Chris was due to A Starting Point

Al Jazeera

Israel War on Gaza

US House passes $14.5bn military aid package for Israel

Republican bill faces slim prospects of becoming law due to President Joe Biden’s opposition to attached spending cuts.

house

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has urged the White House and Senate Democrats to pass a $14bn military aid package for Israel [File: J Scott Applewhite/AP]

Published On 3 Nov 2023

3 Nov 2023

The United States House of Representatives has passed a Republican plan providing $14.5bn in military aid for Israel, setting up a partisan clash over the usually bipartisan issue of backing the staunch US ally.

The plan, which is funded by cuts to the Internal Revenue Service, passed on Thursday by 226 votes to 196, largely along party lines.

The plan is the first major legislative action under new Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who took on his role last week after Kevin McCarthy was removed by the hard-right faction of his party.

KEEP READING

list of 4 items

list 1 of 4

Israel’s military says Gaza City surrounded, rejects ceasefire calls

list 2 of 4

The Take: Inside the West Bank’s surging Israeli settler violence

list 3 of 4

North Korea says closing foreign missions as part of its ‘regular affairs’

list 4 of 4

Israeli air raid kills Palestinian journalist and family in Gaza

end of list

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The package includes $4bn to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defence systems and military equipment transferred from US stocks.

Johnson on Thursday urged the Senate and White House to quickly approve the bill.

“The Senate and White House cannot let this moment pass, and I urge them to act swiftly and pass this bill as the House did today,” Johnson said on the social media platform X.

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The bill, however, has a slim prospect of becoming law after US President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats in the Senate signalled their opposition due to its inclusion of spending cuts and a lack of aid for Ukraine.

To become law, the bill would have to pass the Senate, where the Democrats have a majority, and receive Biden’s signature.

Ahead of the vote, the White House said the bill “would have devastating implications for our safety and alliances in the years ahead”.

Biden has instead asked Congress to pass a $106bn emergency spending package that includes funding for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine.

While most Republicans still strongly back Ukraine, a vocal minority of the party has questioned the need to continue providing financial assistance to Kyiv at a time of steep budget deficits.

House Democrat Rosa DeLauro on Thursday accused Republicans of delaying aid to US allies with their bill.

“This bill abandons Ukraine. We will not abandon Israel and we will not abandon Ukraine. But their fortunes are linked,” she said.

The US has given Israel more military assistance than any other country since World War II, providing aid worth more than $124bn.

The US ally is already receiving $3.8bn per year in military assistance under a 10-year plan that began in 2016.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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[more-than-a-princess]

14. What published authors are your inspirations?

15. What unpublished authors are your inspirations? (Don’t have to name them, just describe them)

Writing Process Munday Asks - Accepting!

14. What published authors are your inspirations?

In no particular order: Julian Fellowes, Jane Austen, Kevin Kwan, Audrey Niffenegger, Sarah J. Maas, Scarlett St. Clair, Rebecca Yarros, Edith Wharton, Katharine McGee, Arthur Golden, Julia Quinn, Deborah Harkness, Diana Gabaldon, Casey McQuiston, Evelyn Waugh, Agatha Christie.

I need to read more of them but I'd expect Leigh Bardugo and Holly Black to be added to that list.

The answer to this question used to be Wizard Lady when I was a teenager and in my early twenties. The more I read into the antisemitism in her books + her being a TERF, the less she's an inspiration to me.

15. What unpublished authors are your inspirations? (Don’t have to name them, just describe them)

Pretty much anyone who can keep writing with some amount of consistency and are writing something they love to do. Avoiding burnout, imposter syndrome, and all other sorts of things that get in the way of consistently writing is a skill that has to be honed and refined as life decides to just derail you at every opportunity. I also don't read much fanfiction and/or webcomics anymore: just don't have the time. I'm too busy reading novels, watching TV/movies, and writing this blog!

That said, I have some friends and acquaintances coming out with their first books in 2024 and 2025! I'm thrilled to see the start of a new fantasy series, an LGBTQ romance/adventure set during the American Revolution, and another new fantasy series with a plus sized heroine. Also super excited for Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma Alban, the first in her new queer Victorian romance series.

And while she's definitely not unpublished, expect me to disappear for a few days starting on January 30 to read House of Flame and Shadow (Crescent City 3) by Sarah J. Maas because that second book cliffhanger just fucking SENT me when I read it for the first time and I absolutely need to know what happens next. I have been theorizing for months now. Give me the next book, Sarah!

[nova0000scotia]

Paul Franklin

 https://www.facebook.com/627936885/posts/10156139576386886/?app=fbl

Salute to a brave and modest nation - BRAVERY OF CANADA'S MILITARY - Kevin Myers , 'The Sunday Telegraph' 2002 UNITED KINGDOM

Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed in the region.

And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.. It seems that Canada's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored.

Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again.

That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American continent with the United States , and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts.

For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved.

Yet it's purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10% of Canada 's entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle.

Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, it's unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular memory as somehow or other the work of the 'British.'

The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone.

Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time.

Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity.

So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter, Mike Weir and Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer, British.

It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers.

Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces.

Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.

Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia , in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.

So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbor has given it in Afghanistan ?

Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac , Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honorable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This past year more grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well.