#alia and diana?? That's gay

[recreationalfanfics]

Record of Justice: Wonder Woman! Reader HCs

I am so gay for Diana.

- Brunhilde doesn't HESITAITE to choose you as one of her champions, seeing as you're both demi-gods who come from a warrior race of women, I can see you and her honestly having a lot in common together.

- But yeah, no, Diana's whole thing is that she wants to save the world of man so even of Brunhilde didn't choose her, you would have still chosen to fight because it was your duty.

- So Wonder Woman has multiple origins: Her original one being that she was born from clay by her mother but there are versions she has a dad which kinda switches between Hades and Zeus. Zeus will be your father in this case because I genuinely like the idea of him blowing his fucking gasket when he sees you enter in the side of humanity.

- "YOU KNOW HER, YOU LOVE HER: LADIES AND GENTLEGODS, GIVE IT UP FOR THE AMAZONIAN PRINCESS AND SAVIOR OF MAN: (Y/N)!!!"

- Ares and Wonder Woman have so much beef in the comics so you and him definetly don't see eye to eye now. In fact, Ares would fight you himself if he could but like, you're also kinda scary when you're mad.

- Zeus and Poseidon are literally about to blow a fucking gasket when they see you. Zeus is more subtle as usual as he's all: "Oh, well she's always been the black sheep of the family!" but in reality, he feels deeply betrayed. Poseidon isn't surprised honestly, he genuinely believes you should have grown up with the Olympians instead of on Themyscira because then maybe you'd learn to look down on those pathetic humans instead of protecting them.

- Tbh, Poseidon does have a bit of a soft spot for you as his niece because you're the only one whose ever DARED to back talk him despite knowing his power. He wishes your mother, Hippolyta, wasn't such a stubborn woman. I can totally see moments when you're absolutely destroying Gods and Poseidon just smiling proudly at you but then quickly scowling so no one can see him.

- However the Greek Gods who explicitly still care for you are definetly Hermes, Hercules, and Aphrodite.

- Aphrodite, being your big sister, absolutely adores you even if you two aren't on the same side. She smiles when she sees you and if she can, she will try to catch you in the hallways and pull you into a hug, meanwhile you're kinda suffocating in her bosom. She compliments you on what a strong and beautiful woman you've become, the only reason she isn't upset with you for "betraying" the family is because...well, you've always been like that. It's just nice to see you again��

-As for Hercules, you both are Demi gods and while you acknowledge humanities faults, you welcomed him with open arms and appreciate his dedication. You two might not be bound by blood but the way you carry each other's ideals and respect and tease each other, its very clear you two have an unbreakable bond.

- Hermes adored you since you were born. Despite Themyscira's laws that men weren't allowed on the island, he was a God, and would happily come and see you to play with you. Taking on a big brother role in your life, he smiles softly as you glare at your father and he thinks you're just as cute as when you were a little toddler struggling to walk on the sandy beach coast of your island.

- As for the human side, they're all in literal wonder of you...which makes sense regarding your hero alias, but when they watched you at work: you impressed everyone while Brunhilde smiled at you and it pissed Zeus off even more when you both shook hands and sent him smug smirks on your faces.

Enemies/People Who Dislike You:

- Ares is a huge hater as I stated before, maybe you humiliated him in the past in front of Zeus, or maybe it was that one time you stole his helmet in a fight and became the New Goddess of War for a while but either way: you and him should never be in the same room together because not even the Gods can predict that disaster.

- Loki thought the rope thing was kinda hot but found out the hard way WHY it was called the Lasso of Truth. Even when he is shaped shifted, he will revert to his normal form if you ever catch him with it AND YOU ALWAYS FUCKING DO. He also can't even try and mislead you by telling you half truths because he just blurts out the truth right away. Everyone absolutely adores you for it, ngl since Loki doesn't even bother pulling tricks when you're around and when he sees you fight for humanity, he throws a huge tantrum...He still finds the rope thing hot tho...

- Zeus. He has conflicted feelings for you, he does love you but he wishes you wouldn't always go against his wishes...though he supposes thats what he gets for having your mother raise you instead of him. You show him respect but you clearly harbour bitter feelings for him betraying your trust and wanting to wipe out humanity and he understands that. It still doesn't give you the right to laugh about him with Brunhilde and he'll be sure to get you back for it.

Allies/Friends Who Trust You:

- Brunhilde is honestly a good friend of yours, I genuinely think she sees you the same way she sees Hercules but she relates to you a little more. (The Valkyries and Amazon's would have martinis on the beaches of Themyscira, fight me on that-)

- Shiva, honestly. He likes that you're strict but you can definetly be fun and silly in your own way. You honestly remind him of Rudra, who he totally tries to set you up with so because you two really have a lot in common!

- Obviously Hercules, Hermes, and Aphrodite but also: Poseidon, surprisingly...sometimes. Again, he does soften a bit when it comes to you and he wonders if you're simply stubborn and brave or stubborn and stupid. You are his favorite niece but also, the one that causes him to roll his eyes the most.

- Honestly, all of the Valkyries. When you heard about Brunhilde and her Völundr's, you knew that it was clever but also: that you couldn't just stand to let your fellow sisters in battle fall, the odds being against them. Also, the will all hug you and tackle you to the ground.

- Sasaki Kojiro is a human you take a liking too, he reminds you of a friend whose clad in all black...except he's more cheerful and happy and might have lost in life, but still: he never gives up. You admire those skills in a human and he gets all shy and flustered when you compliment him but I can totally see the both of you practicing sword fights and even moments where he beats you, which you're proud of him for doing, honestly.

- Adam. He genuinely just is the dad Zeus never was, even though you're not one of his own children, he'll fight like you are. Tbh, the only man that deserves to set foot in Themyscira and the other Amazon's would agree. Eve also gossiping with your Hippolyta in the crowd and complimenting her on raising such a wonderful daughter and they talk about mom things.

Admirers/Characters Who Have a Crush on You:

- Thor, just straight up. Since you're a fellow immortal, you two have somewhat known each other, you didn't really care much for the godly affairs so it wasn't often, but he's had the biggest crush on you. When he saw you fight so fearlessly in the crowd, those feelings came back 10 fold. Definetly wants to fight you because that's his way of flirting. Zeus and Odin 100% want to pair you two together to create an official alliance and while Thor wants you to choose him out of your own volition, he will suggest that it is a good idea.

- Jack the Ripper. HE HAS BISEXUAL PANIC BECAUSE HERCULES WAS ALREADY SOKIND TO HIM BUT YOU?? OH, YOU'RE TRULY DESERVING OF THE TITLE OF GODDESS, your color is so gorgeous; filled with such love and passion. After his battle, after he killed Hercules, he is ashamed to face you. But, amazingly, you do not look at him in disgust or shame. You kneel down and gently hold his face, you are in mourning, but you still kiss his head gently and tell him: "You fought well. Rest." and he just short circuits as you begin to carry him.

- BUDDHA, BABY. He loves how serious you are but also, that you can be pretty goofy honestly. Also loves how you stand up to Zeus constantly. Not to mention he certainly has a thing for strong women. But also, he finds your work inspiring, trying to guide humanity to a better life of enlightment. HIPPOLYTA ALSO TRYING TO SET YOU TWO UP BECAUSE SHE'S A COOL MOM AND SHE'S ALL: "You know, that Buddha has been staring at you~" and you have to be all: "MOTHER!" And he walks over to you and offers you a snack and you take it. Zeus hates him because he thinks Buddha would be a "bad influence" on you.

[lambergeier]

2022 book post FINALLY

this post is six weeks late because, frankly, i was on my honeymoon over new years and its hard to get up the will to type all this shit when everyone has already posted their book lists ages ago!! but also i read a lot of good books last year and wish to gloat, so here we are. italics are rereads, bold are my favorites, asterisks denote not-prose, and reviews are interspersed throughout as i felt like it:

January

No One is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood (this book made me cry so hard lmao. first part is a sickeningly true-to-life depiction of Being A Blue Check Person and then the second part makes you cry so bad.)

Sorrowland - Rivers Solomon (what the fuck happened to the last third of this book? what shit-ass x-men knock-off did it come from?)

What Soldiers Do: Sex and the American GI in World War II France - Mary Louise Roberts (got on a whole ww2 history kick because, gotta be real, i watched all of band of brothers during winter break 2021-2022 and developed a bug up my ass. pulled this off the shelf at the library on a whim and it was STUNNING. excellently, thoroughly told history of sex, venereal disease, and race among american GIs in normany following the invasion. would read anything roberts now.)

How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Andreas Malm

Hello, Sailor: The hidden history of gay life at sea - Paul Baker and Jo Stanley

Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II - Allan Berube (another excellent ww2 book, frequently quoted on this site and for good reason. not written by a historian, so incredibly easy and engaging to read, that presents you with just this amazing overview of how modern american queer identity was totally, inextricably shaped by the us military and the experience of being part of it or even just near it lmao)

February

Possession - A.S. Byatt (really really lovely romance that was such a consistent pleasure to read that i got to the end basically unable to remember favorite lines or even scenes i was just like mmmmmmmm. book good.)

Uncanny Valley - Anna Wiener

Howl’s Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones

The Verge: Reformation, Renaissance, and Forty Years that Shook the World - Patrick Wyman (this book sucked ass we gotta stop giving podcasters history books)

Watership Down - Richard Adams (so fucked up. loved this. love that we give this to children to read.)

Dead Collections - Isaac Fellman

March

The Hidden Palace - Helene Wecker (much better than its prequel, imho! resolved many pacing issues but lost no heart!)

The Vanishing Half - Britt Bennet (part of the reason i managed to read so much this year is that i had to drive a lot for work and started putting audiobooks on in the car, having never been an audiobook person before. i listened almost entirely to contemporary litfic this way, a genre i also had not previously engage with, and this was both a fascinating entry into an entire other world of books and also kinda boring sometimes lmao. vanishing half was good, certainly better than some of the other stuff i ended up listening to, but still not something i would have finished if i weren't in the car)

The Reformation - Patrick Collinson (this bitch was so funny his preface to the book was 'i didn't list any sources because i've been teaching this topic for 60 years. the source is Me.' anyways almost totally unreadable but did provide me some good context on the counter-reformation, which i want to learn more about.)

Fleischman is in Trouble - Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Home Baked - Alia Volz (soooooo good all bay area homies please read this)

River of Stars - Vanessa Hua

April

Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki (INSANE BOOK. SO FUN.)

*Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller

Book of Dust - Phillip Pullman

Gold Diggers - Sanjena Sathian

*Angels in America - Tony Kushner (disconnected me from reality for like 24 straight hours. scared to reread it.)

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (read this in high school and hated it because i was a DUMB TEENAGER!! THIS BOOK IS SO FUNNY!!)

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett

Fifth Elephant - Terry Pratchett

May

Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia (strongly eh.)

Oh the Glory of it All - Sean Wilsey (loved it but feels impossible to recommend.)

Magic for Liars - Sarah Gailey

Foundation - Isaac Asimov (absolutely fascinating as like, a history of the genre thing, even if i only "enjoyed" reading the first two or three stories lol. also, HE COULDN'T PREDICT FIAT CURRENCY?? ACTUAL PLOT POINT THAT THERE AREN'T ENOUGH METALS ON THE PLANET TO MINT COINS???? reader i lost my mind.)

June

All the Pretty Horses - Cormac McCarthy (all the pretty horses my insane high school problematic fave. i will never read the sequels)

Have His Carcase - Dorothy L. Sayers

The Power - Naomi Alderman (as i said on private twitter after rereading, this book makes me sick to my stomach not because of the gender shit, which is like, i know what the book's about that's what it's about it's not gonna be a different book, but christ it's so bleak. love an oral history style but i gave my copy away once i finished lmao.)

Murder Must Advertise - Dorothy L. Sayers

July

Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid (great audiobook narrator, and a very funny book)

Several People are Typing - Calvin Kasulke (PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS AUDIOBOOK THEY HIRED A FULL RADIO-PLAY STYLE CAST AND SURE THE ACTUAL STORY DOESN'T STICK THE LANDING BUT IT'S SO FUNNY. i finished it on my own and immediately put it back on for emma to enjoy. so good.)

They Were Her Property: White Women as Slave Owners in the American South - Stephanie Jones-Rogers

Hawk Mountain - Conner Habib (oughhhhouguhughuhghh the dread. great book. wretched creeping horror. queer, if that matters. gives you the Dread.)

There, There - Tommy Orange

August

If an Egyptian Can’t Speak English - Noor Naga (experimental fiction, i listened to it on audiobook and actually missed a lot of what it was doing in print but still incredibly good. absolute sucker punch of an ending.)

The Loneliest Americans - Jay Caspian King

Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People - Elizabeth Fenn (great clear thorough history of the mandan nation of the upper missouri river, really enjoyed this.)

An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us - Ed Yong (ed yong is the best science writer working today and this book was tremendous. i quoted like every other line of it to emma and she still went and borrowed it as soon as i was done. we immediately bought a copy for the house.)

Sheer Misery: Soldiers in Battle in WWII - Mary Louise Roberts

September

Black Sun - Rebecca Roanhorse (damn so much modern sff is bad)

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life - Ed Yong (not as good as the animal book but still VERY good)

Dark Rise - C.S. Pacat (unfuckingreadable. a masterclass of incoherent bullshit)

Nona the Ninth - taz lol (this should not have been its own book.)

*Ducks - Kate Beaton (cannot recommend highly enough. intense subject matter, also made me cry many times, but holy shit ms beaton you killed it with this one)

Unreleased Friend Book that I Love So Bad (soon!!)

Normal People - Sally Rooney

October

Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (another book i haven't reread since high school holden ilu. you are my little problems boy)

Pachinko - Min Jin Lee (read it all in one day while on various airplanes. what a BOOK)

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Foundation - Mercedes Lackey (thus begins the valdemar stage of the year)

My Year of Rest and Relaxation - Ottessa Moshfegh (uh. would not recommend.)

November

Devil House - John Darnielle (ur crazy for this one mr mountain goats. still don't know if it was good or bad lol.)

Arrows of the Queen - Mercedes Lackey

Arrows Flight - Mercedes Lackey

Arrows Fall - Mercedes Lackey

Magic’s Pawn - Mercedes Lackey (vanyel i love you)

December

Magic’s Promise - Mercedes Lackey (vanyel i'm obsessed with you)

Empire of Wild - Cherie Dimaline

Magic’s Price - Mercedes Lackey (oh misty we did NOT stick the landing here. rip to vanyel.)

Winter Counts - David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Neuromancer - William Gibson (loved so many individual sentences and, like foundation, a very interesting work for understanding the history of the genre. however in many ways, totally incomprehensible.)

total books: 66!!! nice work, me! really enjoyed how much i read in 2022 and how generally varied it was and after a long while of not reading too much at all, it's been very nice being back in the swing of it. also god non-fiction is so good. i can't read it particularly fast but every time i read a good one i enjoy it so immensely. look forward to reading more of it this year!!!

AND, FINALLY, A SHOUT OUT TO THE WORST DNF OF 2022:

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab sucks shit.

[truescoopnews4]

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[saharavalleyofdeath]

BatFam OC headcanons Pt. 2

Ramona Todd-Harper

Adopted daughter of Jason Todd and Roy Harper.

Full legal name is Ramona Luisa Todd-Harper

When she was 8 her mother and father gave her to Jason as Red Hood because they were going to die.

Jason was going to put her in an orphanage but realized they had a connection and decided to take her in.

They became very close and about 2 years later he was able to adopt her. (Lots of legal stuff had to happen first)

When Ramona was about 12 Jason and Roy got married.

Lian came into the picture about a year later.

Ramona and Lian are really close. She is also close with Roy. He even taught her archery.

When Ramona is around 15 she became a vigilante called Bluejay. She uses daggers and throwing knives and occasionally a bow and arrow.

She became a vigilante with Crash, her best friend.

Everyone called them the Arkham Duo.

Ramona is Pan romantic and Asexual.

Her girlfriend's name is Maria Prince.

Her friend group consists of: Crash Quinzel (the crazy gay friend), Maria Prince (the Amazonian Lesbian, and Ramona's girlfriend), Blaise Addams (the angry bisexual), and Kaity Davis (the confused/oblivious bisexual)

Eventually this friend group becomes the Arkham Five.

They keep it a secret from the Batfam/Harley and Ivy for about two years.

Ramona loves all of her uncles equally(not really)

Ramona is either the Mom Friend or the Chaotic Gremlin. There is no in between

She has a phobia of Hospitals and doctors

Slight autism

PTSD

Anxiety

She has a Cane Corso named Hawk

Crash Quinzel

Real name is Charles Stone Quinzel

He got his nickname because he was very uncoordinated and crash into everything

He is the adopted son of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn

He was found on their doorstep

Poison Ivy is Mom

Harley Quinn is Mama/Ma

He has a Rooster named Cluck Norris and an African Helmeted Tortoise named Bodee

He is a Gay extrovert

His boyfriend is Blaise Addams who is a bisexual introvert

ADHD

PTSD

Claustrophobic

Loves pranks/pranking

Lobe piercings

Hates bullies and snitches

He is pretty mechanical and likes making things

SOFT BOI VIBES

Tall and skinny

He has blonde hair that has a faded dye job of pink and blue cotton candy coloring

Protective of his friends and family

He is of course Ramona's Best friend and they do everything together

Many people think they are dating.

They are not

His vigilante alias is Party Crasher

Maria Prince

Full name is Maria Hera Prince

Maria Prince is the adopted daughter of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

She was taught in the Amazonian ways

Big lesbian

Hated Blaise at first

Ramona's girlfriend

Loves having cute aesthetic dates

Fear of disappointing her loved ones

Anxiety

PTSD

Has a Cane Toad named Dave

Very close with her mom

Lives in central city

Vigilante alias is Yellow Jacket

She is very cautious with who she trusts

When Diana found her it was like how baby Moses arrived in the Pharos home

She is one of the most loyal people you will ever meet

Blaise Addams

Blaise Mort Addams

Adopted son of Black Adam

Very traumatized

Was raised as a soldier. (Think Nebula from Marvel)

Was punished if he failed

He was originally supposed to get information on the Justice League but fell in love and started making friends

A bisexual disaster

Loves reading Edgar Allen Poe

Known as Red Shot

Absolutely terrified of bugs of any kind

Especially ladybugs

Loves his friends and is very protective

Likes going on dates to the park with Crash

Has a super complicated nighttime skincare routine.

He was made fun of when the others first found out

Has a maine coon named Snowball

Kaity Davis

Kaity Cassidy Davis

Major familial issues

Mostly daddy issues

Has really good grades

Loves her friends

Like a little bit of drama

Bisexual

Definitely doesn't have a crush on the cute 16 year old florist, Sage Belrose 🙂🥲

Loves a good rainy day read

Possibly a little autistic

Long reddish orange hair

Cottagecore girlie

Vigilante known as Indigo Dancer

Hates being underestimated

Major anxiety

Psycho brother

[zooterchet]

Scrivens Two-Form (Mosaic Laws Set)

Bulletin Search: Richard Coughlin, “Richard Ramirez”.

Reason: Borrowing the author’s 1997 Pontiac Grandam, to go back to Hopkinton, and meet Steph Chula, his girlfriend, in 2004, with a fudged ticket from the Massachusetts State Pike (I-90), from blowing a tollbooth fast pass on camera, driver photographed.

Core Scriven: Book of Daniel.

Modifier: Green Lantern Mosaic #17, “Alien Gothic”.

Element Prongs:

Mosaic world, representative of UMass-Amherst, after the undercover campus cops were shut down by Haitian Yardies (the aliens the Green Lanterns work for, the Guardians of Oa; campus highschool councils, inner city and Medway).

English Sherlock planet, gay men populate the town; Sherlock and Watson, with eggplant heads, Portuguese-Sicilians (Rich Coughlin’s genome combination).   Sherlock and Watson, don’t want to go home, to England, with “the old fears”; they vastly prefer Baker Street, from the Prime Minister’s cable (prohibition of marijuana, under Green Lantern UN rule).

 Rectory planet, where monks and priests train with gymnastics, under Italian tradition; the priests, are fascinated with the utopia the highschoolers propose, planning on turning the Justice League into priests with assumptions of match per visitor, to local world already processed.

End game, Amazons arrive, with terror death weapons, giant space ships; Greek weaponry, reserved for ceremony, the art of combat, not defending on tribes from kidnapping by the highschool council.

Scriven Fit:

1In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2And the Lord delivered into his hand Jehoiakim king of Judah, along with some of the articles from the house of God. He carried these off to the land of Shinar,a to the house of his god, where he put them in the treasury of his god.

Notes: Mosaic world, guardians of Oa are Babylon.

Character Arch:

John Stewart, Marine veteran Green Lantern, is against the slavery of foreign species on Mosaic, however is unaware that they prefer being there, taken from fascist worlds known for drug use and militant education and free labor laws with a far more advanced society than apparent.

Plot Elements:

Flash (the police forensics expert, he cheats to spot cheaters, using shortened principles to spot a criminal act by the criminal act, duplicating the elementary principle, hence there is evidence in return).  World #1, British sober culture, homosexuals, “sadoists”, sodomizers (fags).

Martian Manhunter (music range Mossad, he’s a veteran of a gang unit on a criminal felony, so gets off “Detroit”, fictional origin alias, with a “metro-motors” hack; actually a Jewish pacifist, literate in Israeli Synagogue scrolls, and against them).  World #2, Vatican culture, militarization of  the common people through study of new missionary range provided by co-conspirators to patronize.

Guy Gardner (UN agent typically thrown rogue, due to brain trauma, sometimes in employ of foreign powers or concepts, otherwise a standard police agent, and coach).  World #3, Amazons, Princess Diana, the Portuguese colonists and colonials and those serving them by plying disadvantaged forms of business, to divide races, for their masters, the House of Saud and the transexual women-to-men (blue feces in infancy, from being urinated on, by a mother, or alternately, phallus disprotrusion, from being sexually imbibed by finger object, in infancy, a barrens, such as Aisha, the rulership of the tradition; “she-male”, with surgery applied, contrary to common myths, created by the UN agents and highschool councils).

[fancyfade]

Either Helena or Diana

favorite thing about them: the clear delineation between helena bertinelli and huntress in her head and the way that huntress represents someone who can do what helena can't not just on a crime fighting level but on a protecting herself level

least favorite thing about them: without taking into account out of universe stuff (like the way her backstory is constantly retconned ;_;) its hard for me to think of one at the moment.

favorite line: ugggg she has so mnay good lines it's hard to pick we'll go w/ the one at the end of issue 1 of her first solo b/c it so clealry sums up her motives at that time

'to confront the ultimate killers, i must construct the ultimate alias. to combat the murderers who would destroy my family, crush my own life on their way to consuming everything, i must become a greater, more fearsome destroyer. to track down the animals who prey on the innocent,i must stalk them first... I am no longer their quarry. i am... the huntress"

brOTP: Helena Dinah ^_^

OTP: Hmm not sure if it's an OTP but I think helena gives major gay vibes for Zinda in birds of prey

nOTP: IDK if I have one

random headcanon: I'll go with my Helena gets into teaching after she adopts James, she's looking in the bookstore for parenting books and they're right next to the education section and she picks up some of those out of curiosity and gets interested... then later when sehs taking community college classes she winds up doing a psych for general reqs + lots of the mentally ill people I know like ot take Psych XD and she follows that up with educational psych which makes her decide teaching is for her

unpopular opinion: IDK if I know enough Helena stuff to know what's an unpopular opinion for her...

song i associate with them: fire with fire by AlicebanD

favorite picture of them: This one I drew :D

[image: a digital art showing Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress. She’s wearing her black costume with purple accents that covers most of her body. She’s on a sidewalk with a crack in it and a spotlight is shining on her. We’re seeing her from an above perspective, looking down at her as she looks up at us. Her expression is determined. end image]

[cicaklah]

For the ficlet prompts: make up sex

She's gone too far.

47 doesn't stomp like an angry child, but perhaps he snaps a neck with a little more force than necessary. perhaps he reloads the clip clumsily, catching his fingertips in the edges. Perhaps he's existing even more on pure white hot rage than usual.

She has gone too far, but he's professional. That she would do this, do this, after everything! That she'd just casually toss that in her briefing, where he can't argue with her. He just has to take it. God, he's half a mind to exfil right onto a flight going far away from her, opera tickets and dinner plans be damned.

He doesn't. Because he's professional, and because he loves her, but he needs her to explain...

He doesn't board the wrong plane, and he dresses up extra nicely, but not for her, wears the suit she hates, the cologne she dislikes, a tie he bought himself, not one of the ones she bought him. Petty, now, but it makes him happy to be so.

When she steps out of the car she's cool to him. They made these reservations under their married alias, but they're like business colleagues tonight. She eats scallops and smiles wickedly when her knife scrapes across the plate, causing him to wince. He steals all the fancy butter for his roll. They both drink too much wine.

At the opera she makes conversation with the gay couple next to them, coos and flirts and gives him the cold shoulder. The curtain rises and a hush descends.

The heroine is plucky and determined, all comic timing and French vowels, and her love is bumbling and sweet, and together they climb a mountain and go to war and discover their heritage and he laughs, and so does Diana. When the tenor sings his swooping aria, ten high C's to rival Pavarotti, the place erupts, and Diana leans over and kisses his cheek.

At the interval they can barely make it out the door fast enough. Diana calls her car and they bundle in, and Diana tells the driver to just drive, put the partition up, before she's on him, kissing him and biting his lip, her blood red gown spilling easily off her shoulders, and when he goes for her it's all teeth, and Diana is singing like a diva, her dress discarded in a silk puddle in the footwell, something for her to kneel on as she slides down to join it, unzips his flies and sucks him down, looks up at him like a lingerie clad angel, and oh, she is forgiven, she is forgiven a thousand times over. He holds back, begs her, begs her to ride him and so she does, and he digs his fingers in the straps of her stockings hard enough to bruise, her nipple between his teeth as she grunts and gives the New York traffic jam one hell of a show. 47 can see the lenses, can see the gawping faces, but it's Diana growling and writhing and throwing her head back in pleasure, then kisses his ear and whispering "I'm sorry", that causes him to come.

---

Naturally I reference a specific production I have seen when I talk opera so here's a mes amis pour Mon ame from la fille du regiment. Sadly I've not seen it at the met, but a girl can dream.

https://youtu.be/uYgRFZdinTQ

[the-dewofthesea]

a lovely anonymous person asked me:  Hey! I’m always on the lookout for new historical movies/series to watch. Do you have any recommendations? 🕯️

I’ve watched so many the past months, most of them you might probably already know, but here is a list of probably more things then anyone asked for. (ordered chronologically by time period, also includes non-english films/series)

based on real events: - Knightfall (2017-2019) Knights Templar 14th century - Kenau (2014) 1573, Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer defends Haarlem with her women army against the Spanish troops [Dutch] - Jamestown (2017-2019) 1619, women join men in the colony of Jamestown - Tulip Fever (2017) 17th century Dutch Tulip Mania - Michiel de Ruyter (2015) Dutch 17th century admiral [Dutch] - Frontier (2016 -) 18th century North American fur trade - Mr. Turner (2014) J.M.W. Turner, painter from the Romanticism - Gentleman Jack (2019-) Anne Lister, 19th century lesbian industrialist and landowner - Ammonite (2020) Mary Anning, 19th century female paleontologist - Insoumises (2019) Henriette Faber/Enriqueta Favez a female Swiss doctor working on Cuba lives life as a man [Spanish?] - Effie Gray (2014) Euphemia Gray, painter married to Pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millias - Tesla (2020) Nikola Tesla, 19th century inventor - The English Game (2020) origins of modern football in England, 1870s - Charité (2017) hospital in Berlin, 1888 [German] - Elisa & Marcella (2019) first gay couple to marry in spain, 1901 [Spanish] - Mr Selfridge (2013-2016) Harry Gordon Selfridge, retail magnate  - Radioactive (2019) Marie Skłodowska Curie, physicist and chemist - 1917 (2019) WWI - Amelia (2009) Amelia Earhart, first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, disappeared in 1937 - Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (2017) the creator of Wonder Woman   - Charité at War (2019) hospital in Berlin, WWII  [German] - Dunkirk (2017) WWII - A United Kingdom (2016) Secretse & Ruth Khama, heir to Bechuanaland (Botswana) - Hidden Figures (2016) NASA’s (1960s) female mathematicians  - Dreamgirls (2016) The Dreamettes, 1960/70s girl music group  - Loving (2016) 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case Loving vs. Virginia  - The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) anti-vietnam war protests, 1969

based on fiction: - The Last Kingdom (2015-) by Bernard Cornwell (2004), 9th century - The King (2019) based on Henriad by Shakespeare, 15th century - Wolf Hall (2015) by Hilary Mantel (2009), 16th century  - The Miniaturist (2017) by Jessie Burton (2014), 17th century - Hoe duur was de suiker (2013) by Cynthia McLeod (1987) 18th century plantation in Suriname [Dutch] - Poldark (2015-2019) by Winston Graham (1945), 18th century  - Outlander (2014 -) by Diana Gabaldon (1991), 20th + 18th century - Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) late-18th century painter in France - My Cousin Rachel (2017) by Daphne du Maurier (1951), 1830s   - The Beguiled (2017) by Thomas P. Cullinan (1966), USA civil war - Emma (2020) by Jane Austen (1815), Regency Period - Alias Grace (2017) by Margaret Atwood, murders in 19th century Canada - Little Women (2019) by Louisa May Alcott (1868), 19th century - The Paradise (2012-2013) by Émile Zola (1883), 19th century department store - Bridgerton (2020) by Julia Quinn (2000), Regency Period - Enola Holmes (2020) by Nancy Springer (2006), 1884

things about royalty: - Outlaw King (2018) Robert the Bruce, 14th century - Mary Queen of Scots (2018) Queen Mary of Scotland, 16th century  - The Favourite (2018) Queen Anne of England, 18th century - Catherine the Great (2019) Catherine II of Russia, 18th century - Victoria  (2016 -) Queen Victoria of Great Britain, 19th century - De Troon (2010) Dutch Royal House, 19th century [ Dutch] - The Last Czars (2019) Nicholas II, last emperor of Russia murdered 1918 - the Crown (2016 -) Queen Elizabeth II, 20th century

[secondgenerationnerd]

YJL team

Since I’ve done one for Epsilon and Omega (but might update omega), time to meet the YJL team!

Name: Ceridian’ahm (Leader, title only)

Alias/Nicknames: Aqualad (hero alias), Ceridian, Cer, Guppy, Fish head, Fish boy, Gills, gilly

Age: 17

Species: Atlantian

Sexuality: Queer

Powers/Weapon of Choice: Atlantean sorcery (hydrokinesis, translation spells, hard water constructs, electricity generation), Atlantean attributes (Underwater breathing, temperature resilience, durability, strength, toxin rsistance), Water pack, Water-Bearers (inherited from his father Kaldur)

Parents: Kaldur’ahm and Wynnde

Significant other: N/A

Random fact: He speaks English, Atlantian, Ancient/Modern Greek, and Latin fluently.

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

Name: Luca John Gordon-Grayson

Alias/Nicknames: Robin (hero Alias), Luc, Puca (Matt only), Rob, Bird Brain, Pretty Boy, Computer whiz, Technobrain

Age: 16

Species: Human

Sexuality: Gay

Powers/Weapon of Choice: special mask to help with his vision issues, bo staff, holographic computer, wrist watch computer (inherited from Dick), Birderangs, Bolas, flash grenades, gas pellets, grappling gun, lock pick, knife, periscope, rebreather, taser, etc.

Parents: Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon

Significant Other: Matt West

Random fact: Luca inherited his father hacking glove when he took the mantel of Robin. It took him less time to hack into most the Justice League computers than either of his parents.

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

Name: Matthew Isaac West

Alias/Nicknames: Velocity (hero alias), Matt, Matty, sweet boy (by his parents), know-it-all (by his sister), dancy pants

Age: 17

Species: Metahuman

Sexuality: Bisexual, uses he/they pronouns

Powers/Weapon of Choice:  Superhuman speed (accelerated healing, superhuman endurance/reflexes, tornado generation), compound arrows, trick arrows, throwing knives, cross bow and bolts.

Parents: Wally West and Artemis Crock

Significant Other: Luca Gordon-Grayson

Random fact: Matt and Jania both have eidetic memories (they remember everything they read/see). It’s not uncommon for Matt or Jania to come into the living area knowing another language. The West kids are the best at getting the team out of a situation.

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

Name: Jania Diana West

Alias/Nicknames: Atalanta (hero alias), Jani, Jani Girl, Blondie, J, Miss Fire, Sweet Girl (by her parents)

Age: 16

Species: Metahuman

Sexuality: Straight

Powers/Weapon of Choice: Superhuman speed (accelerated healing, superhuman endurance/reflexes, tornado generation), compound arrows, trick arrows, throwing knives, cross bow and bolts.

Parents: Wally West and Artemis Crock

Significant Other: Zachary Zatara

Random fact: She walked in her parents’ house when Zachary joined the team, complaining that he was an arrogant asshole. After seeing the look Wally and Artemis gave each other, Jania said it wasn’t like the two of them. A year later she begrudgingly told her parents she had a date with Zachary, knowing they’d tease her about it.

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

Name: Zachary Francis Zatara

Alias/Nicknames: (no hero alias), Zach, Zachy, Magic Man, souived naicigam, Z, Zach Attack

Age: 16

Species: Homo Magi

Sexuality: Straight

Powers/Weapon of Choice: Magic spells, charms, wards, talismans, knife (as needed)

Parents: Zatanna Zatara and John Constantine

Significant Other: Jania West

Random fact: Zachary was born on Halloween and during an eclipse, in addition to being Zatanna and John’s son. He’s been kidnapped twice in order to steal his powers, once as a toddler and again as a teen.

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

Name: Connor Jackson Lance-Queen

Alias/Nicknames: Green Canary (hero alias), Gremlin, Goblin, Queenie, Con, Scream Queen, Drummer Boy

Age: 17

Species: Metahuman

Sexuality: Pansexual

Powers/Weapon of Choice: Canary Cry, trick arrows, compound bow, cross bow and bolts, knife. 

Parents: Dinah Lance and Oliver Queen

Significant Other: Tiffany Fox in Omega’s universe.

Random fact: Connor’s partially deaf and suffer titinius because of his powers, his mother also being partially deaf as well. Connor wears hearing aids and will take them out for hearing breaks regularly. His team all knows ASL (Zachary knows BSL and Connor learns it)

[tcthestarswhclisten-saved]

[ ANDREA WRIGHT ] has arrived in Ardere! Under the bonfire light, this [ TWENTY-FIVE ] year old [ CIS-FEMALE ] is sometimes mistaken for [ DIANA SILVERS ]. Since graduating from [ HOGWARTS ], they have been working as a [ AUROR ]. Right now, they are currently residing in [ ARDERE ].

BASIC INFORMATION.

FULL NAME: Andrea Wright 

NICKNAME(S) OR ALIAS: Andi, Drea,  

GENDER: Female

SPECIES: Muggleborn wizard 

AGE: 25

HOUSE: Gryffindor

PATRONUS: i looked at the pottermore stuff and it said thestral and i’ve never gotten a special one before so i’m going with it

 ARMY AFFILIATION: Hermione Granger-Weasley 

SEXUALITY: Pansexual 

 NATIONALITY: British 

CURRENTLY LIVES: Ardere, England 

LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English 

NATIVE LANGUAGE: English 

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single

HEALTH.

SMOKER?: No 

DRINKER?: Absolutely

RECREATIONAL DRUG USER? WHICH?: Not really

SOCIABILITY: Introvert

HOUSE & HOME. 

DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER’S HOUSE/HOME

she lives in a tiny flat with Lucien! They’re pretty good friends, and when she moved back to England, they both wanted a fresh start so they got a flat together. They have only lives there for a year, but between Lucien and his paintings and supplies and Andi’s sister insisting she hang some family pictures, it’s a bit of a mess and not too scarcely decorated. 

FAMILY, FRIENDS, & FOES.

PARENTS NAMES: Leanna (deceased) and Jonathan Wright

SIBLINGS? One sister, Claire (non magic)

RELATIONSHIP WITH FAMILY?: Andi loves her family and does what she can to support them, although it has been more difficult since they moved to the states when Andi left home, back to where her father grew up. 

OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES: None

PARTNER/SPOUSE: None

EXES: Lucien (puppy love in 4th year before the gay awakening. also roommates now), tbd.

CHILDREN: None 

BEST FRIEND: i’m gonna count lucien.

OTHER IMPORTANT Relationships: Teddy Lupin, partner in... un-crime? they work together.

PETS: None currently

BLURBS

Andi wasn’t particularly special at Hogwarts. She didn’t have a slew of friends, for she preferred it that way, and she did excel in academics and dueling, but she wasn’t boastful about it. 

Her mother, a muggle police officer, passed just after her sister was born, also around the time she started schooling at Hogwarts. Her mother was so excited, especially as a muggle, to see her daughter do such incredible things that she didn’t previously know even existed, but she never got to witness her achievements.

After Hogwarts, she started training to become an auror. She had qualified, to her relief. Not long after starting the job, though, she was offered a position doing work for the ministry internationally. This team she had for this job wasn’t a secret, although certainly not advertised (most don’t know about it), but the work they did was a secret. What she saw and learned is under lock and key, and the only people who have access to the information is the team itself, head of law enforcement, the minister, and a select few other international personnel. This work is dangerous and high stakes, and although she had hesitated at first, thinking about how it would impact her family, she took it anyway.

Unfortunately, there was an accident. One that Andi has never and will never talk about, and not only because it’s confidential. She’s tough, not exactly one to let things shake her, but this nearly tore her apart. It certainly tore the team apart, and they were disbanded. Temporarily, originally, but Andi figured they would never see each other again.

Instead of relieving her of her position and her memories, the ministry stationed her back in Ardere. The work was still difficult, still dangerous, but some of it felt like a cakewalk. She’s not bored, per say, but she became used to the lifestyle, and she itches for the thrill of high stakes sometimes.

THIS BITCH QUEER AS SHIT. totally means business most of the time, but catch her in a certain mood and she’s flirty as hell. 

exudes top energy and it’s because she is top energy

she isn’t inherently the most empathetic person, but growing up partially raising her sister, she did develop an empathetic bone. Her sister has terrible anxiety, so Andi became pretty good at reacting to certain situations with a sturdy kindness and gentleness. She is surprisingly good with those in terrible times of fear. 

That being said, still a take no shit kind of bitch. She’s good at reading people and won’t deal with being bullshitted

can get a bit defensive sometimes, that’s for sure. she knows she’s damn good at what she does and can get jokingly cocky about it. Generally slightly arrogant

She is excellent with mentalist magic (occlumency more so than legilimency) and obviously I’m not going to use legilimency unless it’s plotted. Also, occlumency is fine, but legilimency takes a great deal out of her, and she doesn’t use it often at all. Also, although it’s a good tool, she isn’t permitted to use it in a job. 

She grew up in the muggle world, in a neighborhood that wasn’t terribly safe, and she has a fair amount of “muggle instincts”. does that make sense? she knows how to fight well without magic, probably the type thats like “idk maybe use *insert muggle tool here* instead??? literally that’s why it exists and it makes more sense.” 

i’ll probably add it this later but i wanted to post it SO HERE IS ANDREA Come plot with me please i want them plots

[mattelektras]

Hey! What are some lesbian/bi comic book women?

this is sans indie comics because all good indie comics are gay and id be here for my entire life. also i didn't include any that arent canon regardless of how much its speculated or hinted at etc. all ‘i dont knows’ are just because im not sure which one they are 

dc: 

kate kane/batwoman - (lesbian)

renee montoya/the question - (lesbian)

maggie sawyer - (lesbian)

artemis/wonder woman - (people have called her bi but she’s never done anything except hate men and be in love w women so unless its been specified, im not sure)

diana prince/ wonder woman - (bi) (im so hesitant w this one like she is bi i know in my soul that she is but one writer saying it on twitter once doesn't really cut it for me?????? esp since theres been no outright proof to it that hasn't been an au so. take it as u will i guess) 

selina kyle/catwoman - (bi)

eiko hasigawa/catwoman - (her only canon relationship was with selina so im not sure it was ever specified)

holly robinson/catwoman - (lesbian)

talia al ghul - (bi)

madame xanadu - (bi)

natasha irons/steel - (?? again. not sure if its been specified)

traci 13 - (i would say bi since she dated blue beetle and now natasha?? not sure tho)

violet page/mother panic - (bi)

grace choi - (bi)

anissa pierce/thunder - (lesbian)

maxima - (lesbian)

ayla ranzz/lightning lass - (bi i think)

knockout - (bi)

harper row/bluebird - (bi)

harley quinn - (bi)

poison ivy - (no specification but common sense says lesbian)

scandal savage - (bi??? i think????? could be wrong)

jeanette - (bi)

asa/nightmare nurse - (bi)

cameron chase - (lesbian)

shay veritas - (lesbian)

alysia yeoh - (bi i think. also trans)

frankie charles - (bi)

jenny sparks - (bi)

sarah rainmaker - (bi)

eveyln crawford/starling - (bi)

loma shade - (bi)

dawnstar - (bi)

shrinking violet - (lesbian i think)

marvel:

betsy braddock/psylocke - (bi) (admittedly not the best rep in terms of context but i love her so i’ll take it)

phyla vell/quasar -  (lesbian)

heather douglas/moondragon - (bi)

karolina dean - (lesbian)

nico minoru - (presumably bi, has dated guys but also likes karolina)

xi’an coy manh/karma - (lesbian)

roxy washington/bling - (lesbian)

america chavez/miss america - (lesbian)

valkyrie - (bi)

felicia hardy/black cat - (bi)

sera - (lesbian. also trans!)

angela - (lesbian)

ren kimura - (not sure but would guess at lesbian??)

annabelle riggs - (lesbian)

victoria hand - (lesbian)

raven darkholme/mystique - (bi)

irene adler/destiny - (bi)

avril kincaid/quasar - (lesbian)

alana jobson/jackpot - (lesbian)

loki - (bi)

yukio (not dp2 yukio) - (bi)

cessily kincaid/mercury - (bi??? i think???) 

janice lincoln/beetle - (bi)

jennifer kale - (bi)

julie power/lightspeed - (bi)

honorable mention aus: leah & magik in secret wars, elektra in the max universe, pixie in secret wars runaways, mariko yashida in an au where she’s  a hero under the sunfire alias

[sea-changed]

The First Half of 2018 in Books

Days Without End, Sebastian Barry

Oscar Wilde: The Unrepentant Years, Nicholas Frankel

These Possible Lives, Fleur Jaeggy

Ficciones, Jorge Luis Borges

Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey, Frances Wilson

Alias Grace, Margaret Atwood

The Ruin of a Rake, Cat Sebastian

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

Belle: The Slave Daughter and the Lord Chief Justice, Paula Byrne

Measure for Measure, Shakespeare

Inventing the Victorians, Matthew Sweet

Hamlet, Shakespeare

The Fortunes of Francis Barber: The True Story of the Jamaican Slave Who Became Samuel Johnson’s Heir, Michael Bundock

At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson

Margaret the First, Danielle Dutton

Lord John and the Private Matter, Diana Gabaldon

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Diana Gabaldon

Lord John and the Hand of Devils, Diana Gabaldon

The Scottish Prisoner, Diana Gabaldon

Outlander, Diana Gabaldon

Wildethorn, Jane Eaglund

Cry Liberty: The Great Stono River Slave Rebellion of 1739, Peter Hoffer

If We Were Villains, M.L. Rio

An Echo in the Bone, Diana Gabaldon

American Revolutions: A Continental History 1750-1804, Alan Taylor

His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik

Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, Diana Gabaldon

Felicity series, Valerie Tripp

The Lawrence Browne Affair, Cat Sebastian

Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves, Marie Jenkins Schwartz

The Gentleman’s House in the British Atlantic World 1680-1780, Stephen Hague

England’s Wealthiest Son: William Beckford, Boyd Alexander

Patience & Sarah, Isabel Miller

A Gentleman’s Position, K.J. Charles

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel

Whose Body?, Dorothy L. Sayers

A Seditious Affair, K.J. Charles

Summit Avenue, Mary Sharratt

The Heart’s Invisible Furies, John Boyne

Earthly Joys, Philippa Gregory

Songs of Innocence and of Experience, William Blake

The Absolutist, John Boyne

Throne of Jade, Naomi Novik

Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Rifka Brunt

A Fashionable Indulgence, K.J. Charles

Life Mask, Emma Donoghue

Silhouette of a Sparrow, Molly Beth Griffin

Circe, Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

In Other Lands, Sarah Rees Brennan

Pembroke Park, Michelle Martin

Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo,” Zora Neale Hurston

Denmark Vesey’s Garden: Slavery and Memory in the Cradle of the Confederacy, Ethan J. Kytle and Blain Roberts

(Also 54. Black Powder War by Naomi Novik and 55. Who Is Very Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht, but those were technically read in the past few days of early July and thus don’t officially count towards the first-half-of-the-year total.)

My DNFs, in the sense that I intentionally put them down and didn’t just run out of time to read them before they had to go back to the library, were Dragonfly in Amber and Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (I tried hard, folks) and Dunbar by Edward St. Aubyn.

Out of 53, 39 were fiction and 14 were nonfiction. I’ve also had the hilarious realization that exactly two (two!) could not be classified as either historical fiction, historical nonfiction, or books that were contemporary at the time they were written but were written in a time now considered historic. I’m a joke, nothing new here. (This probably means I should ask for contemporary recs, but actually I just want all the historic fiction/nonfiction recs you have.)

In addition, 27 had a lgbt main character (or in the case of nonfiction focused on a historical figure who had same-sex relationships). Taken together, these last two points mean that nearly half of the books I’ve read so far this year have been gay historical fiction; I remain as ever very much myself. 

[ladyloveandjustice]

"Hold up," said Alia. Diana was standing in front of a glass case at the center of the room, larger and brighter than the others, lit by white light piercing the oculus at the top of the dome. "Are there any men on this island?" Diana shook her head. "No." "NONE?" "No." "Holy shit, are you guys some kind of radical feminist cult?" Diana frowned. "Not exactly?" "Are you all lesbians?" "Of course not." "It's cool if you are. Nim's gay. Maybe bi. She's figuring it out." "Who's Nim?" "My best friend." My only friend, Alia did not add. Jason didn't count. And Theo was more "just a friend" than a actual friend. "Some like men, some like women, some like both, some like nothing at all." "But why no guys then?" "It's a long story."

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

[bookery]

my big ol’, spoiler free review on wonder woman: warbringer

I had approximately 300 feelings about this book before it was even released, mostly because it’s written by Leigh Bardugo (author of the six of crows trilogy, from which I have not recovered) and also because of the hype generated from the movie, which, as we all agree, was a cinematic masterpiece. I mean, I think there was a point when I started to worry about overselling this book to myself, but then I thought about how crooked kingdom sent me into a week long session of random ugly crying, really, and my faith in this book was restored. So anyway, I pretty much devoured this book in two days, and true to form, Leigh did not disappoint, y’all. (Wish I was exaggerating when I said she’s not here to play but TRUST ME, SHE ISN’T.) So here’s a fun little pro/cons list to this series for me to attempt to brainwash y’all into reading this: 

pros:

The amazing cast, which was mostly comprised of characters of color. 

Y’ALL. Y’ALL, I’m pretty sure I can name like... the one white character in this book. The rest of the leads were characters of color, with Alia (the second lead) being Greek/African American, Nim being Indian, and Theo being Brazillian and like... oh wow look at my ugly crying in a corner again at how amazing this all and how NICE it is for white not to be the default here. Anyway. 

LGBT rep!

Say hi to Nim, the most amazing badass there is, who canonically mentions that she is in fact Gay™ and has a teeny (huge) little crush on Diana, which honestly... relatable. 

Fun, twisty dialogue

I mean, I’ve come to expect it considering the great lines in six of crows, but wonder woman was a lot funnier than I expected. Seriously. Like if you guys are big fans of the Percy Jackson series, y’all will adore this. See gems such as: 

Alia waggled her fingers. “Google knows all and sees all.” 

“Google,” Diana repeated. “Is Google one of your Gods?” 

“Maybe it’s a metaphorical spring,” said Theo. “Like the spring is inside all of us?”

“Why didn’t I run you over when I had the chance?”

Friendship!! Badass female friends saving each other always!! Trusting each other always!!

The book was centered around Diana and Alia’s friendship, and can I just say it’s so refreshing to see a book that’s focused almost entirely on a pure, platonic friendship than anything else? You have some romance here and there, sure, (though I would be 100% down with diana/alia going beyond friendship tbh) but yeah, Diana and Alia are the central relationship in this book and it’s such a warm, funny and genuine relationship that there were parts where I was literally... tearing a little reading about how much they trusted and appreciated each other. Just!!! Friendship is magic, y’all!!!!

cons:

Okay, but consider: give Diana a girlfriend 2k4ever

Formatting is a little funky at times, with the switching of the alternate POVs confusing me at times. This happens in SOC today, but at least the chapters are clearly labelled. Not for this one, unfortunately. 

The main Big Bad is just... not convincing. I mean, intriguing enough, I suppose, but... the only Real emotion he coaxed out of me was boredom.

I can’t help compare the setting/world-building to SOC (I know, I know) and it’s just not as compelling. But I also get that there are limitations, considering how she probably has to work within the confines of the actual wonder woman story (which I know nothing about) so it’s not that big a deal, really. 

It’s a solid 4.5/5 stars for me and I could probably talk about this book a lot more if I could get talking about every single one of the characters here, which I adored (!! with a notable exception) but since a lot of people haven’t read this yet, I’ll just hold off on that. 

[typical-reviews]

Book Review: Wonder Woman Warbringer, by Leigh Bardugo

“I am done being careful. I am done being quiet. Let them see me angry. Let them hear me wail the the top of my lungs.”

Warbringer follows 17 year old Princess Diana of Themyscira as she leaves her home for the first time in order to save the world of man and become Wonder Woman. The story starts when Diana risks everything to save the life of a mortal girl. Little did she know that the girl she rescued was a warbringer, destined to bring upon an age of bloodshed. What Diana thought was a brave and noble act turns into a race against time as She and Alia have to face an onslaught of enemies--both mortal and divine--in order to save the world.

When I first heard about this book I was pretty skeptical, partially because I’ve been a Wonder Woman aficionado basically my entire life and partially because I’m just 100% over superhero stories at this point. But I have to admit that this book overcame both of those hurdles, and I think it's because this wasn’t just another superhero story. This book is an origin story, and it's different from all the other ones we’ve gotten recently because we get to see Diana before even she knows what she’s capable of. We get moments where she doubts herself and thinks she made a mistake in taking on this challenge, and that was so refreshing to see, especially because all we’ve been getting lately are these guys who know they’re heros and have saved the world a bunch of times so they don’t have any real moments of uncertainty or doubt.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was the diversity, which is something that Leigh Bardugo is amazing at. Nearly the entire cast of characters is non-white and they’re all so strong and well developed and wonderful. There’s also fantastic lgbt representation, and the way it's written really shows that it's a normal thing, and that's really fantastic because often times when a character is gay it's portrayed as the most important thing about them or it's painted as an obstacle for the character, but being gay is not an obstacle that needs to be overcome.

Although I can’t say this book was completely romance-free, it very nearly was (like a strong 90-95%) and when there were moments of attraction it was for the purpose of strengthening and developing the characters. And I really appreciated that because Diana is an Amazon warrior with more important things to worry about. This is a story about friendship and girl power and I don’t need your relationship drama mucking that up.

One thing that I didn’t enjoy as much is the fact that I saw a few things coming from the beginning which it made the moment it came into play less exciting. I also would have liked more information on warbringers in general, for example why aren’t all female descendants of Helen of Troy warbringers? What makes someone a warbringer, is it just a hidden gene that only shows up on rare occasions? And why haven’t there been any male warbringers? My last little problem was that some things felt very repetitive, but that could just be because I read this book as an arc so it's possible that some parts will be cut in the finished edition and they just hadn’t decided which ones to keep yet.

Overall this book was a fun read about self-discovery, friendship, and what makes a hero.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer is out on August 29th.

[deanpinterester]

pls let diana and alia be gay