#around the year in 52 books 2022

[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

Isabella the Air Fairy (The Green Fairies #2) by Daisy Meadows

“Now that I have my wand, I can start cleaning up the air in this town, so no butterflies have to have soot-covered wings again!”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I really think that this book is up there in terms of the best Rainbow Magic books! I genuinely see this as a perfect book - it’s so informative (especially when taking the book’s age demographic into consideration), it does such an amazing job of conveying its theme and some of the illustrations in here are just so creative.

I want to start off with Isabella herself. First of all,  Isabella’s design is fantastic! I love how the little swirls on her belt match the ones that come out of her wand, representing gusts of wind! And her dress is so flowy and purple - a colour that for some reason I’ve always seen get associated with air as an element in other media. The best part is definitely drawing her hair as though it’s actually blowing in the wind, I think that was such a nice touch!

She’s also my favourite fairy because she’s either angry or unserious. I always love it when the fairies get angry! Isabella saw one of Jack Frost’s goblins and immediately said “this little shit not only has my wand but he’s also spraying the air with toxic chemicals, fuck it, magic or not I’m making goblin soup” and I love her for that. Also, her with her little hands on her hips as if she isn’t literally two apples tall. She was also so unserious for twirling her wand like a baton once she finally got it back, like, you risked your life trying to get back such a powerful object and now you’re playing with it? I truly love her the most.

There’s only one goblin in this book and he’s definitely one of the more memorable ones. Him trying to freeze the fairies like Jack Frost was so funny, he literally said, “Always works when Jack Forst says it.” (All because he doesn't know that fairy wands can do no harm, which is unfortunate, but understandable because I will never stop bringing up Paige the murder fairy.)

“I’m being green, of course. I’m getting rid of air pollution by making the air fresh.” - I laughed out loud when the goblin said this. He’s not very bright, but he’s got spirit. (No but actually, this is the first goblin that can canonically read, even if he doesn’t really understand what air freshener is.)

As for the actual plot of the book, this series in particular brings forth a few things we haven’t seen these books do before. The girls going to the King and Queen for help with something going wrong on Earth was a refreshing way to get them to Fairyland and start their new adventure. The Earth fairies training to earn their wands is such an interesting idea, I actually think it would be really cool to see another series do something similar to this plot point. Speaking of which, having their wands be the MacGuffin of the series creates such a unique obstacle for the girls that we’ve never seen before, so it was just really interesting to see them be resourceful and clever without magic backing them up.

A lot of the illustrations in this book really stuck out to me. One of the most significant ones was on this one page where you have an illustration of all these cars surrounded by all the pollution they’ve caused and it’s actually horrifying to think about how relevant that image is. I need to see more of this sort of environmental awareness in children’s media. 

There’s also a side-plot of the girls meeting a butterfly who’s trying to find friends and the design choices surrounding that are amazing! I really liked the side-by-side size comparison of Isabella and the girls as fairies and the butterfly because later on there’s this scene where they’re surrounding a goblin and they’re so tiny, the difference in ratio was such a cool little detail.

There’s this one image that I thought was really cute where Kirsty gets an idea and there all these lines around her like ‘idea sparks’ and I can’t believe the books don’t do this more often.

This is such a random one, but the girls putting up drawings of fairies in their cottage bedroom was such a cute detail

Other details that I really want to point out:

I love whenever they’re on Rainspell Island because I’m a sucker for nostalgia bait.

“My goblins are the only real green creatures!” - I can’t even with Jack Frost anymore, but his rhyme for this series… dare I say one of his best.

It took 22 years and a children’s fantasy book for me to learn what smog is.

“What kind of insects are you?” - this line from the butterfly made me laugh

Their plan being a good old snatch-and-grab, with tickling involved because of course the goblin is ticklish, is hilarious. They really said this one can’t be reasoned with, let’s just steal it back and go.

[astradyke]

Please write the dissertation on how phil deals with dan's self deprecation :)

hi! i am not certain what exactly you are referring to, but i will be using my best guess that you are referencing what i talked about in this post about a certain minute and a half from a certain video. if that's not what you meant, shoot me another ask! but assuming that's it, well, without further ado...

a deep dive into 19:57-21:26 of What Dan and Phil Text Each Other 2

What Dan and Phil Text Each Other 2 was released December 21st, 2021 on AmazingPhil's channel. this video was released around two and a half years into Dan's hiatus (two years from their joint hiatus). setting aside the several YouTube Originals including Dan as talent, the next upload released on his own channel would be Why I Quit YouTube, released May 2nd, 2022. the sole reason i mention this video is for the contextualization of what was occurring during What Dan and Phil Text Each Other 2-- this video was taken at some point after Dan had learned that his dream show, Dan Is Not Okay, was not going to be actualized, a reality that he described as traumatic.

i want to be explicitly clear that i am NOT intending to speculate on what was transpiring in private, nor am i romanticizing severe trauma. this is a frame by frame commentary post about publicly available content.

the outro to this video begins at 19:52, with a single frame that cuts at 19:57. At 19:57, Phil says: "Bunch has happened with you that we did not text about," to which Dan emphasizes, "That I can't talk about." Dan begins speaking on his own at this point, but you see Phil's face shift as he prods Dan to "talk a bit" about what is going on-- his eyebrows furrow, he's making direct eye contact with the camera, and he seems to be frowning. As Dan talks calmly yet vaguely about the circumstances we later learn about in Why I Quit YouTube, Phil's face shifts from the previously described expression to one where his cheeks puff up, his eyebrows still furrowed-- clearly annoyed. This shift happens as Dan is talking:

"Look, quite a few things, dreams of mine-"

"-got quite catastrophically torpedoed..."

Phil's face is like this for only a second before he relaxes it, though he still looks noticeably unhappy after. There is a jump-cut ~20:12, where Dan now has his hand resting against his face, while Phil emphatically expresses: "Like, Dan has been so close to almost giving you something, and then it's been taken away."

at this point, Dan carefully starts saying that several of these projects might happen in the future-- to which Phil looks a little defeated:

before looking irritated, even more-so than before, when Dan says: "... but I cannot to just wait for them or be gone in the meantime."

again, relaxes again after a few seconds, and only begins to look positive when Dan describes that "somehow, some way, in the new year, I will be back."

... okay, so why did i show you any of that? mainly because i think it is significant to contrast the way that Dan approaches this subject versus how Phil does. Dan is plagued with vestiges of bitter professionalism and a sort of sadness as he tries to allude to the nightmare of his last two years, which makes sense in the context of his indecision over how to respond to what happened. all that Dan has experienced has forced him to constrain his emotional responses, as he has spent two years walking along a very similar edge with his literal dreams at stake. Phil, meanwhile, has a subconscious reaction to what Dan is saying, and without intending to, expresses across his face the shifting emotions that Dan feels unable to show.

to me it mirrors something we see in the I TRY TO GIVE DAN A HAIRCUT!! video. In this video, Dan continuously expresses uncertainty about promoting his book, being repeatedly encouraged by Phil to talk about it-- only for Phil to insert a segment at the end of the video to promote it more fervently. Dan is forcibly holding back, versus Phil openly expresses what Dan feels he cannot do in that moment. when Dan is wading through complicated emotions in order to treat the subject of his recent trauma respectfully, Phil is pantomiming what Dan cannot say in that moment, what he is not safe to say: that he got completely fucked over. Phil is communicating what we would spend five months knowing nothing about, in a way that exposes nothing except the fact that he was by Dan's side, feeling a fraction of his pain, throughout it, and that Dan didn't deserve it. that Dan is not at fault for his own absence.

at 20:35, Phil perks up and expresses that "the world has missed your sarcasm," voicing not only his own excitement ("I'm braced") but also the audience's excitement to see Dan return to YouTube. Dan laughs, before asking: "have they, though?" here, Phil very earnestly says, "yeah!" he is slightly shrugging, eyebrows rising (i couldn't capture a good visual here, sorry). the conversation is quickly hijacked by Dan, who continues to say "maybe this has been good for the world"-- Phil makes an expression here that is convoluted to read, mixed with both irritation/skepticism but also losing a degree of seriousness-- and starts laughing to himself as Dan goes onto say, effectively, that maybe things are better without him there at all. this is a very noticeable part of a lot of Dan and Phil content: Dan makes a self-deprecatory remark, Phil responds very earnestly, and then Dan continues to take it in a joking direction, so Phil picks it up and jokes back.

this feels jarring, at first, because at the time that this video released, i remember being surprised at how dark Dan was being, in a place that was clearly meant to be laughed off but was not executed like his typical cynicism. Phil follows along with laughing about it, because they are professionals and moving along is a quick way to handle something that does not need to escalate to an intervention/argument, but Phil does not joke about this from the beginning-- he is very earnestly assuring, at first, before realizing that Dan is doubling down, and he backs off. and he actually does this a lot across their videos: following Dan's lead.

20:48 is when Phil starts the actual outro of the video. at 20:51, after thanking the audience for watching the video, he gestures at Dan and turns to say: "Thanks, Dan-" to which Dan cuts him off to say, "Thank you for tolerating my presence." Phil continues his earlier sentence, correcting Dan by saying, "for treating us with your presence."

this is done (1) immediately and (2) deliberately. there is no shift in Phil's facial expression, no muddling or joking about what he is saying. Dan, in this moment, is reverting and doubling down on the self-deprecation we started to hear just a moment ago, and Phil is responding to it not by cutting Dan off, or bantering about it, or scolding him, but by very clearly correcting it. Dan is asserting what he believes to be the truth-- this does not read like his regular cynical humor-- and Phil is, in turn, asserting his truth just as confidently: that Dan is, as he said at the very beginning of this video, "a gift" for the audience. That Dan is creating something beautiful, that it's not his fault what is happening to him, and that both the audience and Phil want him.

the outro continues on, and Phil does his promotional stuff, explicitly including Dan in pretty much everything he promotes. here's my best attempt at a screenshot where you can see how close the two of them moved together over the course of this video; this is Phil telling people to subscribe to Dan.

Dan then says, at the very end of the video, that "it has been... a year." Phil doesn't express much facially, but he does say a very clear, "yeah." as Dan goes on to close out the video. in the end cards, Dan's end card says: "DANIEL!" obvious excitement and endearment here.

... okay, that's cool Mare, but you started writing this two hours ago and i don't understand why i needed to read any of that?

this video holds a very different tone to the others in the series, which is possibly why it is not a favorite for many people. it is a funny video, undeniably, but it is very clear in hindsight that this was shot while Dan was in a relapse. which is why it is so meaningful and loud to me that Phil not only brought this series back unexpectedly, but also exhibits this 'pressing forward and pulling them both back' strategy. they laugh about texts, Phil does their joint promotions, and then Dan says something self-deprecatory-- Phil steps up to sincerely counter it, and then pulls them both back as the next jump cut happens. the two of them are in-step, here, matching each other: Dan and Phil alternate discussing Dan's solo work issues; Phil picks up when Dan is trying to make a joke and joins in on it; when Dan self deprecates, Phil takes the same exact sentence and changes a singular word without a visual second thought. they do this all together.

there are a lot of ways to navigate self-deprecation. notably, when arising from a serious internal crisis colored by depression, you can't reason them directly out of it-- it's an immutable truth, to them, something that the world has affirmed. when Dan says that the internet would be better without him, that his presence is merely to be tolerated, you can tell that in the moment of this video's filming he did genuinely believe this. Phil recognizes that any attempt he makes to combat this has to be subtle enough to look over, but clear enough that the audience registers it in their head. it has to be said like it is an obvious truth, because to Phil (and us) it is an obvious truth. and it has to be done in line with Dan, not cutting him off or speaking over him, but by giving him the agency to express how he feels, and informing him, gently, that Phil is in love with him even if Dan is struggling to love himself.

Phil wanted us all to know in this video that Dan was being mistreated, even before any of us knew what that actually meant. even as Dan dealt with the psychological repercussions of this on his own mentally, it reminds us that Phil was there the entire time, Phil saw it and he grieved, too, because if the hiatus showed us anything it is that Phil loves Dan's solo work and his creative mind more than pretty much anything, aside from Dan himself. he also tried to emphasize, at the beginning and the end and even in the foundations of the video, that Dan being there was a treat! not something to be taken for granted! that Dan was something special, something the world desired, and yes that may sound obvious given that we were all there eagerly waiting for joint content, but in the context that Dan was being used for billboards and specials and whatever the fuck just because he could, that he was conscripted into projects and then forgotten about, that his own dreams 'fell through the cracks'... yeah.

a major reason why the hiatus years are so fond in my heart is that they are a clear period of time where you can see Phil's relentless devotion to Dan. he does the most that he can to support him-- he brings him onto a fun joint video, he promotes his merch, he really promotes his book, he coaxes Dan to talk more about solo projects, and he emphasizes that he wants him there. and this is all why this video in particular is so meaningful to me. it's the two of them, unexpectedly for us, bringing back a series where they revel in their insane psychic connections with each other, and it's Phil saying over and over and over again-- this person is with me. i am by his side. i am proud of him, and i radically refuse to take him for granted. he can never go anywhere that i won't follow him.

and that, that is everything.

[ave-on-main]

“Pre-boot Roy's dynamic with Slade is what fanon wishes Dick's relationship with Slade would be” is a bad faith fanon myth.

I’ve seen this statement go around since Dark Crisis ended last year and wittnessed people actually believe it, so here we go: It’s not true.

First of, lets talk about what allegedly makes pre-boot Roy the person that fanon thinks Dick is to Slade:

One panel that gets taken out of context to prove the statement above is Slade talking about Roy as his “ace in the hole” in Titans (2008) which gets equated to Slade calling Dick a “trophy” in Dark Crisis (2022). In context, these two instances are not the same. Comparing them makes no sense. More on why in the Roy section of this little essay.

Another point of contention is that Rebirth Dick secretly works together with Slade to protect the Titans (2016). People claim that is a rehash of what happened when Roy worked together with Slade while Roy was the leader of the Outsiders (2003), but the premises are entirely different. In Titans Dick works with Slade to protect the other team members. In Outsiders Roy uses Slade’s intel and funding without knowing he’s speaking to Slade. He thinks Slade is Batman.

It is also worth noting that the Rebirth version has more in common with the Apprentice arc of Teen Titans Animated 2003. TT 03 came out at the same time Outsiders did. Slade was revealed to be Roy’s contact in Outsiders #21 (February 2005). The first time Slade appears as Batman is Outsiders #4 (September 2003), but it is not known to readers or characters that Batman is not Bruce. The Apprentice arc of TT 03 started in Season 1 Episode 11 (October 2003). The show didn’t copy the comics, nor assumably did the comics copy the show. It could be a weird attempt at synergy to reveal Slade in 2005 but it is unlikely because DC cared very little about synergy at the time. Worth noting though is, that Slade’s role in Outsiders is extremely limited. Once his identity is revealed, he is no longer part of the plot.

Now, in fanon, the Rebirth version of events is largely ignored. If anyone in fandom wants to talk about Dick working with Slade, they’ll mostly use the more thought out version of the show as a blueprint or the Renegade arc of Nightwing (1996). Both comic and show are also actually written by writers who like Dick unlike Deathstroke 2016.

That Roy is important to Rose’s developement isn’t true. She babysits Lian but she barely talks to Roy or any of the adult Titans while she appears in Titans (1999).  Nightwing: Renegade retcons that Dick was there while she babysitted Lian, but all Roy does is villify Rose, not once implying that he had anything to do with getting her on the Titans.

Equally as untrue is that Slade is actually obsessed with Roy over Dick. It’s a purely fanon take.

There’s also this conspiracy going around that Slade & Dick stans working at DC are retconning things to make Dick look better, which is, I can’t say it differently, an insane statement to make. Dan Didio erased the Slade-Dick rivalry from existance, so much so that Higgins could not use them in the same story even though he was writing both New 52 books. Seeley & King could merely put Deathstroke into Grayson (2014) as a papershield target practice. Christopher Priest dislikes Dick, which he not only states on his blog but is also obvious in his writing (Deathstroke #4). Interestingly, the people screaming about retcons ruining everything had nothing to say about Rebirth Roy being part of the NTT roaster while Grant attacks the team (Lazarus Contract).

Infinite Frontier ties Dick and Slade together once more, but it is almost all talk and no show. It’s a distant echo of their pre-boot relationship. There was zero build up to their reconnection. Frankly, a Dick & Slade stan would put a lot more effort into it. The only reason DC brought a semblance of their rivalry back was because of Red X nostalgia and it shows. Dick only dons the Deathstroke mask in Future State: Teen Titans to complement Red X and his hunt for Deathstroke in Teen Titans Academy is mention but never shown, not even as a one panel flashback.

Meanwhile Green Arrow is now the first hero Deathstroke fought (Deathstroke Inc. Year One) and Slade encounters Roy soon after (Infinite Frontier: Secret Files #2). DC is still trying to tie Slade to the JL rather than to the Titans.

But what are their actual Pre-Boot relationships?

Vastly different, that’s for sure. 

At first, Dick is largely tied to Slade because of Joey and the similarities (skill-wise) Slade sees in Dick. Later Dick’s ties to Slade’s children and what that causes makes respect turn into hate. 

Slade gets involved with Roy because of Cheshire and to manipulate the Outsiders by orders of Dr. Sivana. 

Roy Harper and Slade Wilson

Roy in Deathstroke (1991)

The first time Slade and Roy properly meet (aka actually share a word) is in Deathstroke The Terminator (1991) #18. They are both undercover and pretend to work with Cheshire.

Jade introduces Roy to Slade, and Jade “asks” for Slade’s help by using what amounts to a slave ring she can reactivate any time to control him. Together with her other underlings they set out to steal nuclear warheads.

Not knowing they could be on the same side, Roy betrays the team by going after Slade. Slade defeats him, and Roy is left in enemy territory.

Roy makes his way back after Cheshire has already nuked Qurac. The destruction makes Slade and Roy temporarly work together to apprehend Jade and reveal their allegiances to each other (#20).

While Roy is on the Titans when Rose joins the team in the following crossover event, she doesn’t interact one-on-one with him. All he does is give Impulse relationship advice because Bart is crushing on Rose (The New Titans #126).

Titans (1999)

Roy and Slade meet when Tartarus attacks H.I.V.E. which at that point is lead by an incognito Adeline Kane but don’t have a one-on-one interaction in thie story.

Their first true confrontation takes place later. Slade’s been contracted to kill Cheshire due to her nuking Qurac. As Slade and Roy fight, Slade mentions Nightwing as a comparison between the two, and even though Roy temporarly gains the upperhand, Slade escapes to go after Jade. (#22)

Rose starts to babysit Lian after the Deathstroke & Qurac incident, but weirdly enough, she barely shares a word with any of the adult Titans. She’s really just kind of there.

Outsiders (2003)

Roy believes Batman is giving him intel and is funding the Outsiders  (#6, #11) . In truth, the Batman who he’s been talking to is Slade.

It's when Dick learns that Roy hasn't been talking to the real Bruce, that Slade reveals himself. Slade fights Roy, taunting him about killing him and adopting Lian to make her an assassin. Slade realizes Roy isn't on top of his game and sees the five direct bullet wounds he's received on an earlier Outsiders mission. Taking pity, Slade decides to leave him alive (#21).

In #43 the Outsiders learn that Slade was hired by Dr. Sivana. The mad scientist saw potential in manipulating the team. It was not Slade’s idea to go after the Outsiders.

Titans (2008)

When Slade creates his own Titans team, Cheshire convinces Arsenal to join the team with her. She wants to use the opportunity to kill Slade. Roy pretends to have switched allegiances and joins the team.

Slade knows not to trust them. He uses Roy’s drug addiction against him by switching out Roy’s “regular” drugs with a substance called “Bliss”. (#27)

Later Slade uses Roy as his “ace in the hole” when the Justice League confronts them. He threatens to blow up his ship with a warhead. The League, lead by Dick as Batman, retreats as not to harm Roy. In this case, “always his ace” means the reason Roy is on the team is to be used as a human meat shield because other heroes still care for him (Annual #1).

At the end of this arc, Roy betrays the team and decides against resurrecting Lian and with that stops Slade from resurrecting Grant. Slade swears revenge on him because Roy literally did what the New Teen Titans did. “Killing Grant.” The Titans comic and the entire Pre-New 52 universe end with Roy and Joey deciding to reform the Titans because Dick still believed in the teams value.

Apart from the initial Qurac storyline, there’s no canon Slade and Roy story in which Dick doesn’t at least get mentioned.

Pre-New 52 Dick Grayson and Slade Wilson

New (Teen) Titans

Dick belongs to the six New Teen Titans that Slade originally takes on a contract against (New Teen Titans (1980) #02). Slade contacts the team soon after their first meeting to take them out. Dick plays the voice of reason during that second encounter and makes the Titans listen to Slade’s plan. Slade fails to kill them (#10).

During the Judas Contract, Slade learns Robin’s secret identity through Tara’s spying on the Titans (Tales of the Teen Titans #42). Slade attacks Dick in his office, telling him he won’t kill him if Dick doesn’t resist because H.I.V.E. wants the Titans dead or alive. Dick knows he can’t win a hand-to-hand fight against Slade and manages to trick him. Slade admires how Dick escapes, ascertaining that Dick is the leader for a reason. He’s the hardest to catch because powers don’t make a man. Just like Dick, Slade was the best even before he got augmented. It’s a first for Slade to loose his target. He blames it on being worried about the contract.

While Adeline and Joey get in contact with Dick, Slade delivers the Titans sans-Dick to H.I.V.E. (#43). Adeline proceeds to tell Dick how Slade became Deathstroke the Terminator. Afterward Joey and Dick team up to save the Titans (#44).

After Tara loses herself in her rage and dies, Dick concludes Slade and she were manipulating each other (Annual #3).

Dick remains in contact with the D.A. office to ensure the Titans are still going to testify against Slade but a Deathstroke imposter attacks Lilith. Slade’s attorney spins a defense out of the imposter (#53). Gar has his own plans for Slade while Dick and the Titans want to focus on aprehending the imposter. Dick gets sworn in as an expert witness on matters of identity, and he tries to use what Adeline told him about Slade in court, but Slade’s attorney uses Dick’s words against the Titans. Slade doesn’t go on further trial but will remain detained in prison and has a small confrontation with Dick. (#54)

Wildbeests are hunting the Titans and Slade gets hired by Dayton to save Gar and the others. He would have gone after them regardless to save Joey. He ends up searching out Dick’s apartment first, probably in hopes he hasn’t been captured yet (#71). Slade doesn’t realize that Dick is one of the Wildbeests he encounters, and the one who helpes Slade escape from the second Wildbeest.

The Wildbeests realize they have a spy and overpower Dick. Slade catches Pantha just as she finds pieces of Dick’s costume (#74). Slade invades the Wildbeest base, and Joey reveals himself to Dick and him (#75). The two end up fighting Joey, but can’t get through to him. Dick implores Slade to calm down and focus as they escape to Titans Tower. There, Slade stops Pantha when she attacks Dick shortly before the Wildbeests attack the base. Slade and Dick escape together. While Slade can’t believe Joey is doing this, Dick is the more realistic of the two. 

Later, Slade gets them out of a tough situation by morally questionably methods. Slade expects a response from Dick but gets a proverbial shrug (#76).

Shortly before their final confrontation with Joey, Slade decides he has no other choice than to kill Joey, which Dick is against. Slade kills his son because he knows the real Joey regarded the Titans as friends (#84).

Slade and Dick meet on the Titans Tower island afterward. Dick notices him, which according to Slade not many are able to do. Dick asks why he couldn’t be bothered to show up at the funeral of the son he killed. 

Dick attacks Slade in his grief over Joey, telling him to fight back. Slade does if only to tell him he lost someone too. Their fight ends when Dick admits he doesn’t get how Slade and Bruce can just keep bottling their anger up, he’d explode. Slade tells him that losing control hasn’t done him anything good and that he has to believe he freed Joey. He then shows concern for having injured Dick, but Dick denies his help, and they part ways without anything truly resolved (#86).

Dick in Deathstroke, The Terminator (1991)

Bruce calls Dick to get intel on Slade. While Dick knows how dangerous Slade is, he calls him a good man, to which Slade later responds by saying Dick’s wide-eyed and idealistic. (#7)

When Deathstroke gets into crosshairs with the Justice League and has lost much of his powers, the Titans set out to confront him. He encounters Dick and Koriand’r while he tries to escape. Dick tries to stop him and explains to him that if he’s an innocent man, he’ll stand by his side and help him get free of the charges (#14). In fact, the Titans saw what was happening to him on TV and Dick made the decision to help him or take him down depending on whether Joey dying pushed him over the edge (New Titans #89).

Dick and Slade end up working together when Eclipso tries to take over Earth’s heroes. Slade heads to Salvagion to get information about his current situation where he meets Nightwing, who’s been caught spying. Salvagion isn’t the enemy, though, Nightwing is there to retrieve information about Cyborg’s files to heal his friend. The files were lost when Titans Tower got destroyed. 

Dick and Slade fight against enemy mercenaries, who are attacking Salvagion,  and figure something is wrong. Dick then hires Slade and Pat to save the Titans.

By 1993 Dick’s appearances in Deathstroke and The New Titans apruptly ends because he had been taken back by the Bat Office. Editorial was quite strict at the time, demanding him to be written out of New Titans.

Slade in Nightwing (1996)

As Dick tries to apprehend an out of control Man-Bat, Slade shows up to do just that with tranquil darts, shooting Dick too in the process (#17). Dick learns that Slade has been contracted to capture Man-Bat alive and knows Slade doesn’t work cheap, so he and Barbara figure out who Slade has been hired by.

Dick ends up fighting Slade on a boat, treading barbs throughout, and ultimately taking Slade out long enough to escape with Man-Bat (#18).

While Dick’s working at the BPD, Dick one day comes home to find Slade in his apartment (#79). Slade reveals that he’s searched him out because he has a contract in town. Dick and Joey were such good friends, Slade feels it’s fair to tell him. Dick asks for the name of Slade’s target, but Slade hasn’t come to betray all of his cards, he’s simply trying to make a deal, so Dick stays out of his way. Dick considers calling for backup, but there’s no one he wants to put in Slade’s path.

During his police work, Dick sees Slade again and goes after him. They have a short confrontation in which Slade reiterates for him to stay out of the way, but Blüdhaven is Dick’s city, he’ll protect everyone in it. Slade threatens Dick and shoots when Gannon Malloy, Dick’s partner at the BPD, draws a gun at him. Dick saves him but gets shot in the arm (#80).

The Batfamily visits him at the hospital, and Dick asks Cass for help with Deathstroke. She fights Deathstroke and retrieves a disc from him that reveals who the target is (#81).

Dick succeeds to save Amy from Slade’s first attack, fighting Slade until he takes advantage of his injury. Dick tells Amy to run, stating Slade won’t hurt him. Even though Slade implies that he will, Slade doesn’t further fight Dick, going after his target instead. Dick ignores his own safety to attack Slade in close proximity again. It allows Amy to get far enough away for Slade to temporarly stop his hunt and punch Dick unconscious.

Dick remains by Amy’s side as much as he can, stopping Slade from shooting her by dropping bills on him and fighting him long enough to tell him that Dick s overbidding the contract put on Amy.

Slade responds by saying that he always knew that Dick had a heart (#82).

When Blockbuster dies some time later, new villains want to take his spot and as Dick learns Deathstroke will be the hired help, he considers how he can stop them while Slade knows his secret idenity (#110). Dick hunts down Westbrook to get into contact with Slade. By the time Dick returns home, Slade has received his message (which leads to the famous shower panel) and Slade witnesses how Dick has gotten involved with the Blüdhaven mob (#111). Dick tries to convince Slade that he is one of the bad guys now, but Slade claims he doesn’t have an interest in seeing Dick be a “selfloathing mercenary” now that he has to take care of Rose.

Dick wishes Rose good luck after both Grant’s and Joey’s deaths, and Slade ultimately decides through Rose’s input to let Dick train her. Rose tells Dick she was a nanny to Lian (paradoxially because he knows. He was there in Titans (1999)). They save Sophia Tevis and Rose tells her father, asking him if Dick gets to have a private life from them, which Slade replies to with “obviously not” (#112). 

While Rose and Dick investigate another crime, Slade seeks out Amy Rohrbach, telling her he won’t hurt her because she is permanently off his hitlist. He can still kill her family, though. He is searching for Sophia Tevis behind Dick’s back and confronts Dick with her existence and proof that Dick in fact remains a hero (#113). Rose’s training continues, and while Slade does not trust in Dick’s loyalty, he lets him investigate the villains Slade is currently working with (#114). Slade decides to monitor Dick as he sends out Rose and Dick to hunt Superman. Dick has been given a glove through which Slade can monitor and change his heartbeat as well as hear what is going on. Dick uses the fight to show Rose that the ideology of her father is wrong. 

When Dick is later confronted by Slade, who is threatening to kill him, Dick reveals that Slade cannot kill him for two reasons: 1. Slade killing Dick would cause Rose to betray him and 2. that Slade has always failed to kill him and that it never fails to make him mad. Slade lets Dick go, but knows Dick is messing with something too big for him (#115). 

After Slade betrays Dick, Dick plants geiger counters in Slade’s house and makes sure Rose learns that her father has been poisioning her with the Kryptonite in her eye. Slade and Dick are fighting during the conversation. Slade tries to stay in control of the situation, but Rose ultimately believes Dick, especially when Slade tries to silence him even though Rose wishes to hear what Dick has to tell. Dick makes sure Slade knows he’ll get back at him someday for what he did to Blüdhaven (#117).

Titans (1999)

This Titans story takes place before their fallout. Deathstroke is fataly wounded by Tartarus and goes to the Titans for help. Dick reluctantly offers him a temporary place on the team, but not without putting a tracker on him (#10) and reminding Slade continuously that if he fights with the Titans, he must follow their rules (#12).

Deathstroke brings Dick up while fighting Roy, claiming Arsenal is no Nightwing (#22) and Rose later becomes the carekater of Lian but hardly talks with the Titans on panel.

Teen Titans (2003)

When Slade defeats the Teen Titans by manipulating several young heroes, the original Titans aren’t happy about it. Dick tells Slade to leave (#45). When he doesn’t, Dick and he fight while the other Titans take on his crew. During the confrontation, Slade taunts Dick, but Dick still stops Cass from trying to kill him.

When Slade tells the Titans they’ll never be able to trust Rose and Joey, Dick replies that they have proven themselves and will always have a place on the team. Slade gets away, revealing it was all a test to see if his children will have a good life with the Titans (#46).

Infinite Crisis (2005)

After everything that has happened with Grant, Joey and finally Rose, Slade blames Dick for his misfortune (#7). (The page this panel is from was apparently accidentally erased in the digital version of this issue. It can only be found in the digital collected edition and the print editions.)

Batman & Robin (2009)

Talia hires Deathstroke to kill Dick by letting him take control of Damian’s body. She states that Slade has a “long and eventful history” with the “foolish young Batman pretender”. Slade has waited a long time to get rid of Dick per his own words (#11). Slade wants Dick to know who is going to cripple him, so Talia intensifies the neural bond for Slade to be able to speak through Damian. They are working together because they have both lost their children to the hero community because of Dick.

Damian is resisting the control, which makes Slade unable to do much more than to reiterate his desire to kill Dick. Dick electroshocks Damian, knowing Damian can handle it, but Slade likely can’t because of his enhanced senses making him more vulnerable while connected through the neural link. Slade goes into shock, and Dick later searches him out after infiltrating Talia’s base to give him payback. 

Titans (2008)

Deathstroke makes a deal with Mad Hatter, which causes his group of Titans to cause havoc in Arkham Asylum. Dick, then Batman, stops him from taking an inmate with him (#28). Slade calculates whether fighting Dick is worth it and decides to do so. Dick is still furious at Slade for what he did to Damian.

Dick is forced to let Slade get away to save two Arkham guards but pursues him, getting confronted by the new Titans team Deathstroke is leading (#29). Dick and Roy shortly work together. Dick tries to convince him that he is not a villain, but Slade tells Dick Roy is now on his side.

Slade and his Titans are able to leave while Dick deals with the freed inmates off-panel (#30). Ray Palmer point out to Dick that he is taking the confrontation badly, initially only blaming it on the appearance of Slade, who Dick has fought “more times than any [hero]” (#34). Slade reveals to Roy that he chose him for the team to ensure the League could not act in fear of putting him in mortal  danger. Dick gives the order for the JLA to fall back but both Slade and Roy know they’ll still be pursued.

As usual, Dick and Slade share a snarky exchange before the serious fight begins. Dick leaves Slade to Ray while he engages with Roy. The hero Isis stops the fight because they are in her land. Dick makes it known that they should have killed Slade long ago but retreats with the League, giving Roy hope in the process to stand against Slade’s goal (Titans Annual #1).

Conclusion

Fans who enjoy the Dick-Slade dynamic whether at DC or in fandom aren’t erasing Roy to slot in Dick. Slade obsessing over Dick isn’t a new concept. He grew obsessed because their paths crossed many times over the years, and Dick has ties to all three of his children. Slade never felt obsession toward Roy.

If you want your fanon Slade to be obsessed with fanon Roy, and you want to transform canon moments, go ahead, nobody is stopping you, but don’t pretend it’s canon simply to erase Dick.

And before you all come with the Gar argument: Simply because the Gar-Slade and Dick-Slade dynamics came up around the same time does not mean they are the same. Gar and Roy are mostly tied to Slade through one person (Tara and Cheshire). Dick was initially tied to Slade through Grant (as were the other NTT) and then Joey, but their dynamic transcended that to something much more personal and the groundwork was laid by Wolfman himself when he made Slade point out how much Dick's capabilities remind him of his younger self.

The Slade-Dick dynamic is unique because it was allowed to transform and build-upon with each appearance (except for Dixon's). Enemies turning to frenemies then bitter enemies is not a story usually experienced like this in comics. It happens, but it happens as a backstory or under the same writer, not in real time.

[zahri-melitor]

Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths:

I finished working my way through this as an event, and I've got to say that DC can't decide what it wants to do with the Multiverse. We've just gone from restoring the 52 Earths (Mostly around Convergence/Multiversity) to discovering the Dark Multiverse (Dark Nights: Metal, 2017), to rebooting the Multiverse at the end of Dark Nights: Death Metal to form the Omniverse (2020), but also restrict things back to 52 Earths only, to rediscovering Infinite Earths in Dark Crisis (2022), to the conclusion of Absolute Power being "we have once again cut off the Multiverse, but now we're going hard for Elseworlds instead" (2024). Make up your minds! Do you want to use the multiverse or not??? Please stop switching it up every 2 years!

Okay that rant aside, this is yet another event that cares very deeply about plot points and characters from COIE that have barely been seen in the intervening 36 years (and generally only in other events that reference COIE heavily). I don't have any emotional attachment to Pariah and the Anti-Monitor.

Structurally, it was an interesting event, in that there were about 4.5 plots going on.

Plot 1: the Justice League get trapped on dreamstate Earths born out of their subconscious wishes. In terms of commentary, Barry trapping himself in a 1950s comic book, Clark wanting to raise Jon (on the farm, with literally no other heroes from the Superfamily around), and J'onn J'onzz creating a future where he's merged humans with cephalopods/octopus so that they're psychic were probably the most interesting of the lot. Barry proves once again he's disconnected from the present, Clark is obsessing over his loss of Jon's childhood at the expense of everyone else, and J'onn...is once again mourning the loss of his culture and looking for a way to feel less disconnected from Earth. Still not quite turning into the sands of Mars tho boyo. Blah blah the League are feeling they're not communicating properly, they need to take a break and focus on themselves.

Plot 1.5: The Flashfam go to extract Barry and work out WTF is going on because they're the most reliable multiverse jumpers, and the Lanterns recruit everyone as bodies are needed (as all the heavy hitters are as stated trapped in dreamstate Earths).

Plot 2: Jon Kent forms the most underskilled novice Justice League since the early 1990s that largely consists of the latest legacies of various families, getting some direction from Black Adam. Their collective experience as superheroes MIGHT total 20 years active, and if it makes that it's because Booster and Ted are supplying most of that experience.

I am underwhelmed by this team, to put it mildly. There's a lot of "I need to be Superman as my father isn't here!" from Jon, and a lot of boring "Damian grows up to be Batman" foreshadowing where Damian outright insults people a lot, and Yara looks confused and irritated over why she's hanging out with them both. Jackson's trying his hardest, bless his heart, but because nobody really cares much about the Aquas they get that bit of the plot out of the way early on. I'm not sold on what this lot were actually trying to accomplish, despite once again being presented at the future of the DCU.

Plot 3: Dick and the Titans realise they have to step up to actually take leadership, because as noted Jon Kent's Justice League is out there competing with Justice League: Task Force days of "there are four warm bodies here, and only half of them are under the age of 18, we're good to go right?" for level of threat defence. Also Slade's busy trying to kill both Dick and Gar because he can something something dark forces corrupting him mad about Grant's death for the 87th time blah.

Plot 4: Young Justice get kidnapped into a further separate reality to keep them out of the way while the two generations on either side of them try to step up to leadership, and have a bunch of angst about being left out/left behind (I am going to discuss this separately. Spoilers: I thought it was one of the most interesting parts of this event).

My general impression of the entire event was the intended purpose was to showcase both Dick and Jon's leadership abilities. I think it achieved this, but not necessarily in the hoped for way. Dick showcased once again why he is the centrally trusted character of the DCU and can convince everyone and anyone to follow him. Jon showcased that he is absolutely not a leader, he needs to stop thinking that he is required to fill Clark's shoes, and DC need to stop trying to make it happen.

The bit where I most started rolling my eyes is when they decided that Jon Kent, half-Kryptonian powered by sunlight, from a species famously incredibly vulnerable to magic, needed to lead the team going into the magical pure darkness/demon dimension that has no sunlight "because his connection to the sun protects him". Jon's biggest weakness not starting with K is magic. So let's put him in a dimension consisting of magic and have him have to survive off the power of his sunlight...which he immediately wastes and burns off a lot of power by trying to fly. Power that he can't recover, because he's in said dark demon dimension with no sunlight.

Jon, sweetheart, you are not the brightest bulb.

My second biggest eyeroll was meeting Red Canary, Sienna, who accomplished exactly nothing when she accidentally got caught up in Damian's strikeforce that otherwise consisted of "a teleporter for travel, Peegee for her experience with the Cosmic Tuning Fork, and Dr Light because Kimiyo is both COIE linked AND has strong light based powers to fix the situation". I am still unsure of what the point of Red Canary being there was, because she mostly just snarked with Damian and got into trouble. Even if she was intended to eventually be revealed to be Sin Lance with memory problems or something she was not a convincing character.

The Flash storyline in and of itself was fun, but I'd actually already read it when I was reading through Adams' Flash run. It worked just fine in context of the event and it worked as a tie-in where you just skimmed over the event. Adams' Flash run is very entertaining.

As far as DC big summer events go, this one felt more about 'we want to reach these end conditions' (Justice League disbanded for a while, Justice Society of America back, Titans to step up as the headline team) than the actual content of the event itself. It was an event for the sake of having an event, you know?

I dunno. Maybe I would have cared more if I'd actually read COIE, but it felt derivative and like there was a lot of time wasting for the sake of referencing specific things that happened in COIE, whether or not they made sense for this storyline.

Oh and as a note, one other useful thing this event did do was specify that Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is supposed to be in continuity for Kara, and basically contemporaneously too.

[androxys]

Comic Ages: Quick Breakdowns of the Dark and Modern Ages

Yesterday I wrote a quick writeup of the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Ages of Comics. Savvy readers may have noticed that those ages ended at 1986, and yet comics have continued to be published. So what Age are we in now? That's what this writeup discusses!

The Dark Age (1986-2016)

After Crisis on Infinite Earths ended in 1986, DC got to make a whole new continuity! The comics that came at this point in time form the foundation of a lot of the characters and stories that we know today. For a good bit of time, we called The Dark Age the Modern Age, because at that point it was modern! But now that we’re nearly forty years removed from Crisis and comics are still being published, there was a fair question about just how “Modern” it was. I’m using the verbiage that DC seems to be endorsing themself—I learned the phrase “The Dark Age” from 2022’s Batman—The Ultimate Guide reference book. Calling this period a Dark Age is not an indictment about the quality of work in this period, rather, it’s to reflect the doubling down on darker, grimmer stories. Crisis ended in 1986, followed almost immediately by Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns, two stories very interested in deconstructing the figure of a hero with a cynical eye. While these stories were not in the main DC canon, they would reverberate on the tone of what was to come.

Within the main DC canon, huge shakeups were occurring. There were no more multiple Earths; instead, there was a single New Earth that incorporated the histories of several Earths. The Justice Society had fought in WWII and retired in the 50s, but were still around and able to mentor the younger generation of heroes. There was only ever the one Superman and Batman figure, though DC would later figure out a way to have a Wonder Woman both in the present and among the Justice Society. Many of DC’s biggest heroes were getting revamps to introduce their new continuity: The Man of Steel miniseries detailed Superman’s new origin and once again established him as the sole survivor of Krypton. The Batman: Year One story that ran thorough Batman #403-407 detailed the early history of this Caped Crusader, revamping Jim Gordon and Selina Kyle in the process. Wonder Woman saw her title relaunched with a new #1, with George Perez taking the helm of a sprawling epic that redefined the character. The darker tone of the Dark Age continued to manifest. The Killing Joke was published in 1988, depicting the shooting of Barbara Gordon by the Joker, followed quickly by Jason Todd’s murder in A Death in the Family. Major comic events of the early 90s involved the villain Bane breaking Batman’s back and the monster Doomsday killing Superman.

In the mid 90s, DC was forced to reconcile with the truth that while Crisis had mostly succeeded in tidying things up, things were once again getting messy. To solve this, DC published the Zero Hour event, officially titled Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! (DC really loves to slap the “Crisis” title on anything load-bearing) Zero Hour, published in 1994, featured the Silver Age hero Hal Jordan becoming the villain Parallax and trying to undo time. Heroes banded together to stop him, though the timeline was slightly altered. This introduced many soft retcons—retroactive continuity fixes—that aimed to make things make a bit more sense. The jury still seems to be out on if it succeeded. 

By the early 2000s, DC decided that it was ready for a sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths, which they helpfully named Infinite Crisis. This event saw the return of several characters from the original Crisis, and more crucially, the return of a multiverse to DC Comics. This multiverse would be refined such that rather than an infinite multiverse of infinite Earths, there were now 52 parallel worlds. Some of the new worlds were established as callbacks to previously depicted alternate Earths, while some were new. Other major events within the Dark Age were Final Crisis, which saw the “death” of Bruce Wayne by Darkseid, and Blackest Night, which saw deceased heroes and villains resurrected as zombies by Black Lantern rings to feast on the emotions of the living.

In 2011, DC decided it was time for another major revamp. They wanted the characters younger and less burdened, and decided to launch The New 52 and end the era of post-Crisis New Earth. This was done with the Flashpoint story, which featured Barry Allen, the Flash, attempting to go back in time and prevent the death of his mother. While well intentioned, this event created a wildly branching timeline that he then had to set right. Though he mostly succeeded, the world Barry returned to was not quite the same. The post-Flashpoint world was dubbed “Prime Earth,” and was… controversial. Much of the post-Flashpoint continuity seemed to harken back to previous Ages–as mentioned, the characters in general were younger. Barbara Gordon, the Silver and Bronze Age Batgirl, was returned to the Batgirl role while her two New Earth successors were written out of continuity. Barry Allen was made the primary Flash of the DC Universe, with the Golden Age’s Jay Garrick and the Bronze/Dark Age’s Wally West removed. 

In 2015, DC would publish the “Convergence” event, which featured an extant Brainiac capturing specific slices from several timelines and pitting them against each other. This included seeing the pre-Crisis Teen Titans operating at the same time as the post-Crisis, pre-Zero Hour Suicide Squad, or the post-Zero Hour but pre-Flashpoint Batgirl. It was messy! But importantly, it showed DC acknowledging their older characters and characterizations, and restoring some of the multiverse that came before.

The Dark Age would eventually come full circle, with the Doomsday Clock event heralding the end of the Dark Age and beginning what we call (for now) the Modern Age. Doomsday Clock was a direct sequel to Watchmen, the iconic comic that helped set the tone for the Dark Age in 1986. Doomsday Clock suggested that part of the reason the New 52 was so different than the pre-Flashpoint New Earth was because Doctor Manhattan, the massively powerful Watchmen character, had removed several years from the timeline to observe how the world would change. Batman and the Flash discovered this meddling during “The Button” storyline, and DC subsequently began its Rebirth initiative.

The Modern Age (2016-Present)

It’s fickle to decide precisely when the Modern Age begins. DC Comics themselves states that the Dark Age ended in 2011, with Flashpoint, though I disagree. Many of the initial New 52 storylines hold on to the darker tone, though there is evidence that around 2014, DC began to pivot away. The DCYou initiative, for example, focused on refreshing some characters to a younger, more upbeat characterization–such as Barbara Gordon in her Batgirl of Burnside era–or by introducing new comics altogether–such as the more lighthearted Gotham Academy series. You may disagree with me on precisely where these eras begin and end, however, and that’s okay.

In 2016, DC began its Rebirth event that sought to reconcile some of the pre-Flashpoint elements into the Prime Earth continuity. This was spearheaded by the return of Wally West, and continued to gradually fold back in pre-Flashpoint elements into the Prime Earth timeline. The events of 2020's Dark Nights and Dark Nights: Death Metal finalized it, placing characters in a sort of super-state of having access to all of the memories of all previous versions of themselves, while still ostensibly having only lived the one life. It’s complicated, but it crucially gave writers the opportunity to have characters make reference to past events that happened on New Earth, canonizing them for the Prime Earth continuity.

The end of the Dark Nights saga resulted in DC’s Future State and Infinite Frontier projects in 2021. Future State’s premise was showing possible futures for various DC characters, and then Infinite Frontier launched characters on possible paths. The emphasis was on this being a new starting point for many characters, both old and new. Jon Kent, the son of Superman, had his own title launched during this time, and Yara Flor, a new Wonder Woman, got a miniseries. On the Nightwing title, a new creative team took over to steer the character out of the “Ric Grayson” amnesia arc, restoring Nightwing to his traditional hero status.

In 2022, DC would publish Dark Crisis, later rebranded Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths (see what I mean about them just reusing the same words for emphasis?) which saw many classic DC villains from across different eras brought together by a powerful force. This continued to delve into the DC Multiverse and establish that everything was metaphorically on the table, leading to the Dawn of DC initiative. Similarly to Infinite Frontier, Dawn of DC was about fresh starts, new beginnings, and updates so that new readers could jump in. The Justice League was disbanded in the wake of Dark Crisis, leading the Titans to become the preeminent Superhero team. The Superman title was relaunched at #1, and many books got new creative teams.

It’s always easier to retrospectively talk about something that has concluded rather than to actively analyze something ongoing. However, I think so far it’s fair to say that DC is attempting to use the Modern Age to craft a more expansive, perpetually new universe. Old characters are getting new attention, new characters are being created, and the depth and breadth of DC’s publication is getting highlighted. The current Modern Age has seen DC focus on expanding its Young Adult graphic novels since 2019, and DC announced in 2024 that they would be bringing back the Elseworlds imprint to tell alternate universe stories. DC has committed to telling more diverse stories in the Modern Age, which I think is crystalized in the various “Celebration” issues published. DC’s annual Pride anthology started in 2021, and subsequent celebration anthologies have featured Asian American and Black heroes and creators. While we don’t know when the current Modern Age will end (I’m already hedging my bets on this eventually being called the “Rebirth Age”) I do think the future is bright.

[blueiscoool]

The 52-Foot-Long Book of the Dead Papyrus from Ancient Egypt

Egypt has released photos of a newly discovered Book of the Dead from more than 2,000 years ago.

Egyptian officials have released photos of an ancient scroll, the 52-foot-long (16 meters) Book of the Dead papyrus recently discovered in Saqqara. The 10 images show ancient illustrations of gods and scenes from the afterlife, as well as text on the document, which is more than 2,000 years old.

Archaeologists discovered the Book of the Dead papyrus within a coffin in a tomb near the Step Pyramid of Djoser and announced the discovery on Jan. 14 for Egyptian Archaeologists Day, but this is the first time they've released images of the scroll to the public.

It was not unusual for ancient Egyptians to bury the Book of the Dead with the deceased, but they didn't call it that at the time. Rather, modern archaeologists coined the term "Book of the Dead" to refer to a collection of texts that ancient Egyptians thought would help guide the dead in the afterlife.

Papyrus for the dead

The 52-foot-long scroll was found at Saqqara in May 2022. It contains chapters from the Book of the Dead. It was recently restored and translated into Arabic and is now on display at The Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The text is written in hieratic, a script derived from hieroglyphs.

All rolled up

The papyrus was found rolled up in a coffin belonging to a man named Ahmose (not to be confused with a pharaoh who lived in earlier times). The man's name is mentioned in the papyrus about 260 times, the researchers said. He lived around 300 B.C., near the beginning of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a dynasty of pharaohs descended from one of Alexander the Great's generals.

Carefully unrolled

A team of researchers performed extensive conservation work so they could unroll the papyrus. Ahmose's tomb is located south of the step pyramid, built for Djoser, a pharaoh from the third dynasty who ruled from about 2630 B.C. to 2611 B.C. While this pyramid was built long before the time of Ahmose, it wasn't unusual to find Ahmose's tomb there, as people in ancient Egypt sometimes liked to be buried near the pyramids of long dead pharaohs.

Analyzing the scroll

The unrolled papyrus is seen here. It was written in black and red ink, and the quality of the writing indicates that it was written by a professional, researchers said. Despite the size of the scroll, there are longer Book of the Dead texts known from Egypt. For instance, a Book of the Dead papyrus, which is now in the British Museum, was originally 121 feet (37 m) long.

Book of the Dead on display

The unrolled papyrus on display at The Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Ancient illustrations

This Book of the Dead text also contains illustrations. This image appears to show Osiris, the ancient Egyptian god of the underworld. In Egyptian mythology, Osiris' life was ritually restored after he died — something that ancient Egyptians hoped would happen to them in the afterlife.

The deity Osiris

This image shows more details about Osiris. He is shown sitting on a throne while wearing an "Atef" crown, a type of crown often gracing the head of Osiris. There appear to be offerings before him, as well as a creature who may be Ammit, a deity who consumed anyone who was not worthy of being ritually restored in the afterlife.

Husband and wife

This image appears to depict offerings and a scene of a couple venerating Egyptian deities. This couple may be Ahmose and his wife (whose name is not known). Not much is known of Ahmose, but he was wealthy enough to have an elaborate copy of the Book of the Dead made for him.

Leading the cow

A number of scenes are illustrated in this section of the Book of the Dead. At the far left, a cow appears to be led somewhere — perhaps to be given as an offering. A number of images depict boats, which could be used to navigate the underworld.

Weighing against a feather

This close-up shows a creature, possibly Ammit, sitting before Osiris. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of Maat, a god associated with truth, justice and order. If the person's bad deeds in life were great, their heart would be heavier than the feather, and Ammit would devour the deceased.

By Owen Jarus.

[notbecauseofvictories]

Books of 2022

In 2022, I read fewer books overall (143, down from last year’s ridiculous 303) but I did manage to cut down on my romance novel reading---a respectable 52% instead of last year’s 78%. The consequence of this is that I did actually read more good books this year, books I could talk about with other people and inspired feelings and thoughts that rattled around my head afterwards. Plus some actual nonfiction!

Going through all of them, what I liked about them, why they made such an impression, would take a while---plus I’ve already talked about most of these in my books tag. So I’m just going to invite everyone to ask about anything that catches their eye!

BEST FICTION (IN THE ORDER I READ THEM) ** indicates a particular favorite

The House of Small Shadows, Adam Nevill

**The Cipher, Kathe Koja

Eartheater, Dolores Reyes

Hadriana in All My Dreams, René Depestre

**Tender is the Flesh, Agustina Bazterrica 

You've Lost a Lot of Blood, Eric LaRocca

The Beautiful Ones, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle

War for the Oaks, Emma Bull

Girl A, Abigail Dean

This Might Hurt, Stephanie Wrobel

**Burning Girls and Other Stories, Veronica Schanoes

Eva Ibbotson’s A Countess Below Stairs, A Company of Swans, & Magic Flutes

Deerskin, Robin McKinley

BEST NONFICTION

An Iliad, Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare

**Capitalist Realism, Mark Fisher

Urban Folklore in the Paperwork Empire, Alan Dundes & Carl R. Pagter

**Fun Home, Alison Bechdel

**Men, Women & Chainsaws, Carol J. Clover

[romance novels and most disliked books under the cut---I did give these a bit of an explanation, because being asked about romance novels makes me itchy. We shall never speak of these again.]

ROMANCE NOVEL READING

Vivienne Lorret (How to Forget a Duke, Ten Kisses to Scandal, The Rogue to Ruin, When a Marquess Loves a Woman, How to Steal a Scoundrel's Hear) Admittedly, nothing particularly unique about these---however, they are more traditional romance and a pretty decent attempt at actual regency-style manners, so I enjoyed myself reading them.

Olivia Atwater (Half a Soul, Ten Thousand Stitches, Longshadow) I actually sincerely loved these! Supernatural historical romance from a solid writer. Plus, the series has angrier, more class-conscious sensibilities than all the romance novels I've read---and is less hypocritical about it too, since the characters are largely not nobility, and there's no marrying dukes involved.

Alice Coldwater (His Forsaken Bride, An Ill-Made Match, The Unlovely Bride, Wed By Proxy) So admittedly, I don’t recommend reading all four of these together---it becomes increasingly clear that Coldwater can only write one and a half heroines, and both of them are excessively weepy. Nevertheless, I took a total leap of faith on this (historical fantasy romance isn't typically my genre) and was rewarded by a lot of delightful pining, some court politics, and the 1.5 heroines she can write are fun to follow around.

C.L. Wilson (The Winter King, The Sea King) If last year was about reading every romance novel about dukes I could find, this year was about finding all the fantasy romance novels. (Shout out to Stephanie Garber who also helped feed this inexplicable urge!) Anyway, this series was fun, similar to the above in that it’s fake fantasy politics and some romance, and that’s a combination that works for me.

MOST DISLIKED BOOKS

Redshirts, John Scalzi I have never despised a book quite like this one! I still can't tell if it's the smirkingly obvious Star Trek meta of it all, or the hat on a hat that is the last chapter/coda 1. I did like coda 3, but only because it felt like the only quietly, emotionally sincere part of the whole stupid book.

High Times in the Low Parliament, Kelly Robinson Novellas must be tricky to write---I’ve read a fistful or so, and find them to be wildly variable in quality and effectiveness. That said....the author’s attempt to resolve entrenched political problems via dance made me roll my eyes so hard I strained a muscle. It ruined what might have otherwise been a fun time, since I did like the narrator's charmingly disaffected perspective

Always Be My Duchess, Amalie Howard Emotional honesty and vulnerability has no place in romance novels. I read historical romance specifically so people won’t talk about their feelings, and the fact that romancelandia keeps shoehorning therapy-speak into my regency may in fact be my villain origin story. However, even worse than that is this book’s use of “totally” and "patriarchy" in a completely ahistorical way, betraying a nauseating disinterest in the time period being written about. Worse than even that: the total fucking coward's move it is to write a Pretty Woman fic but then have the heroine be a virgin and not a sex worker at all. God knows we can't be interesting.

Death, Laura Thelassa This one is my own fault. I did think "hey isn't that the romance series with the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse? I read one of those a long time ago; I should give it another shot." (I promise, I regretted it instantly.) However, it is another excellent entry in the long list of cowardly books that refuse to actually lean into enemies to lovers as a trope. Also, if you have undying protagonists? they should kill each other more.

[ashmouthbooks]

2022 in books

inspired by everybody else who is also doing 2022 bookbinding end-of-year reviews, here we go!

I made a total of 38 books, containing 52 stories.

A5 sized books

The Astreiant series by Melissa Scott and Lisa A. Barnett, 5 books and 6 stories. Point of Knives includes Bonfire Night, a short story Melissa posted to her LJ about how Nico and Philip really got together after the events of Point of Hopes.

Astreiant series

besides the Astreiant series, I also bound a copy of Slow Dancing In A Burning Room (one of my fave 00Q fics), mm whatcha say (Sarkan/Solya, Uprooted) and Indiana Lupin (the first volume in my R/S fics series). All four are different types of bindings! Astreiant is squareback bradel, Slow Dancing is rounded and backed bradel, mm watcha say is a sewn board binding, and Indiana Lupin is a plain old hardback binding, but self-ended.

Slow Dancing in a Burning Room | Slow Dancing In a Burning Room | mm watcha say

A6 sized books

from left to right: vol2 in the R/S fics series; Stargazer and Gravity (Fahye); golden hours, slipping by and oceans above & sky below (grandilloquism); Two Make A Pair and Come When Invited (mousapelli).

I collected all of my Remus/Sirius fics into a 6 volume series, one story per volume with the exception of vol3, which is an anthology of my shorter fics and contains a total of 12 stories. I'm really happy with how well matched the books are and how bright and inviting they look!

The other three A6 hardbacks pictured all contain 2 stories each. Stargazer & Gravity has one after the other as Gravity is a sequel, but the other two books are tête-bêche bindings, meaning that the stories are bound in head to tail and when you flip the book over you can start reading the other story from the other direction. And yes, Come When Invited *is* a sequel to Two Make A Pair and I had intended for them to be bound in two different volumes, but then at the last minute I sewed the two blocks together and oops now it's a tête-bêche book.

R/S fics series | Stargazer and Gravity | golden hours, slipping by and oceans above & sky below | Two Make A Pair & Come When Invited

paperbacks! Hood & Glove (Fahye) on the right is the first paperback I made - an experiment really, I made a text block like for HB and then pasted the first and last page down to the cover, like a self-ended HB. the other two are made in the same way, but the cover is cut from a misprinted running sheet, cardstock, that came wrapped around some decorative paper as protective wrapping. I don't like to waste materials and the misprints were so intriguing and beautiful I just had to use them. These two are Destiel fics, There's Only One Sure Thing That I Know (probably the one SPN fic I reread most often) and The Mostly Accidental Courtship of Dean Winchester.

Hood & Glove | 2 x destiel PBs

NO GLUE PAMPHLETS MY BELOVED. listen, there's a lot of glue in bookbinding and sometimes I just get REALLY SICK OF IT and making these pamphlets was like a balm for the soul. as evidenced I remade Dozens of Ships because I wasn't entirely happy with how the first one came out (and also, the first one lived in my purse for so long it's now all tatty. I took it with me on vacation to Oxford so I could just read it whenever I wanted. it was amazing.) Project Bang doesn't have a cover because I wanted to try French link stitching, but I think I will take out the thread sometime and give it a cover and re-sew it like the other three.

Dozens of Ships and Hundreds of Souls | Izzy's Revenge | Project Bang

A7 sized books

1 hardback, 1 no-glue pamphlet, and 8 paperbacks.

the hardback (the birth of comets takes place on the tip of your lashes) is my first attempt at self-ending a HB and I did it because the book was so small I thought structurally it wouldn't be an issue, and it worked so well I did it again for a bunch of books. the pamphlet I made to see if no-glue pamphlet were comfortable on a smaller scale, and while it was fine I think this one I will also take the the thread out eventually and sew a cover on.

and then more paperbacks! fanbinding seems to favour longer fics in general because having a substantial amount of text means you have enough material to comfortably make an A5 or A6 sized hardback. however I like a lot of short fics too and while I like the idea of anthologies, sometimes I also just want little books to carry in my purse and read on the go, you know? and I've found these A7 paperbacks to be perfect for fics in the 1-5k word count weight class. and since I have an entire running sheet to make covers from, I'm not done making A7 paperbacks either!

the birth of comets | 4 x Ocean's 8 fics | 4 x 00Q fics

Gift books

and finally... the three Renegade Exchange Books I made during the October-December radio silence period:

2 x squareback hardbacks and 1 rounded hardback.

Something Dumb to Do | Inside The River | Sha Ka Ree

That's all folks!

[urrockstar-xe]

looking at lights - marauders x gn!reader

posted december 24th, 2022 4:52 pm

this is very muggle like lmfao. hints of wolfstar <3 I also couldn't find a gif for this one - xo

masterlist

word count: 0.5k

“Bloody hell, that Santa inflatable is fucking massive!” you heard from the backseat. Laughing, James turned up the car radio to listen to the holiday music as he drove. 

“I fuckin’ love rich people,” You said, watching all the glittering lights hanging from the big houses. “This is the only time of year you can get away with saying that, darl” Sirius responded in a joking tone, the lights illuminating his face as he spoke. 

“I wonder if this whole neighborhood is in contact with each other, that’s like the seventh time I’ve seen that snowman,” Peter said, leaning closer to you to see out the window better. “Probably just a really expensive rich people decoration,” “probably.”

“When Prongs and I are known as the greatest quidditch players of all time, I’m gonna buy an entire street so that way we can all live no more than a sidewalk away from each other” Sirius smiled. “We can go half and half, pads” James added before the two boys in front high-fived. 

“Only if you guys agree to do super huge and outrageous decorations every year” You joked, “I’ll make waivers for everyone to sign” Remus replied, “wanna be roommates, Y/n?” 

“Absolutely not, moony is my roommate,” Sirius said pointing a finger at you. “You sound like a history book, Padfoot” Peter smiled when the car full of people laughed at his joke.

“Whoa, look at the house out my window!” James Exclaimed catching everyone’s attention as they all turned to look at the colorful display outside. “Merlin, that must be at least, what? 50 thousand lights?” Sirius said, pulling the sunglasses (that he insisted went with his outfit) over his eyes. 

“No, I’d say more than that,” James responded, “its bloody perfect,”

“Do you think they made those cutouts themselves?” You asked, “if not, I want the information on who did,” Remus said 

“Hey! Look at that, they have a little archway to take pictures in! Let’s go” James pointed out, wasting no time in pulling over and unbuckling his seatbelt. 

The 5 of you stumbled out of the car, making your way to the little archway before Remus cast a quick spell to take a picture of all of you together.

Sirius stuck his tongue out while making a rock-on sign and kneeling on the ground in front of his four friends, James put up bunny ears behind you and Remus while smiling, Peter stood with one hand in his pocket and the other flipping off the camera as he laughed at Sirius, Remus put up a peace sign but couldn’t keep himself from looking at Sirius’ pose with a smile. You opted for finger guns and an exaggerated pout, earning more laughs from Peter and James.

“Okay. we took the picture, get the fuck back in the car I’m freezing my tits off!” Sirius all but screamed as he rushed back to the passenger seat. 

“I told you to wear more layers” Remus responded, calmly making his way to the back seat. James threw his arms around you and Peter as you followed wolfstar, laughing as Sirius defended himself with “the sake of fashion”

[aquilathefighter]

Fluffbruary 25: Offer

Find all of my @fluffbruary ficlets on AO3 here!

Fandom: The Sandman (2022)

Relationship: Dream of the Endless/Hob Gadling

Hob is nervous for their meeting. He’s always been nervous for their meetings, but today is different. For one, it marks a full year that Dream has been back in his life. They’d met every week, 52 meetings, more time that they’d been together in the preceding 600 years. And they’d spent hours together every week, more often than not being gruffly kicked out of the New Inn by the bartender.

In that time, Hob had come face to face with his feelings. When you only meet someone for less than an hour every hundred years, it’s easy enough to repress how you feel about them. When you’re laughing and drinking with them, sharing stories from your weeks, squishing close together in a booth when a paying customer asks to take the chair, it’s impossible.

So he’s come to the Inn today to make an offer. One he hopes Dream won’t refuse, but despite how good he’s become at reading his oldest friend he cannot tell. A single red rose sits beside him on the booth now, a full pint sat on the table next to the book he thought he’d be able to read. Some poetry collection, undying love confessions that made him feel like his heart was set alongside them upon the wood.

Hob takes a deep breath.

He hopes.

He hopes that Dream will say yes; he hopes that even if he doesn’t that he won’t leave. He hopes this doesn’t destroy them, doesn’t banish him to millennia of nightmares for daring—

The bell above the door jingles. Hob’s eyes snap up to see Dream, hypnotizing in all black as always, striding toward him. Standing above the table and smiling down at him.

“Hello, Hob.”

“Hello, old friend. Please, sit down. Want me to order you some wine? Got in a beautiful merlot I think you’d like.”

Dream nods and Hob almost flings himself out of his seat flagging down the bartender. He’d given Harry the lowdown, to be ready with the wine at Hob’s signal. He catches Dream snigger out of the corner of his eye. Well, at least someone’s getting a laugh out of his nervous breakdown.

Harry brings the bottle over, giving Dream a generous pour. Hob narrowed his eyes. He hoped this was just him playing wingman and not something he was going to have to give another employee training over. As he sets the bottle down on the table, he gives Hob a wink. That answers that, he supposes. Dream stares down at the beverage like it holds the answers to the universe.

“So… want to give it a try?”

Dream meets his eye with an intensity he doesn’t usually hold when it’s just the two of them.

“Something is bothering you, Hob Gadling.” He tilts his head, resembling his avian emissary. It’s adorable, Hob thinks. “Let me share your load, is that not what friends do?”

This is it.

Time to gather your nerve, Gadling. You survived Agincourt, you can survive asking your friend out.

He wraps his hand around the rose beside him and raises his hand to offer it to Dream.

“That’s, er, what I wanted to talk to you about actually. I…I have been doing a lot of thinking lately and well,” he mentally smacks himself. Spit it out already! “I… Iwanttocourtyou.” It’s almost unintelligible how fast he says it, but Dream catches it. His eyes widen imperceptibly (to anyone except Hob).

Hob’s certain his entire face is beet red. He’s holding a rose out to his friend like an idiot and everyone in the pub is staring at them. Or at least it feels that way.

An eternity (a beat) passes. Then Dream’s ghost-pale hand is taking the rose and Hob has to actively remember to release his grip on it. He releases a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“I accept your suit.” The corners of his mouth flick up.

“Oh, thank God,” Hob says as the tension melts from his body.

“Do you think yourself subtle?” Dream teases. “I have been aware of your amorous intent today since you visited the Dreaming last night. It was… hard to stop listening, I admit.” He turns his unoccupied hand over on the table, inviting Hob to take it.

He presses their palms together and he swears he ascends to another dimension in that moment. Dream’s skin is like fresh snowfall, icy and cool, yet soft, inviting you to stay out and play. He runs his fingers along Dream’s heart line as a grin breaks out across his face.

“So you were just teasing me, is that it? Hmm, Dream Lord?”

Dream smirks, lacing their fingers together.

“Yes. I admit, I had been considering a grand gesture to convey what I feel for you until your dreams asked for my attention. I find myself intrigued by the idea of the one courted, and not the suitor.”

“Well, I’ve certainly got my work cut out for me, haven’t I?” Hob asks. His heart is going to burst out of his chest if he grins any harder. He leans across the table.

“Drink that wine. I got it special for you, after hearing the most lovely story about a king and his loyal servant-turned-sommelier. The king was powerful, more than any mortal being could imagine. And his servant, well, he’d been in love with the king since they’d met, so very long ago.

When the king was captured by an evil man who wanted to take advantage of his power for himself, the servant didn’t know what had happened. So, when he realized he couldn’t serve his king since he’d disappeared, the servant started studying brewing. After all, his king had a soft spot for a particular tavern.

By the time the king is able to escape, the servant has become a very fine sommelier, though his clientele prefers ale. The servant and the king see each other more often, meeting at the place of worship the servant had built in the hopes his king would return to him one day. Now that the pair see each other every week, the servant can’t hide his love and passion for the king any more.

And a year after his king did return to him, he picks out a very special wine with a very special story behind it in the hopes the king will accept it as a token of his affection. The servant uses it to confess the depth of his love, which the king drinks up eagerly. It turns out, the king loves the servant too, and he accepts the courtship.

They have a lovely time on their first date, and the second, and so on and so forth… until one day, the servant asks his king to marry him. Though he is lowborn, he is strong and hardworking and will take care of the king for the rest of his days.”

Hob pauses, certain his cheeks are red. He glances at Dream, who has set down the rose and taken hold of the stem of the wineglass. Hob takes a sip of his own drink, hoping it will encourage Dream to do the same. He gulps down the tangy beer, cold liquid rushing down his throat and clearing his mind. Dream lifts the glass to his lips, taking a tentative sip. A droplet of wine remains on his bottom lip and Hob desperately wants to lick it off, to finally taste Dream after so long. He sets down his glass.

“So,” he scratches the back of his neck, “the wine?”

“It is most excellent. Though I am more intrigued by the story of the servant and the king,” Dream’s eyes glimmer as he speaks.

“Well, thought you should erm, know my intent? I know it’s probably too much, after all you’ve just accepted my offer, and I shouldn’t be jumping to concl—” His sentence is cut off as Dream is rounding the table and kissing him. He tastes the wine, sure, but the taste of Dream is much better. He’s the sweetest, tartest blackberry after tearing your fingers on the bush, he’s a slice of buttered bread from a recipe centuries forgotten, he’s the first bloom breaking through the snowmelt. He barely contains a groan and Dream is pulling back.

“Cease your worries, Hob. I would know your expectations should we begin a relationship. And I will easily match your fervor, as you will soon realize.”

“R-really? In that case, I have some other things planned, if you wanna consider this our first date?”

Dream smiles the largest smile Hob’s ever seen from him. He holds out a hand to Hob, which he takes as he stands. As they make their way to the front door of the inn, he gives a grin and wink to Harry.

Stepping out into the sunlight, Hob knows this is the first day of the rest of his immortal life, Dream by his side.

[zalrb]

thoughts on the author who was just exposed for lying about being native? (colby wilkens)

and white liars finding success in general tbh… there’s been quite a few

There have been quite a few, there have also been white authors who haven't lied about being white and decided to write stories - badly - about BIPOC and received the institutional support for writing stories they have no right to tell while authors of that context receive nothing or bare bones - Jeanine Cummins and her seven-figure deal for American Dirt comes to mind. It reminds me of when I first started writing and I was at this writers studio and on the first day spoke about how I kept getting passed over for things because agents and publishers and contest judges kept saying my work was inaccessible due to the cultural specificity and the use of Jamaican patois in my stories and this white author responded by saying that she had just gotten a story published about taking a vacation in Jamaica and getting her hair braided and I was just like

but I mean I don't really think there's anything to say about it except that it obviously points to the racism inherent in the industry and as Bethany Baptiste said on twitter, it speaks to the fact that white authors write BIPOC the way white people view and want to read BIPOC, which is why they keep finding success doing these things

and that also speaks to the fact that there is a lot of discussion around representation in publishing for authors, as there should be, but the industry doesn't just stop at authors, it's also about agents and editors and the people acquiring/working on the books and while there is a slow shift in these areas, the fact remains that it's still overwhelmingly white in Canada

The industry as a whole remains majority white, but the balance has shifted since 2018, from 82% white to 75%.

Respondents identifying as gender-diverse, including transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming, increased from 5% in 2018 to 10% in 2022.

11% fewer respondents overall identified as heterosexual, down from 72% in 2018 to 61% in 2022. 

The percentage of respondents who said their firm currently has Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies and initiatives rose from 49% in 2018 to 63% in 2022, whereas the percentage of heads of firm with plans to implement new DEI policies and initiatives rose from 35% in 2018 to 52% in 2022. 

in the States

72.5 percent of US publishing, review journal, and literary agency staffers are white/Caucasian, “a significant decrease from 76 percent in 2019.”

The rest comprise people who self-report as:

Biracial/multiracial (8.4 percent)

Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander/South Asian/Southeast Indian (7.8 percent)

Black/African-American/Afro-Caribbean (5.3 percent)

Hispanic/Latino/Mexican (4.6 percent)

There continues to be a prominent lack of representation within the publishing industry of Native American as well as Middle Eastern people,” the study’s authors write, referring to a result showing less than 1 percent representation in each.

A total 0.8 percent of respondents said their identity was not listed.

in the UK

·  Representation of people from ethnic minority groups (excluding White minorities) has increased to 17% from 15% in 2021.

·  LGBT+ representation has increased, with 15% (up from 13% in 2021) of respondents either identifying as lesbian, gay, or bi, or self-describing their sexual orientation, a figure which has grown each year since 2017 (5%) – and as in 2021, 1% of respondents identified as trans.

·  The representation of people with a disability or long-term health condition has increased from 2% in 2017 to 16% in 2022 (up from 13% in 2021).

·  Socio-economic background continues to represent major barriers to inclusion, with two thirds (66%) of respondents being from professional backgrounds.

So, yeah, there's a lot of work to be done.

[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

Delilah Green Doesn't Care (Bright Falls #1) by Ashley Herring Blake

“My whole life, this is what I’ve wanted. A best friend. Someone who gets me, who accepts me. Someone who fights like hell to get me to see that they love me. Someone who lets me love them back. Someone who’s so goddamn beautiful, she makes my toes curl. Someone who calls me on my bullshit. Someone who makes me laugh. Someone who makes me look at her like this and looks at me the same way. Someone who… who’s my home.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5.75 STARS)

This is one of those “5 stars is a feeling” type of books where you think about it constantly, it’s one of your all-time favourite books, but it’s just so hard to put into words what you like about it and why you love it so much in the first place. There’s just something so captivating about Ashley Herring Blake’s writing that it’s hard to critically analyze the book unless you’ve read it a few times, but I’m going to try to say something beyond “I love this book so much!”. (I’ve only been able to read it once, despite how much I love it. It’s never available at the library and it’s always out of stock at every bookstore I check.) 

I think that the book did a really good job of developing Claire and Delilah’s relationships beyond the one they share with each other. Claire’s dynamic with her ex and her daughter Ruby are super fleshed out. Her friendship with Iris and Astrid both as a trio and individually were really well done, especially when we get to see how Delilah is integrated into it, knowing their past. I also love how Delilah’s relationship with Ruby was written throughout the book. Delilah and Ruby’s bond is very special to me because, in books with a single-parent trope, you rarely get to see older kids like Ruby so to have this moody pre-teen and have her get so attached to Delilah because they’re just so similar and understand each other in a way that they’ve been so desperate for other people to be able to do - I just get very emotional every time I think of these two. Ruby was never Claire’s daughter to Delilah - she was a Delilah from the past that adult!Delilah wanted to protect and support in every scene they had because she’d gone through something similar, and didn’t have anyone in her corner.

My favourite quotes from the book:

“Delilah spent her entire drive back to Bright Falls with a sapphic fantasy audibook blasting in her ears.” // mushroom spinach pizza - Delilah is me coded!

“-her heart felt larger in her chest, more tender, like a sunburn that screamed at the slightest touch.”

“This, though. This… embrace. From an almost-teenager, no less, and everyone knew almost-teenagers hated everyone. It took the breath out of her. Literally, for a few seconds as Ruby rested her head against Delilah’s chest, arms tight around her waist, she couldn’t find enough air, her eyes stinging with a swell of sudden tears. But then she moved her arms around Ruby, pressed her cheek to the top of her hair. She exhaled what felt like a decade’s worth of anxiety, and accepted the girl’s love.

“Claire felt an ache in her throat, watching her daughter reach out into the world and have the world… reach back.”

“Shit. Maybe this was the first time she’d ever felt this seen. Or, no, not this exact moment, but every tiny moment with Claire since she’d been back in Bright Falls - talking with Claire at the bookstore, lying with her in bed at Blue Lily, listening to her talk about her worries over Josh, telling her about Jax, watching how Claire’s eyes literally sparkled when she talked about Ruby. Hell, even letting the woman unknowingly hit on her at Stella’s. Then last night, her skin, her body, her touch. Just sex that suddenly felt like anything but.”

Also, I swear this book actually made me cry because my playlist did not get the memo. x

[faejilly]

I set-up a StoryGraph account a few years ago largely because Amazon is evil (and the recent GoodReads YA thing emphasized that decision for me) BUT

The result of actually using it made me realize I only read nine books in 2022

Which would be fine if that was all I'd wanted to read but it was not

The Magpie Brain Was Killing My Fun! 😡🤬💢

So I signed up for a couple StoryGraph challenges (and completed them!) with a total goal of 26 books for 2023...

and it worked! I read THIRTY SEVEN !!Actual Books! (Ok mostly novellas so don't look at the word count but anyway! Still a yay!)🎇🎉🤩

I beat the Magpie Brain ™️ by distracting it with *graphs* 📈 🤣 and the little fire emoji I get on my home page for a reading streak 🔥

So for 2024 my goal is 52 books!

(And also to try and actually talk about books more, but I haven't decided how to make that a qualitative goal yet. Suggestions?)

The other mental (& physical) health thing I've been trying to pay more attention to is a virtual race app... as in I put my daily steps in and it tells me how far I got on Easter Island or across the Ukraine or something depending on what I signed up for

(it's pretty effective! I have twenty medals scattered around the house from the past few years! but sometimes I'd do three "races" in a row and walk all over the place and then do nothing for a month besides be a potato, so it was very inconsistent)

Thus I made my goal for the whole of 2023 to be 730 miles, so I'd average out walking two miles a day regardless of when I did which race.

And I MADE IT! (On Dec 29th! 😅 I had a whole two days to spare!)

So this year I am progressing up to a *three* mile a day average. WHICH IS 1,095 MILES. 👀

(Technically it's 1,098mi because 2024 is a leap year, but I'm giving myself a grace day and also a nicer number.)

So those are both things I'm going to try and talk more about on here this year! Whee! Books & Walking! Sounds pretty good, tbqh. 💚💚💚

But also I don't want to overdo it so today specifically all I did was play Garden Story while the husband played God of War (Ragnarok) 🤣🤣🤣

[mariacallous]

A new generation of street protestors decry how Orban has failed to fully realise an opportunity rarely seen in Hungary’s 1,100-year history: a chance to become a successful European country.

Anniversaries come and go, but Viktor Orban's government has been busy ignoring them. Twenty-five years of NATO membership passed almost unnoticed in March, and the country's leaders are making no fuss about Hungary’s 20th birthday in the EU on May 1.

Perhaps with good reason: there is little to celebrate. From a socio-economic perspective, Hungary’s two decades in the EU have been one big missed opportunity. Politically, it's love turned into war.

“We had high hopes. We all expected that EU membership would pave the way for us to quickly catch up with the West,” Geza Jeszenszky, a former Hungarian foreign minister, who presented the country’s application for membership in Athens in April 1994, tells BIRN.

A historian and former diplomat who also served as ambassador in Washington and Oslo under two Orban governments (until 2014, when he very publicly resigned), Jeszenszky is deeply disappointed. “All the other countries in the region made better use of the generous EU funds and opportunities than we did,” he laments bitterly. “This is a historic sin by Orban – and I hope history will judge him for it.”

Story told in numbers

This disappointment is numericized by the statistics. Hungary, which used to be a forerunner in Central Europe up to 2000, has now fallen behind most of its peers by most measures.

While the Czech Republic has reached 90 per cent of the EU average in GDP per capita and Poland stands close to 80 per cent, Hungary is only at 76 per cent, neck and neck with Romania, according to Eurostat. The independent economic research institute Gazdasagkutato Intezet (GKI) offers an even bleaker picture: despite wages having increased 2.5-fold in the last two decades, they still only reach 67 per cent of the EU average in terms of purchasing power, and in absolute terms (in euros) they stand at just 41 per cent. Meanwhile, Pensions have slipped from 52 per cent of the EU average in 2004 to 45 per cent in 2021, and productivity growth of Hungarian companies is nowhere near that of its Central European peers.

In fact, in most of the data (except for employment), Hungary tends to be among the last five countries of the EU. Even so, Hungarian politicians (on both the left and right) still profess their hopes about catching up with Austria, when even keeping up with Czechia seems an insurmountable task.

But Hungary’s minister of regional development and a former European commissioner, Tibor Navracsics, sees the glass half full. “Wages in Hungary have risen sharply since accession, from under 7,000 euros in 2004 to more than 17,000 euros in 2022. There is and there could be room for improvement, but an Austrian financial forecast shows that this year Hungary could have the best wage growth in the European Union, with 9.8 per cent,” he tells BIRN.

Many others think the glass is rather half empty. “EU membership was a great opportunity that contributed to the country’s development. But it could have done much more if it had been used effectively,” says Andras Biro-Nagy, director of Policy Solutions, a Budapest-based independent think tank, and co-editor of the book “20 years in the EU – A Policy Balance of Hungary’s EU membership”, published in mid-April.

As an example, he cites the massive inflow of EU funds – totalling around 83 billion euros, or an average of 3.5 per cent of GDP per year – which has led to some development but failed to narrow Hungary’s regional disparities. Three out of seven Hungarian regions still rank among the EU’s poorest, with very slow convergence over the last 20 years.

“This is not a Hungarian, but a European problem,” argues Navracsics. “Convergence is, unfortunately, despite its long history not a success story.”

He argues that the countries which joined the EU in 2004 have developed from 59 per cent of the EU average to 77 per cent, but this growth was driven mostly by the metropolitan areas. Hungary has been no exception. “Budapest is at 156 per cent of the EU average, while the North Great Plain region, which is very close to Budapest, is only at 49 per cent.”

On a more positive note, the former European commissioner emphasises that Hungary has managed to overtake some old EU members such as Greece and is in strong competition with Portugal.

When asked about the success stories of membership, Navracsics is keen to point out that Hungary was an overachiever in accessing EU funds, having used almost every cent of the funds available. “52,000 projects were completed using EU funds in the 2014-2020 period, meaning that you can’t find a corner in Hungary where there was nothing built,” he says.

But what has been built speaks to another missed opportunity. Perhaps not coincidentally, a list that Hungary actually tops is unfortunately the number of investigations launched by the EU’s anti-fraud agency OLAF into the misuse of EU funds. The average Hungarian will tell you that much of the money was simply stolen or ended up being dished out within pro-government circles.

Unfortunately, research also shows that EU funds have not always helped boost productivity. “We found that companies that received EU money grew slower than those that did not. You can guess the reasons: they may have become too complacent, or they were simply not the companies that deserved to be funded,” Biro-Nagy says.

Nor has Viktor Orban’s decade-long battle with European institutions helped the country make the most of its EU membership. While it is fair to say that Hungary’s economic problems predate the prime minister’s landslide victory in the 2010 parliamentary election – just four years after joining, Hungary was hit hard by the global financial crisis and had to turn to the International Monetary Fund for help – Orban’s prescription has been found wanting.

“When Orban took office in 2010, he had to find answers to some of the inherent problems of the Hungarian economy, such as a huge and expensive state, a dual economic structure of highly productive multinationals and low-performing small and medium-sized domestic companies, and a high exposure to external economic shocks,” points out Akos Peter Bod, a former governor of the Hungarian central bank and now professor at Budapest’s Corvinus University.

Orban opted for further centralisation, strong state intervention and a policy of reindustrialisation. “Some of these measures were logical but risky – especially in the long term,” claims Bod.

The reindustrialisation strategy entailed a steady devaluation of the national currency, which led to weak real income growth and ultimately to record inflation in 2022. “While the Baltic states chose more globalisation as a solution after the financial crisis, Orban opted for more sovereignty,” he says.

The government has constantly communicated that Hungary is a strong and fast-developing country, but the fact is that average growth over the past decade has been only 2.1 per cent, which would be fine for a developed country but not enough for an emerging economy to make the necessary leap.

Bod is also critical of the use of EU funds. “The government has followed a classic rent-seeking strategy. Give us all the money and don’t worry about implementation, they said. Investment in human capital, education and health was not a priority” – proof, he says, that the Orban government has clearly misinterpreted what re-industrialisation means in the 21st century.

Still in love after all these years

Despite a general sense of disenchantment and Orban’s strong anti-Brussels propaganda, Hungarians remain, by and large, strong believers in the EU. The latest Eurobarometer found that 77 per cent of citizens think they have benefitted from EU membership.

“People still associate the EU with money and development, but also with the four freedoms and a sense of belonging to a Western community,” says Biro-Nagy.

However, he warns that political polarisation has spilled over into EU-related issues, driving a wedge further into society. Around half of Hungarians favour closer integration, while 35 per cent share Orban’s sovereigntist narrative that the EU should “give us the money and leave us alone”. Within this group, 15 per cent would openly support a ‘Huxit’ (leaving the EU), though they remain a small minority even in the Fidesz voting camp.

Most experts agree that the Eurosceptic path the prime minister is following was not preordained.

In his early thirties, Orban chaired the parliamentary committee on EU integration, and it was his first government (1998-2002) that conducted the accession negotiations, though, much to his dismay, it was his successor, a social-liberal government, that signed the accession treaty in 2004. Yet even in opposition, between 2002 and 2010, few would have questioned either Orban’s pro-European commitment or his ability to negotiate effectively once re-elected.

However, within a year of his return to power in 2010, significant cracks began appearing in Hungary’s relationship with the EU.

Insiders usually refer to an ill-fated meeting with then-German chancellor Angela Merkel, who refused to give Orban any leeway with the national budget – which was running at a 6 per cent deficit, largely inherited from the previous government – as the “original sin”. Then there were the EU’s unexpectedly harsh reactions to a Hungarian media law and the new constitution – both of which were seen as ridiculous and a breach of national sovereignty by the government.

Relations with Brussels deteriorated rapidly, with Orban comparing the EU to the Kremlin (and the Soviet Union) as early as 2012, and entering a freefall with the migration crisis in 2015.

This downward spiral continued in 2021, when Orban’s Fidesz party was forced out of the European Parliament grouping of centre-right parties, the European People’s Party, and in 2022 reached freezing point with the launch of the rule-of-law conditionality mechanism by the European Commission and the subsequent blocking of 30 billion euros in EU funds.

“Orban found it excessively difficult to defend his interests at the negotiating table in Brussels. So, he looked for alternatives, but these alternatives, be it Russia or China, are only interested in having a foot in the EU,” sums up the former central bank governor, Akos Peter Bod.

Jeszenszky, as a former foreign minister, takes an even harsher line. “Orban’s policies are incompatible with European democratic values, and he knows it. He is only interested in money and power – and it is a big mistake to believe that he is doing anything for the good of the country,” he argues.

The price, as always, is paid by the citizenry. Hungarians, who had liked to flatter themselves in the belief that Hungary was richer, smarter and more developed than most of the rest of Central and Eastern Europe, now clearly see the country is falling behind both politically and economically.

No wonder, then, that a new generation of protestors, who have been pouring onto the streets since the emergence of Peter Magyar, a former Fidesz insider-turned-critic, are haunted by the feeling that their future was stolen from them by the current government; that Orban was unable to fully realise an opportunity Hungary had rarely seen in its 1,100-year history: a chance to become a successful European country.

[studentofthesport]

So just a little about me! (Updated!)

- I am a collegiate female (nonbinary) runner and hoping to someday be a coach!

- I have been running for 9 years!

- Senior in college, English Major 📚

- favorite running shoes: Saucony endorphin speed 2! Spikes: Nike Dragonfly XC, (super shoes dragonflies as well)

- highest mileage peak this fall (2024) is 75 miles, most weeks were about 68-72. Probably getting up, my longest long run is 15.3 from this fall!! I’m also hoping to race a half marathon after this coming spring!

- highest mileage peak in cc preseason 2023: 61 miles!!, typical load for the season was about 59-65, During post szn’ I had some weeks at 65 and a few a little below and am at about 60 right now, highest mileage during cc 2023 peak: 65, typically 60-65, highest mileage peak during track was 70 miles, most weeks were about 65-68 tho. Probably getting up to 75 this summer and fall 🥴, my longest long run is still from cross in 2023 tho and was 14.42 :))

- highest mileage track 2023 peak: 58, typically 47-53

- highest mileage peak cc 2022: 52 miles, typical load 40-49

- mileage 2021 cc peak: 41, typically 35-39

- mileage track 2022 peak: 45, typically 39-43

- mileage !goal! peak for track 2023: 55! Mostly 45-53

- mileage goal reached!! I got up to 58 mpw!

- PRs (updated) (you can ignore this, but just to give an idea of the level that I am competing at to understand where I might come from when talking about different runners or books or training!!) (from track freshman and sophomore years): 5k: 16:30, 10k: 34:34, cc 5k: 16:51 (at first meet of season , this is technical time bc course was long), 1500m: 4:41 *1500 from freshman year*. (Ran during summer preseason workouts): 3k: 9:43, 5k (somehow during a fartlek): 17:08, workout paces: easy run: 6:35-7:15, tempo: high 5s and low 6s, 1k interval: 3:12, 1k repeat: 3:03-07

~ Update on: goals that seem reasonable for track this year based off workouts this past cross season!:

~ By the end of this past track season (2024) I was in shape to run around 16:15 5k and 34:20 or lower 10k and if I focused on the 1500 for a few weeks probably around a 4:22 or so. Was in great shape by the end of the season but didn’t perform as well as I would have liked at nationals.

~ By the end of track season 2023 I was most likely in shape to run 4:50s or faster pace (mile pace) for a 1500, for the 5k I was in shape to run in about 16:30s but I was focusing on the 10k and only ran it once at the beginning of outdoor! 3k I’m not sure what shape I was in but probably somewhere between 9:30s-50 but I never got to run it this year. For 10k I was in shape to run 34:40s or a little faster but I did not race well when running it again at the end of the season. I also did fall on a rock right before indoor conference and had to sit a week out and that negatively impacted all of my running and times for awhile. (I had to get stitches on my kneecap but nothing was damaged outside of needing stitches!)

~ I also had transferred in the spring semester and am loving my new school, team, and coaches!

~ As far as cross country, my team just made nationals and I ran a new PR in the 20:40s ish! (6k)

Current song I’m listening to 🎵:

[pvtjoker22]

About time for the annual year-end horror list and here it is:

2023:

The Pale Blue Eye

Scream VI

Evil Dead Rise

Renfield

Skinamarink

Cocaine Bear

VHS '85

Infinity Pool

Project Wolf Hunting

Last Voyage of the Demeter

Dark Harvest

Totally Killer

The Offering

The Blackening

The Meg 2: The Trench

It's a Wonderful Knife

Brooklyn 45

Malum

Talk to Me

The more I think back on it, the more I love Renfield and its exploration of toxic relationships. The movie is just pleasantly rewatchable (its horror movie comfort food, like Christopher Landon films such as Freaky or Happy Death Day)

Infinity Pool was great, but I think Possessor is the stronger Brandon Cronenberg film. Possessor just had this disorienting, hypnotic feel that I'm not sure Infinity Pool even wants to replicate. I am definitely looking forward to whatever he makes next though - the cross-section exploration of horror and technology is such a unique brand to both Cronenbergs and their films.

Totally Killer was a really good time and made good use of its time travel plot. The slasher villain was actually pretty scary, and the gore wasn't half bad either.

The Blackening was a lot of fun as well, had some really funny moments and some good tension. I liked that I didn't recognize a lot of the actors and was very impressed with a lot of their work in this.

Talk to Me is the more interesting the more I think about it and definitely has a lot of staying power.

Films not from 2023:

Possession (1981)

Warlock (1989)

Knights of Badassdom

Hellbound: Hellraiser 2

The Dark & The Wicked

The Keep

Deadstream (2022)

The Blob (1988)

The Wailing (2016)

Offseason (2021)

Phantoms

The Faculty

Tag

I've heard The Faculty was great, but sadly it's taken me this long to get around to it. Tag was also really good, at some point I do plan on getting around to Love Exposure. Hellraiser 2 has such an epic scope for a horror film that it was an immediate breath of fresh air. Possession was an absolutely bonkers allegory and worked very well. The Blob was one of the more obvious 80s classics I've somehow missed. The Keep was this foggy, chilly world war II set-horror that sadly, only exists in a butchered cut of the film. What's left is interesting and full of logical holes, but somehow the atmosphere carries it. Hopefully some day we'll discover the three hour cut in some old vault or something.

TV:

The Last of Us

Yellowjackets S2

From S2

Junji Ito Maniac

Wild Blue Yonder (Doctor Who special)

Fall of the House of Usher

Parasyte the Maxim

Between Last of Us, Yellowjackets, From, and House of Usher this year's horror television line-up was stacked beyond belief. That's also only what I got around to. There were some Emmy-worthy performances this year too between Bruce Greenwood in House of Usher, Nick Offerman in Last of Us, and Carla Gugino in House of Usher.

Games

Dredge

Diablo 4

Lunacid

Diablo 4 definitely has a much stronger horror aesthetic than Diablo 3, the presentation of D4 is much more cinematic which helps.

Lunacid is genuinely scary at points, especially dungeon crawling through low-lit tunnels.

Books/Comics:

Hellblazer: The Family Man

Immortal Hulk vo1 1: Or is he both?

The Flash (2023) #1 (Si Spurrier)

Animal Man (New 52, Jeff Lemire) vol 1

So I've read a ton of body horror this year, and it was awesome. The juxtaposition of superhero tropes and grotesqueries hits my brain in just the right way