#blackwell chronicles

[thegeekyartist]

Playing Blackwell Convergence over on twitch! Come hang out and help out some ghosts with me 💖

[book--brackets]

Summaries under the cut

The Cat Ate My Gymsuit by Paula Danzinger

Marcy Lewis is bored by school, she knows she's never going to be thin, and she is dead sure she'll never have a date. Life at home isn't great either, since her father bosses her and her mother around. Then along comes Ms. Finney, an English teacher who'll try anything in the classroom and actually treats kids like human beings. Now that she's found a teacher who sees Marcy as more than a name on an attendance sheet, Marcy realizes her life could mean something. When Ms. Finney is suspended, Marcy knows she's got to take a stand. But is this new independence worth the price she'll pay at school and at home?

Magic Shop by Bruce Coville

Russell Crannaker, a rather timid boy who is eager to frighten the school bully on Halloween night, acquires a magic ring and the power to change himself into a hideous monster.

Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright

When Garnet finds a silver thimble in the sand by the river, she is sure it’s magical. But is it magical enough to help her pig, Timmy, win a blue ribbon on Fair Day?

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart

Fourteen-year-old Quint Verginix is the only remaining son of famous sky-pirate Wind Jackal. He and his father have journeyed to the city of Sanctaphrax – a great floating rock, bound to the ground below by a chain, its inhabitants living with their heads literally in the clouds.

But the city hides a dangerous secret: deep inside the great rock, something horrible lurks. With his father away, Quint may be the only one who can save Sanctaphrax from the dreaded curse of the gloamglozer . . .

School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari

Everyone is afraid of something...

Madeleine Masterson is deathly afraid of bugs, especially spiders.

Theodore Bartholomew is petrified of dying.

Lulu Punchalower is scared of confined spaces.

Garrison Feldman is terrified of deep water.

With very few options left, the parents of these four twelve year-olds send them to the highly elusive and exclusive School of Fear to help them overcome their phobias. But when their peculiar teacher, Mrs. Wellington, and her unconventional teaching methods turn out to be more frightening than even their fears, the foursome realize that this just may be the scariest summer of their lives.

Pillage by Obert Skye

Upon his mother's death, fifteen-year-old Beck Phillips is sent to live with an eccentric uncle he had never met in a remote manor house, where he learns that his family suffers from a curse that allows him to make plants grow on command and dragon eggs hatch.

The Blackwell Pages by K. L. Armstrong

In Viking times, Norse myths predicted the end of the world, an event called Ragnarok, that only the gods can stop. When this apocalypse happens, the gods must battle the monsters--wolves the size of the sun, serpents that span the seabeds, all bent on destroying the world.

The gods died a long time ago.

Matt Thorsen knows every Norse myth, saga, and god as if it was family history--because it is family history. Most people in the modern-day town of Blackwell, South Dakota, in fact, are direct descendants of either Thor or Loki, including Matt's classmates Fen and Laurie Brekke.

However, knowing the legends and completely believing them are two different things. When the rune readers reveal that Ragnarok is coming and kids--led by Matt--will stand in for the gods in the final battle, he can hardly believe it. Matt, Laurie, and Fen's lives will never be the same as they race to put together an unstoppable team to prevent the end of the world.

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

Annika is happy living in the servants' quarters of a house owned by three eccentric professors. She adores Ellie and Sigrid, the cook and housemaid who found her as a baby, abandoned on a church doorstep. In the eleven years since, they have taught her how to bake and clean to perfection. Then one day a glamorous stranger arrives, claiming to be Annika's mother. Annika is no servant, she learns, but an aristocrat whose true home is an ancient castle. But at crumbling Spittal, Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in the lives of her newfound family. . .

The Enchanted Castle by E. Nesbit

Jerry, Jimmy, and Cathy stumble upon a mysterious castle with a beautiful princess asleep in the garden. The princess is really Mabel, the housekeeper's niece, who is only pretending to be royalty. But when she shows them a secret room filled with treasure where they discover a magical ring, enchantment becomes a reality.

Fairy Oak by Elizabetta Gnone

Fairy Oak is the name of a village that grew up in the shade of a talking oak tree, an imaginary place, lost in the mists of time immemorial, overlooking a stormy sea, next to uplands covered in snow in winter, surrounded by enchanted woods, vast meadows, crystal clear rivers and lakes. A healthy and uncontaminated nature, which dominates and envelops the worlds in which the stories unfold. Within the walls of the old village there lives an equally old community, a mixed bag of funny characters, with the rituals, customs, habits and familiarity of a serene, cheerful, lively people. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent twins Vanilla and Lavender. To save their people, menaced by a cruel enemy, they go on a long journey deep into the labyrinths of their powers. Since the girls are very young, at first lots of things go wrong. Some are frightening. In short, it’s not going to be easy at all! But someone and something will help them.

[jpriest85-blog]

Some crossover fan art depicting Lawerence Blackwell from @barbwritesstuff Blood Moon, and Dr. Ethan Murphy from @seraphinitegames The Wayhaven Chronicles Book 1.

While both IF games feature supernaturals living secretly among people, they're respective Vampires and Werewolves are very diffrent. However both stories do have similar type of main intro villain, a creepy white male vampire who creates thralls, commits murder, and abducts people to expermint on them for blood and power. Granted Blackwell is more of a Stepford smiler mixed with sinister business man type, while Murphy gives off more of a mad scientist vibe (and he definitly didn't graduate medical school).

[tscclace]

Luke doing his best to protect Clary❤️

[m-blackwell-and-associates]

Following Up pt 2

Nicky’s people had cleaned the grave well enough, now that the original mission, both true and false, was over.  Nicky had the manners to police his own.  Now it was left to her to gather what dust had fallen out of her cousin’s reach and how she could make it pay.  It would be more satisfying to have someone else pay the costs now resting in her ledger.  

“Any reason you chose…”  Angelina turned back a page to see the list of operatives that Nicky had sent. “Diana Rosselini, alias Anna Betancourt?”  

“I felt she was the best of the four.”

“What made her stand out?”  At first glance, all four seemed to be of similar quality.  Military training of one flavor or another.  Specific skills earned in vague unnamed places.  Confirmed kill lists.  All from distant branches of breeder families, probably only accidentally aware of the family business, if aware of it at all.  No one with any strong ties to any Kindred family that she could recall at this moment.  Perfect operatives for those hopefuls with nothing left to lose and willing to work for a family pariah.

Family pariahs.  

Angelina frowned slightly, perturbed at the unnecessary self-reminder, tucking that thought away for later contemplation.  Now was not the time for meditating on old injustices. 

“I feel that a Rosselini was more suitable,” Pietro gave an easy shrug, as if such an important choice was merely an afterthought.  Normally a temperate guide, she found his lack of care or worry to be irritating this evening. 

“More suitable than what, Pietro?  Do not dissemble.”

He capitulated immediately.  “The Rosselini was the only choice, donna.  I wouldn’t dare Proxy Jara without approval of the Pisnob.  I didn’t feel that you’d want the della Passaglia here, all things considered, so Durant was also not an option.”

“Your consideration of my feelings is commendable, but if he was the better candidate, I would have accepted him.  Chances are he wasn’t involved with the…current politics.”  Angelina clicked her teeth shut on the words, biting them where she couldn’t bite those that had risen against her.

Again that nonchalant shrug and easy grin, tacitly ignoring the tempest she held under thin glass  “I would not risk it and besides, the Rosselini was equally qualified and the fourth did not survive the mission.”

“Karl Koeing, alias of Gerhart Auer,” Angelina mused, putting the papers back in order and finding the small work of neatness to be soothing.  There would be very little this evening that would be considered soothing.  “Nicky removed him from the operation himself?”

“Compromised,” Pietro agreed.  “At least that was what my Rosselini has told me, though I find it all a little extreme.  The Butcher didn’t like the fact he was passing information.  I understand his reasoning, but it wasn’t as if the Koeing was speaking out of house.”

A flash of annoyance cut through her precarious calm, jaw tightening against what she wished to say.  Vincenzo. They had been contemporaries once, equal in status as one of the North American padroni.  Their cousin’s unexpected murder had given him the job and she found the timing of it suspect, as well as Vincenzo’s lack of proper familial mourning.   “And Ms. Rosselini was the one that made sure the grave was clean?”

[periofthesea]

OC Introduction

Another! This is Astrid Blackwell and she is my eternal sunshine

Faceclaim: Emilia Clarke

Astrid is my mermaid who got turned on a surfing trip gone wrong. Growing up Astrid was raised in an orphanage in a small beach town and for as long as she can remember she has adored the SEA. Surfing, sun tanning, volleyball, everything. Becoming a mermaid wasn't per say a bad thing for her, but because of the accident, she lost someone she loved- her fiancée who lost his memories and she decided to let him go. She has a dog named Peanut Butter and they are both a force of nature. Loud, friendly, and the pure epitome of summer

[halfbakedspuds]

Thanks to @honeybewrites for the tag

OC name origins tag

Rules: I want to know how you came up with your original character’s names and personalities. Are they based on people in your real life? Are they straight from your brain? Are they a mix of several people?

I'll do this for the Tempest Prince characters

Jason Haliday:

Jason's name- like his brother's- is steeped in Greek history and mythos, with Jason being one of the classical heroes of their mythology. Jason Haliday (called something different in that draft) compared himself to mythology Jason with all this supposedly important but seemingly useless stuff he kept having to go after, "Like chasing a goddamn fleece for whatever reason" and purposefully ignorimh the context of the original story. The scene isn't in the current draft, but the comparison led me to change his name to Jason.

His surname, 'Haliday', was originally 'Galloway', but somewhere I learnt that Halliday comes from the old English hæligdag, which is excellent foreshadowing for the book.

Alex Haliday:

Alex was always going to be this character's name, however I changed its long form from Alexandra to Alexander somewhere down the line (God knows why, 'cause I certainly don't remember).

The reason was always because of his involvement with the Allyrian Inquisition as one of their brightest strategic minds and best warriors, making his name a nod towards Alexander of Macedonia.

Michelle Haliday:

Michelle as a character was heavily inspired by my dad- whose name was Michael- and giving her a name similar to his is a sort of tribute.

Lifvinja Ravenscar:

Okay, I know of maybe two people who follow me that might know what I'm on about with this, but I'll try my best to explain.

Growing up, I had the box set of this one old-ass Afrikaans kids show called 'Liewe Heksie' (it's hard to translate without sounding strange, but somewhere along the lines of 'little beloved witch') which was about an... admittedly pathetic but endearing excuse of a witch named Livinia, and followed all the stuff she got up to.

Some part of me thought "Hey, wouldn't it be funny to take this all-powerful, immortal mage who used to be a Norse Viking like a thousand years ago and name her after this one character from a kids show?"

And thus, Livinia got swapped out for its Norse equivalent- Lifvinja- and Archmagos Lifvinja Ravenscar was named.

The surname 'Ravenscar' comes from how marriage works in the Hunter cities, where everyone in the relationship unanimously agrees on two words that they feel allude to something important to them, and those two are put together to create their new surname that's unique to them. In Lifvinja's case, she called her wife 'Hrafn' (Raven) as a joke when they first met and it just stuck, and the pair both had matching burn scars on their forearms from something important to their story that I can't disclose cause ✨spoilers✨.

Helga Ravenscar:

I'll be honest with you, she literally got her name from a newspaper comic called Hagar the Horrible.

We all struggle to figure out character names sometimes, and she was one of those characters.

Isaac Blackwell:

Isaac got his name cause I was playing Dead Space around the time I first created his character.

'Blackwell' is based on 'Blackthorn' from the Shadowhunter books, but it does serve a purpose of sorts to the story. However, ✨spoilers✨

Aten:

Aten is one of several Great Ones that appear in the story (A great one being an extra dimensional entity that is to a god as we are to bacteria) and he got his name from the full name for the Egyptian sun god, Aten-Ra.

I think I was reading Kane Chronicles when I came up with that one, not sure.

The story in universe is that he's a lot more compassionate toward humans than the rest of the 'Pantheon', and came down to the Egyptian old kingdom to help them through a famine. Them not really understanding wtf they were seeing culminated in them naming him after their sun god, and thus he now carries the name 'Aten' with a sort of pride.

Sanmaht:

Imma be perfectly honest here, this one was a keyboard smash with vowels added for pronouncability.

Leyendeach:

I got this from the game Pathfinder: Kingmaker, where the audio file for some early-game cantrips sounded to me like they ended in something that eventually, through many iterations, got turned into 'Leyendeach'

Ralye:

A corruption of R'lyeh, the name of the city where Cthulhu supposedly is in HP Lovecraft's stories; from the phrase "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl ftagn" (In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu lays dreaming).

No pressure tag for @orion-lacroix, @oh-no-another-idea, @illarian-rambling, @pb-dot and anyone else who wants in

[malec-ao3feed]

Alicante Airlines

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Wpf0ZSd by goldfish_dispenser Magnus Bane is a flight attendant at Alicante Airlines, and he loves his job... mostly. He could do without the early starts, condescending passengers and egotistical pilots. When he meets Alec Lightwood, his captain for a 48-hour layover in Rome, sparks fly, and not the good kind. With a medical emergency and a forced diversion to navigate, will they put aside their differences and work together? Or will all that resentment boil over into something else entirely... Words: 2977, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English Fandoms: Shadowhunters (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood, Jace Wayland, Maia Roberts, Lily Chen (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Andrew Underhill, Gretel (Shadowhunter Chronicles), Madzie (Shadowhunters TV), Catarina Loss, Samuel Blackwell, Simon Lewis, Isabelle Lightwood Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Background Jace Wayland/Kaelie Whitewillow Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Flight Attendants, Alternate Universe - Human, Pilot Alec Lightwood, Pilot Jace Wayland, Jace Wayland is a Herondale, Flight Attendant Magnus Bane, Alec lightwood is Kind of A Dick, Shameless Smut, In-Flight Medical Emergency, Casual Sex read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/Wpf0ZSd

[ladyhindsight]

Over the course of reading the books, it has become apparent that different editions have gone under several revisions. The original City of Bones, when reflected against the changes that have been made over the years to the manuscript, highlights how poor and haphazard the world-building in what would eventually become The Shadowhunter Chronicles was. 

I’ve compared two different e-book versions of City of Bones, one of which appears to be the original text and one that I frankly have no idea which exact edition it is since my physical 2015 repackaged copy also varies from its contents. The left one is the supposedly original and the right one is the newer edition. Tap/click for bigger images since the text is pretty small for being compared side by side. There’s quite a few.

Magnus’ skin color.

Revamping the rune business. The unnamed permanent rune placed on dominant hand that lends extra skill with weapons is turned into the Voyance rune that aids their Sight.

For which the part highlighted with blue is deleted completely. Additionally Jace explaining his hunch about Clary’s Sight has become more rational. This underlines how little the concept of the Sighted was developed in the beginning.

In the long run it wouldn’t have made sense that no mundane in a century was Sighted.

All the stories are true is added.

Added punctuation and Isabelle’s Voyance rune. The original did not make sense either not to highlight any unnamed permanent runes that Isabelle might have/has.

Clary asks Isabelle did Jace bring her to the Institute. In the original, Hodge comes off as furious over Clary messing up the carpet with ichor and blood. This is missing in the newer edition.

Don’t know what is wrong with the “hedge-witch.” Also additional explanation on differences between warlocks and witches.

In the 2007 version the Gray Book is mentioned when Magnus shows a copy of one to Clary in order to jog her memory. In the newer edition, the Covenant Marks are replaced by Marks from the Gray Book.

Corrected probably because the timeline did not originally match.

This is a pretty big one. The original thought was that some random warlock summoned the Angel. Jonathan Shadowhunter as a concept most likely didn’t exist yet.

Added explanation on the Clave.

Relying on my memory and a quick search of the document, Iron Sisters were also not mentioned in the original text. Also the seraph blades were already named, which later on wouldn’t make sense as they just call a random name to activate the blade anyway (though Jace does use Sanvi and Sansanvi later on in both editions).

Changes made to the drawing of runes.

Jace explains to Clary how the Forsaken are made by placing a lot powerful runes on people who don’t have Shadowhunter blood. He also tells that one rune will only burn, which will be later proven wrong since the Starkweather changeling dies from one rune in TID. Hence the change, that even one rune might end up killing an ordinary human.

Concept of the Forsaken revamped in the sense that why the hell would any Downworlder be able to even use Nephilim runes??

Part of Jace and Madame Dorothea’s conversation deleted.

The concept of a “Control” being trashed. Wards added.

We’ve gone over this before. Pangborn and Blackwell were never meant to be warlocks, but it is confusing that Blackwell is purple. This part of the description was deleted, though his later appearance (in the newer edition) still describes him becoming “darker purple” which would mean he was purple in the first place.

I don’t know why this was deleted. Shadowhunters don’t have dental so I guess they don’t sharpen their teeth either.

Myths/Stories

Earlier in the book Jace tells Alec: “When I found her, she was lying on the floor in a pool of blood with a dying demon practically on top of her. I watched as it vanished. If she didn’t kill it, who did?” The original includes this, so it is strange that there would even be “a dead Ravener” when they leave no bodies behind. 

Simon’s dislike of cats is deleted because he has a cat called Yossarian. Clary bumps into it in City of Ashes.

Basically this whole scene which didn’t make much sense to begin with. Mentioned earlier here and here.

The whole “Mortal Cup mostly working on children” angle is omitted and the concept of Ascension revamped. Also the concept of Ascension by that name did not exist.

Same continues here.

In the original text, Jace’s ring is first mentioned in the third chapter when Jace waves at Clary in Java Jones:

“She stared at Jace as she thought it, and he raised his left hand to wave at her. A ring glittered on a slim finger. He got to his feet and began walking, unhurriedly, toward the door. Clary’s lips parted in surprise. He was leaving, just like that.”

The next time it is mention in chapter 10:

“Jace looked down at his hands. They were slim and careful hands, the hands of an artist, not a warrior. The ring she had noticed earlier flashed on his finger. She would have thought there  would have  been  something feminine about  a  boy wearing a ring, but there wasn’t. The ring itself was solid and heavy-looking, made of a dark burned-looking silver with a pattern of stars around the band. The letter W was carved in to it.”

In the revised edition, the ring is first mentioned in the chapter 9, the part that is highlighted with blue. Unlike in the original text, Jace’s ring is not mentioned in the third chapter:

“She stared at Jace as she thought it, and he raised his left hand to wave at her. He got to his feet and began walking, unhurriedly, toward the door. Clary’s lips parted in surprise. He was leaving, just like that.”

Like. Why? The whole sentence is deleted.

Isabelle corrected to Alec because it was Alec who said it, so it was an error in the original version.

Vampire drinking habits revised. Yet human subjugates remain illegal, they only get to drink once and not keep them around.

Magnus’ description changed.

This part of the dialogue deleted.

Witches/Warlocks

My 2015 physical copy also includes Gregor’s ashes, but the e-book has changed this scene so that vampires do not have the habit of turning into bats and dust.

My copy also includes Clary’s musings about ugly vampires which are deleted from the revised version.

This part made me question which version the newer revision is because my 2015 physical copy has the same line as here the original one and lacks the added line of Alec looking horribly ashamed.

Probably changed because why would Clary be expected to travel in any other world than theirs? Especially since Jace has told her only demons are capable of interdimensional travel. Also added attraction to Clary.

Again the “Control” being trashed.

This part of Jace’s words deleted.

And so this as well.

Added greater demon poison so it’s not just any demon poison as the original text led you to believe.

The explanation about Jace’s Wayland/Morgenstern ring is completely changed to cover up the plot hole it created in the original version.

This has also been discussed already.

Rather reflective of the mindset at the time of writing this. Girls be gossiping, indeed.

These are the ones I noticed. I’m still pretty unsure how many revisions the writing has actually gone through and whether my e-book is the latest version of City of Bones. But quite a lot has been changed.

[sapphicbookclub]

The North Pole Chronicles by Delilah Night

(Comet's First Christmas, Blitzen's Second Chance)

I’ve dreamed of this day for years, and now it’s reality. I’ve been called up for the Big Show. Official Pole phone and email, Naughty-or-Nice login, and upgraded I.D. with my new job title—Comet. In three weeks, I’ll be part of the team flying Santa around the world.

In an instant my life goes from peaceful, if boring, to a blizzard of last-minute flight preparations, route planning, and anxiety-triggering stress.

The moment I meet my P.A., Jillian, her beautiful smile and sparkling blue eyes are an oasis of calm. But I’ve barely got enough time to wonder if her plump lips taste as sugarplum sweet as they look. Disturbing news has popped up on Santa’s radar.

Someone is turning Santa’s most fervent believers into non-believers overnight. If we can’t find and stop this hacker, there won’t be enough reindeer cutout cookies and hot chocolate in the world to restore balance to Santa’s Naughty-or-Nice list in time for Christmas Eve.

Genres: contemporary, romance

Get the book from Blackwell's with free worldwide shipping here!

[aliiisterwarhol]

[Transcript of Obsidian Empire Chronicle's October 30th 1833 issue]

I've seen people saying they were having a hard time squinting their eyes to read this, especially on mobile, so I decided to type out a transcript for those who would find it useful, either to read or to quote as reference somewhere.

October 30th 1833

Obsidian Empire Chronicle

Alexander Visigoth has been arrested…

Facing public execution alongside several members of the Visigoth rebellion.

Alexander Visisgoth was arrested during one of his public speeches in the Royal Square. After the Blackwell guards and the Obsidian police forces failed to arrest all the members of the Visigoth militia, the large crowd was ultimately protecting their leader. At first the armed guards were not able to reach the young preacher that attracted masses of citizens attending his speech. Alexander declared himself ‘King of the Damned’ and announced his plan to bring war upon the Blackwell regime and restore power back to the people of Obsidian.

Alexander Visisgoth’s speech was originally held in the Royal Park. The whereabouts and time of the speech were kept secretive and only made public 24 hours in advance. Young children were seen handing out papers with the Visigoth logo to citizens living in the old town slums. This rebellion has been brewing ever since Fredrick Blackwell was announced as the successor to Lord Buckmister Blackwell. The recently added taxes on the middle and lower class has led to food shortages, social unrest, and protest against the Blackwell regime. Fredrick reacted to these protests by creating mandatory curfews, meaning anyone seen around town after curfew protesting will be arrested and taken into custody. As the support has continued to grow for Alexander Visisgoth and his movement, the Blackwell regime has numerous times warned the young rebel leader. Threatening him and his followers with prison sentences and punishments for disturbing the law and order towards the Blackwell family and the regime. Alexander Visisgoth has called the threats an attack on free speech and the citizen’s right to hear the truth. The Blackwell Council deems all these allegations as false and has put a public bounty price on Alexander’s head. He is currently wanted as a criminal throughout the Obsidian Empire. However, this hasn’t led to his arrest and the Royal Guards have gained very little support from the citizens. At his public speeches the crowds protect Alexander Visisgoth’s freedom at all costs. The threats from the Blackwell regime have apparently not had any effect on Alexander Visisgoth or the people of Obsidian . The young rebel attracted crowds with attendance never before seen in the history of the Obsidian Empire.

The Obsidian Royal Guards sent out teams of authorities to keep the rebels in order. A large military presence was seen guarding the Royal Park, but they were outnumbered and utterly intimidated by the Visigoth militia.

In his vibrant and dramatic speech in the Royal Park, Alexander demanded a change to the unacceptable tax raise, calling out the elitist in the upper-class supporting the totalitarianism enforced by Fredrick Blackwell. He also brought up the unacceptable inhumane treatment of the growing numbers of citizens driven into hopeless poverty and starvation, working under draconian conditions. His speech was loudly applauded by the growing crowd of supporters. The content of the speech became more violent as he pointed to the guards. The direct quote from his speech goes as follows… “Tell Buckminster Blackwell that I‌ stand here with the people of the Obsidian Empire. Come out of your castles and mansions guarded by large gates, come here and face me if you dare! Let the people decide who they want to be the ruler of Obsidian!”

The guards were released by members of the crowd. When they left the park roaring applauds and cheers from the crowd were heard through the streets. As the crowd grew and Alexander’s accusations towards the Blackwell regime became more violent he decided to parade with the masses of growing supporters throughout the streets of the capital and walk to the Royal Square where the Blackwell guards were protecting the Council House stairs. When the guards saw the giant crowd approaching they were forced to stand down to the Visigoth militia. The citizens of Obsidian filled the Royal Square to listen to Alexander’s ongoing speech. The Visigoth logo carved out of wood was seen held high above the heads of the supporters.

Only a few minutes later the crowd was strategically circled by the Blackwell cavalry. Generals began to breaking up the crowd to make way for Fredrick Blackwell leading the mobilized troops on horseback.

Alexander ordered the crowd to stand back as he seemed eager to finally have the attention of a Blackwell. He loudly called out to Fredrick Blackwell, “I asked for Buckminster Blackwell and that coward sends his son, what kind of king does that? If Buckminster was a true leader he would be here himself!”

Fredrick Blackwell commanded his guards to arrest Alexander for the crime of treason. Declaring him an enemy of the Obsidian Empire, sentencing him to death by public execution. Fredrick Blackwell continued; “As a criminal to the Empire you will not be granted a trial.” This order further stirring up the already angry crowd held back by the armed guards. Alexander did not remain silent and immediately ordered that the citizens of Obsidian to his defense, he further demanded justice for the Obsidian citizens that have suffered the tyrannical regime long enough. That by sentencing him to death Fredrick Blackwell had declared war upon the people of the Obsidian Empire.

Fredrick Blackwell did not hesitate to let his anger decide the fate of the people. As his father before him does not hesitate to demonstrate his power. Since the people seemed to grant him no respect for being declared the island’s new successor, he ordered the execution of every member in the Visigoth rebellion who stayed at the square. Fredrick stated that a new curfew has just begun and anyone left standing here will be arrested and made an example for those who dare to threaten the regime.

This order made the crowd attack the guards, bloody fights broke out in the crowd between the Blackwell guards and the Visigoth militia accompanied by civilians. Fredrick Blackwell repeated his order that all the followers and supporters of the Visigoth rebellion will immediately arrested. This order made absolute chaos break out in the crowd, citizens ran back to their homes and those who were left were detained.

Alexander Visisgoth has been imprisoned and is awaiting public execution to be held in the town square. The Blackwell council has stated that Alexander Visisgoth is a dangerous and delusional criminal that is obsessed with hysteria and his conspiracies pose a serious threat to the people of Obsidian, therefore they will do what is necessary to put an end to the Visigoth rebellion. The police are currently searching for the remaining high-ranking members of the Visigoth militia including Alexander’s partner Lilith, fearing that she will mobilize the remaining militia and order an attack on the Blackwells. Around town seen in the front windows of buildings, symbols and party colors are displayed to show support, but now as tension became violent there is an eerily quietness. It seems war is about to begin. Underground clubs and pubs seen with the Visigoth logos displayed have been raided and overturned by the Blackwell guards throughout the day. Arresting all citizens that express support for the Visigoth rebels.

The whereabouts of Lilith and the seven remaining high-ranking members of the Visigoth militia are at this moment unknown and the Blackwell council has stated that they won’t hesitate to use force to abolish the Visigoth rebellion.

[book--brackets]

Future Competitions

In light of recent requests and submissions, once this competition is over, we'll be starting back up again with a whole new set of books! If you'd like to submit a title, check my pinned post and the list below to make sure your submission is eligible. I can no longer add to this list. Any further titles are being kept privately by me, but there are there, I promise! I am now tagging asks with the titles submitted.

A to Z Mysteries

Abhorsen

A Dog's Life

Adventure (Blyton)

Adventures of the Bailey School Kids

Adventurers Wanted

Alcatraz VS the Evil Librarians

Alex Rider

All-of-a-Kind Family

The American Girl Books

Amulet

Anne of Green Gables

Animal Ark

Animorphs

Applewhites

The Babysitter's Club

The Bartimaeus Trilogy

Beacon Street Girls

Beatrice Bailey

The Belgariad

Bella Sara

Betsy-Tacy

Black Beauty

The Black Stallion

The Blackwell Pages

Books of Bayern

The Borrowers

Bridge to Terabithia

The Boxcar Children

Captain Underpants

Casson Family

The Cat Club

Catwings

Charlotte's Web

The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci

The Chronicles of Dragon

The Chronicles of Prydain

The Circle of Magic

Clementine

The Clique

The Cloak Society

Cobble Street Cousins

The Cooper Kids Adventures

Coraline

Damar (McKinley)

The Dark Hills Divide

The Dark Is Rising

Dear America

Dear Canada

Deltora Quest

The Divide (Kay)

Dork Diaries

Dragonbreath

The Dragonfly Pool

Dragonhaven

Dragon Rider

Dragon Slayer's Academy

Earthsea Cycle

East (Pattou)

Echo (Ryan)

Edgar & Ellen

Emily (Montgomery)

Emily Windsnap

The Enchanted Castle

Encyclopedia Brown

Esperanza Rising

The Ever Afters

The Faerie Realm

Fablehaven

Fairyland (Valente)

The Faraway Tree

Ferngully

First Light (Stead)

Five Children and It

Flat Stanley

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Gallagher Girls

Geronimo Stilton

The Girl Who Drank the Moon

The Giver

Goddess Girls

Goosebumps

Graceling

The Great Brain

The Greenglass House

Gunnerkrigg Court

Half Upon a Time

The Hardy Boys

Hatchet

Heist Society

Help, I'm Trapped...

His Dark Materials

Holes

How to Train Your Dragon

The Hunger Games

Igraine the Brave

The Immortals Quartet

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place

Ingo (Dunmore)

The Inheritance Cycle

Inkheart

Iron Hearted Violet

Island of the Aunts

Island of the Blue Dolphins

Ivy & Bean

Journey to the River Sea

Julie of the Wolves

Junie B. Jones

The Kane Chronicles

The Kid Who Ran for President

Kiki Strike

Killer Unicorns

Kingdom Keepers

The Last Apprentice

The Letter for the King

La Quête d’Ewilan (in French)

Legend (Lu)

Les Chevaliers d’Émeraude (in French)

Leven Thumps

Liesl & Po

Little House on the Prairie

A Little Princess

Little Women

Lockwood & Co.

The Lost Conspiracy

Macdonald Hall

The Magic Thief

Magic Treehouse

The Magisterium

Magnus Chase

Malory Towers

Matt Cruse

Maximum Ride

Melissa (Gino)

Merlin (Barron)

Michael Vey

Miri and Molly

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

The Missing (Haddix)

Mister Max

The Mistmantle Chronicles

Misty (Henry)

Molly Moon

The Moorchild

Mr. Lemoncello's Library

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

The Music of Dolphins

My Secret Unicorn

My Side of the Mountain

My Teacher Is an Alien

Nancy Drew

Nevermoor

The Neverending Story

Nimona

The Ogre Downstairs

Out of My Mind

The Penderwicks

Pendragon

Peter and the Starcatchers

The Phantom Stallion

The Phantom Tollbooth

Pillage (Skye)

Pippi Longstocking

Pixie Tricks

Poison (Zinn)

Pony Pals

Princess Academy

Protector of the Small

Rainbow Magic

Rain Reign

Ramona

Regarding the...

The Roman Mysteries

Rose (Webb)

Rowan of Rin

The Royal Diaries

Running Out of Time

Sammy Keyes

Savvy

School of Fear

The Search for Wondla

The Secret Garden

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel

The Secret Series

Septimus Heap

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Seventh Tower

Shadow Children (Haddix)

Silver Brumby

Silverwing

Skullduggery Pleasant

Song of the Lioness

The Spiderwick Chronicles

Stardust

Stargirl

The Strictest School in the World

Swallows and Amazons

Sweet Valley High

The Swiss Family Robinson

A Tale Dark & Grimm

The Tale of Despereaux

Tales of Alderley

Tales of Magic

Ten Kids, No Pets

The Thief Lord

Tiffany Aching

Tillerman Cycle

Time Hunters

The Trumpet of the Swan

Tuck Everlasting

Tuesday McGillycuddy

The Two Princesses of Bamarre

Uglies

Un Lun Dun

Undertow

Unicorn Chronicles

Upon a Marigold

Upside-Down Magic

The Vengekeep Prophecies

The View from Saturday

The War That Saved My Life

Wayside School

The Westing Game

When You Reach Me

Where the Red Fern Grows

Wildwood Chronicles

Windsingers

Wings & Co.

Winnie the Pooh

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The Worst Witch

You Be the Jury

[dailyanarchistposts]

Bibliography

Akwesasne Notes, “Basic Call to Consciousness: The Haudenosaunee Address to the Western World”Geneva, Autumn 1977

Taiaiake Gerald Alfred, Peace, Power, Righteousness: An Indigenous Manifesto (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 1999)

Taiaiake Gerald Alfred, Wasáse: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom (Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2005)

Harold Barclay, People Without Government: An Anthropology of Anarchy (London: Kahn & Averill, 1990)

Daniel P. Barr, Unconquered: The Iroquois League at War in Colonial America (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2006)

Murray Bookchin, The Ecology of Freedom (London: AK Press, 1982)

Murray Bookchin, Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism (London: AK Press, 1997)

Murray Bookchin, Nationalism and the “National Question” (Democracy and Nature: Vol. 2, No. 2, Issue 5, 1994)

Darren Bonaparte, Creation and Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois (Ahkwesáhsne: The Wampum Chronicles, 2006)

Darren Bonaparte, “Kaniatarowanenneh: River of the Iroquois” (Wampum Chronicles)

Mitchel Cohen, “Listen, Bookchin!” (A Red Ballon Collective Pamphlet, 1999)

Ward Churchill, “Indigenism, Anarchism, and the State: An Interview with Ward Churchill” (“Uping the Anti”, #1)

Teiowí:sonte Thomas Deer, “The Hereditary Question” (Revolutionary Creations)

Teiowí:sonte Thomas Deer, “The new Revolutionary War” (Revolutionary Creations)

Teiowí:sonte Thomas Deer, “The Traditionalist Doctrine” (Revolutionary Creations)

Teiowí:sonte Thomas Deer, “Barred from the ‘socialist’ paradise” (New Socialist, #58, September/October 2006)

Jared Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999)

Frederick Engels, Origins of the Family: The Iroquois Gens, Marx/Engels Selected Works, Volume Three (1884)

David Graeber, Towards an Anthropological Theory of Value: False Coin of Our Own Dreams (New York, NY: PALGRAVE, 2001)

Kanatiiosh Barbara Gray, “The Importance of Narratives in Understanding: The Passions & Law”

Hunter Gray, “Strawberries, the Iroquois, and My Strawberry Socialism”

Donald A. Grinde, Jr and Bruce E. Johansen, Exemplar of Liberty: Native America and the Evolution of Democracy (1990)

Kahentinetha Horn, “Traditional Culture and Community Competition: an Analysis of the On-Going Struggle between the Great Law and the Code of Handsome Lake in Kahnawake” (Mohawk Nation News)

Francis Jennings, The Ambiguous Iroquois Empire: The Covenant Chain Confederation of Indian Tribes With English Colonies (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1984)

Donald S. Lutz, “The Iroquois Confederation Constitution: an analysis.” (Publius Volume: 28 Issue: 2, 1998)

Barbara A. Mann, “The Lynx in Time: Haudenosaunee Women’s Traditions and History” (American Indian Quarterly, Summer 98, Vol. 21 Issue 3)

Lewis Henry Morgan, The League of the Ho-de’-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois, 1850

Arthur C. Parker, The Constitution of the Five Nations or the Iroquois Book of the Great Law, (Albany: University of the State of New York, 1916)

Natoway Brian Rice, “The Great Epic” (“Wampum Chronicles”)

Daniel K. Richter, The Ordeal of the Longhouse: The Peoples of the Iroquois League in the Era of European Colonization (University of North Carolina Press, 1992)

Dean R. Snow, The Iroquois, (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1994)

John Steckley, “Wendat Dialects and the Development of the Huron Alliance” (Humber College)

Reuben Gold Thwaites (ed.), The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents: Travels and Explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France 1610–1791

Anthony F.C. Wallace, The Death and Rebirth of the Seneca (New York: Vintage Books, 1972)

Sally Roesch Wagner, Sisters in Spirit: Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Influence on Early American Feminists (Summertown, TN: Native Voices, 2001)

George Woodcock, “Anarchy, Freedom, Native People & The Environment” (Aurora Online)

[betterthanapokeintheeye]

30 gifts for 30 days of November

Day 6!

Here is the sixth of thirty Better Than a Poke in the Eye recommended gifts for the book lover in your life even if that book lover is YOU!

Day 6’s recommendation is Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor 

Jodi is a huge Terry Pratchett fan and first came to our attention as a guest at a Discworld Convention.

As a result, her books worked their way onto our shelves and now we recommend them to you!  Just One Damned Thing is book one in the hugely successful Chronicles of St Mary’s series. 

If the whole of History lay before you, where would you go?

When Dr Madeleine Maxwell is recruited by the St Mary's Institute of Historical Research, she discovers the historians there don't just study the past - they revisit it.

But one wrong move and History will fight back - to the death. And Max soon discovers it's not just History she's fighting...

R.R.P.  £9.99

You can purchase it through our online bookshop or through any of our affiliate links.  

Better Than a Poke in the Eye Bookshop .org

Amazon UK

Waterstones

WHSmith

Foyles

Blackwells

Forbidden Planet

[m-blackwell-and-associates]

Follow Up pt 4

This dour mood followed Angelina for the rest of the car ride and doubled when pushed into the morgue to find the medical examiner already there with Peitro’s Proxy.  The Rosselini took one look at her and then her gaze slid to Pietro standing just behind her. Angelina knew she had been dismissed out of hand and the anger seethed.  Such a thing had happened many times before.  When people went to meet the Donna of Grenoble, they expected a woman in her prime, perhaps one aged into wisdom, all demure silk velvet over maternal steel.  When they saw a slight girl frozen forever at 18, round face still carrying the memory of childhood, they discounted what they saw and turned to Pietro as the continuing authority, he having been her voice and direction up until the moment of their first meeting.

Pietro, well schooled and endless amused by this bitter bit of theater, stayed where he was and said nothing, waiting for Diana Rossellini to figure out the silent error she had made.  Angelina did not wait for those brown eyes to widen, or the face go ashen to realize she had dismissed the one that had given permission to be Proxied and that permission could be revoked.

“What did you find?”

The Proxy caught herself, startling to be addressed, but not looking alarmed to be caught out.  “Donna Angelina, a pleasure to - “

“Yes,” Angelina agreed, a great pleasure to meet yet another family member that would have to be taught respect and comportment.  “Your findings?”

Angelina could feel Pietro’s amusement behind her, like a wave of warmth coming off a fire and she made a mental note to address his instigating these awkward introductions at a later time.  One did not humiliate one’s enforcer.  Not if one wanted to keep their good humor and loyalty.

The medical examiner cleared her throat from where she stood on the other side of the table, a skeleton, white and unweathered, laid neatly on a steel topped table.  “I’ve been able to narrow it down to three missing persons.”

“A three way tie?”  Angelina asked, brows raised as if mildly curious about the outcome and the examiner flushed, turning a faintly accusatory stare at Diana.  

“I had just arrived with the dental records, Donna.”  Diana handed them to the examiner, as cool as you please.  The way the other woman snatched them out of the Proxy’s hands suggested that the files had been withheld, either for spite or for testing of the examiner's skill in reading the bones.  It wasn’t that Angelina disapproved of testing the academic might of the people called upon to perform a service, just that at this moment, Angelina wasn’t in the mood for delays.  Or for anyone to decide now was the time for a power play. 

Hurriedly, the woman took out the x-ray images, the shaded transparencies hung up on the light box to be studied.  They waited, Angelina not unaware of the Rosselini’s subtle attempt to size her up, comparing what she saw to what she had imagined.  For her part, she let it go.  There would be time later to put Pietro’s Proxy in her place if necessary.  

“This one, Ms. Giovanni,” the medical examiner said, hurriedly.  Taking down the transparency, she slid it back into its file and handed it to Angelina over the table holding their mysteriously departed.  “I’ll give you a moment.”  Stripping off her gloves, the woman left.  

“Simeon Boucher,” Angelina read aloud before putting the file down on the metal table.  “One parent still living, two siblings living abroad, no spouse, no children.  Cause of death, blunt force trauma.”

“That would be consistent with what we saw when we dumped his body,” Diana confirmed.  “We - “

But Angelina wasn’t interested in the explanations or stories the Rosellini was quick to give.  Ignoring her, she stripped off her own gloves and set the soft black leather aside, concentrating on the well ordered bones before her.

“Simon Boucher,” she murmured under the self-aggrandizing chatter of the Proxy.  “Let’s see if you’re still here.”  Angelina laid both hands on the bones, one hand cradling around the smooth curve of the skull, thumb tracing along the zygomatic arch where a spider web of fractures hinted at the violence of the man’s final moments.  The other hand rested on the cracked and ragged remains of the sternum.

She wasn’t surprised to feel that Simon’s soul still lingered.  A death as sudden as violent as his had been, often made spirits bound to this world.  Ones so bound were unable to let go of their former lives and find whatever peace was beyond the Shadowlands.  Angelina called to the spirit gently, testing to see at what strength the contest of wills between her and the unwilling dead, and while she hadn’t been surprised to know he lingered, she was surprised at the promptness of his response.

Simon’s soul manifested as suddenly as switching on a light, vivid and clean as if drawn on her vision by some bold artist with only a faint transparency to suggest that he wasn’t of this world.  Whatever chatter Diana had been engaging in stopped and Angelina had blessed silence in which to contemplate the spirit.

“You’re like her,” it whispered, voice coming from some other place.

“Like whom, Mr. Boucher?” Angelina asked, hand absently stroking the smooth bone of the skull, as if petting a cat, or soothing a child.

“I assume he’s talking about Elizabeth,” Diana put in unnecessarily.  “I didn’t think little Miss Princess could do the family business.”

Angelina set her jaw, cross that the Rosselini dared to speak, but before she could order her cousin to silence, the sad and despondent shade of the late Simon turned to survey the room.  Once his eyes fell upon the disdainful Diana, it flared, a shadow behind a flame, blown to grotesque proportions and flickering as if caught in a hot and terrible wind.

“You left me to die!” It roared, leaning towards the shocked Rosselini, mouth agape and hands turned to grasping claws.  “YOU KILLED ME!”

Sternly, Angelina bound the enraged wraith of Simon Boucher so it could not attack the stunned woman.  But, with a bit of satisfied spite, she let it slowly drift in her directly, forcing Diana to back up a step.  Aloud, she said, “Perhaps your recounting of your mission wasn’t entirely correct, Ms. Rosselini?”

The look that Diana shot her before looking back at her slowly stalking wraith was murderous.  “No, Donna.  We found him dead and - “  The wraith roared, cursing.  “He was beyond saving!  I could see that just by looking at him!”

Angelina believed Diana when she said that she had seen the man’s fast approaching death.  It was her family curse, after all.  Everything was on the cusp of death to her and everyone that had the Rosselini gift.  She did not, however, believe that Simon had been beyond saving.

“He might have been more useful alive, Ms. Rosselini,” Angelina said, sounding disapproving of Diana's protests and indifferent of her discomfort. 

[thenewwei]

Today is the 10th Anniversary of the publication of my second book, Good Americans (The Human Tragedy, Volume 1). As such, the Kindle ebook version will be free on Amazon from today Thursday October 12, 2023 through Saturday October 14, 2023. Anybody who wants to check it out for free just needs a free Kindle application for any device. You also have the option of buying the paperback from almost any online bookseller.

From a strictly "literary" perspective, I suppose it is my best published book, but then it is the only ostensibly literary book I've released (until its sequel comes out), a short story collection of 6 stories, a 3-part novella, and a creative introduction.

The collection has a crazy history which I could write a book on itself. The oldest story, "Bridget's Brother," was composed in the winter of 2001 at the University of Oxford in the UK, where I was studying abroad at the ripe age of 20, writing under a special light so I wouldn't get depressed, trying to read (and unsuccessfully like) Henry Green's Loving, biking around George Street, attending the Oxford Union and spying on conversations in Blackwell's Bookshop so I could pick up British slang to use in my work (I also once sat next to Chelsea Clinton, but was too shy to say anything, not to mention that 9/11 had just occurred, making her SS detail all the more apprehensive, I figured. This is also referred to in the story). The story is derived from a real life experience with my fellow students, both American and British, and it shows with its subject matter, "awkward" prose and loose/dynamic construction. The last stories I wrote, "The Apprentice" and the three part jackhammer "Malta: A Love Story," were pumped out the summer before its publication, meant to beef up the collection, and the Introduction was literally written that Fall.

I had been shopping around the book as "Dhan's Debut and Other Stories," sending it to book agents and literary contests I would find in the back of publications like Poets & Writers, AWP Chronicle and Writer's Digest's. I would pay fees, wait for months, and get rejections, over and over again. All the individual stories were being sent out to literary journals and were rejected too. The few journals without word limits were sent "Old Guido." The Florida Review editor sent me back a hand written note telling me how much they admired it--but they still wouldn't publish it. Even "The Mountain," a now praised story within most journal limits, was dismissed.

This was code to me that I was wasting my time with the conventional literary world, just as I had with The Brotherhood. At the same time, I had the revelation that the stories, as a whole, could work as a panoramic portrait of different elements of American society, as collisions of worlds, albeit focused on its dregs. That prompted the creation of the final two stories, and the change in title. For years the story "Good Americans" had been called "A Good American" (and also rejected). I decided to rename it and the entire collection after it.

So while I might have been successful, potentially, at shopping around the new beefed up "Good Americans," at nearly 400 pages, to lit agents, I had zero stomach to do so after so many failures. Instead, I wrote up the satirical Intro as a kind of internal joke, arranged the collection, had readers check typos, and DIY formatted the collection for both ebook and print publications.

It was self-published in Fall 2013 through my own company The New Wei LLC, a year after my first and most popular book The Brotherhood, which would eventually have two sequels.

The few indie reviewers who deigned to read it praised it mightily. Kirkus Reviews called it "a solid collection of rare caliber" that "speaks volumes about the human condition and modern life in America." The Indian reviewer Vault of Books, now deceased, which had dismissed The Brotherhood as a B novel, were amazed at it, calling it a "a great collection of short stories" where "each and every story" "stands out" and "leaves an indelible impression on the mind."

The other indie reviewers also left no doubt this was an important work of American fiction. And yet, still, even after a major publicity tour, radio, TV, print interviews and article publications in HuffPost and Publishing Perspectives, no major reviewers (or publishers) picked it up, simply because of its self-published status.

Other than regular readers somewhat confounded by the contradiction of its low subject matter and high fallutin' self-lauded aims, most of the criticism came on one story, the last one and the original title tale, Dhan's Debut, mostly disappointed or puzzled with its ending. I wasn't surprised by this because I had struggled with the story myself upon composition, rewriting it several times from scratch. It also didn't fit as solidly with the grittiness of the other tales. I had two alternate endings too. I actually think the original ending, a more conventional one, worked better, but a good friend preferred the crazier ending, so I used that one. I realized I could always go back, but I've decided to preserve the published, controversial version for historical purposes.

In any case, now that you know some of the history, perhaps you will be even more intrigued to check out this dynamic work. As Readers' Favorite wrote at the beginning of its mostly praising review, "this book won't be for everyone," but if you're interesting in challenging your perspectives and leaving your inhibitions at its cover, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

And its anthology sequel, Bad Americans, is only a few months from being completed!

Tejas Desai October 2023