I finally started The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins and I am loving it. I am especially enjoying the contrast between how Snow and Katniss deal with hunger.
They are both constantly hungry, but Katniss is practical about it and has no shame in appearing starved. If she was in Snow's position, she would have torn out those roses and started growing something edible on the rooftop. She doesn't care at all if she's seen as crass for stuffing herself on the way to the Capital. But Snow is trying to maintain a veneer of gentility, and he thinks so hard about how to eat while trying not to appear hungry. He spends so much time analyzing social situations involving food and trying to manage his appearance within them.
He's much more similar to Peeta in that way than Katniss, Peeta is the one who can read a room and manipulate the crowds, Katniss can only be genuine. Snow comes off as a hero because he forces himself to do heroic acts, while Katniss does them naturally. I love that Collins was able to write such a similar and yet entirely different character in this prequel.
Along with Vanity Fair, some of the biggest surprises were:
I did not expect Elizabeth Gaskell's Ruth, a Victorian fallen-women novel, to be (overall) such a sweet, gentle story with such lovely atmosphere.
I did not expect that I would love reading a biography of St. Thomas Aquinas and grow to love the man as much as I did (though if anyone could pull that off, I should have expected that Chesterton could).
Charity and the Churlish Captain by Nina Clare seemed like a mindless Heyer pastiche with an annoying romance-novel heroine--and then it surprised me by giving her a surprisingly deep character arc as the characters have to learn how to deal with some pretty dark suffering.
8. Favorite new character
Ever since I finished Vanity Fair, there's a pretty good chance at any given moment that I'm thinking about Rawdon Crawley. I've long-wished Austen would have had the courage/ability to show a reformed rake, and this almost did that. His character arc was so lovely and meant so much to me. One scene of his story will forever haunt me, and I will forever wish he could have had a happier ending than he did.
1311 – The war of the O’Briens of Thomond escalates as the Norman-Irish become involved on both sides: the de Burghs support Dermot O’Brien and Richard de Clare supports Donough O’Brien. There is a pitched battle at Bunratty on this date, with heavy losses on both sides; de Burgh and others are imprisoned.
1648 – Truce between the confederates and Inchiquin; its adherents are excommunicated by…
Then came a long silence; and Madam was dead, and the Squire was dead; and Bridget’s heart was gnawed by anxiety, and she knew not whom to ask for news of her child. She could not write, and the Squire had managed her communication with her daughter. She walked off to Hurst; and got a good priest there - one whom she had known at Antwerp - to write for her. But no answer came. It was like crying into the awful stillness of night.
Elizabeth Clare Prophet - The Science Of Rhythm For The Mastery Of The Sacred Energies Of Life - Summit Lighthouse for Church Universal and Triumphant - 1978
Assuming my canon follows the source media itself, that "Do Not Stand By My Grave and Weep" poem.... yeah I see why people make so many comics relating to myself and Venti with that. - Nameless Bard (genshin impact)
(for those curious, it's Immortality by Clare Harner, though sometimes it's called by the first line. There's also a variation of it, called Do Not Stand By My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye.)
Finally, after a year of being stuck in development limbo, I can formally present my @hourglassstationacademy OC... Elizabeth! I had trouble figuring out his exact color palette and the details of his design, but I’m happy with this version~ I used a classic princess look that befits his inspiration with a few minor variations for spice. A better look at his actual body type will be under the cut!
As part of a cadet branch of the royal family, Elizabeth has lived in luxury throughout his years. While he appreciates all his status has given him, one thing remains unfulfilled - his drive for adventure. Elizabeth has sat on the sidelines long enough; enrolling in a school away from home is the first step in his grand quest! Although a bit out of touch sometimes, his curiosity knows no bounds.
Gender: Demigirl (He/him)
Age: 16
Birthday: March 14
Starsign: Pisces
Height: 170cm
Eye color: Ruby red, periwinkle gray
Hair color: Ash black Rose bud
Homeland: Queendom of Roses
Dorm: Pastrierie
School year: First
Class: 1-D (18)
Occupation: Student
Club: Literature Club
Best subject: Social Etiquette
Dominant hand: Left
Favorite food: Strawberry mint candy
Least favorite food: Dragon fruit
Dislikes: Staying still and being alone
Hobby: Going on escapades
Talents: Having things work themselves out in the end
friends break up, friends get married
strangers get born, strangers get buried
trends change, rumors fly through new skies
but i'm right where you left me.
i cause no harm, mind my business
if our love died young, i can't bear witness
and it's been so long...
you left me no choice but to stay here forever.