#his own autobiography bitching about

[fullcolorfright]

The Airship Norge's Flight Over the Arctic Ocean (1926, cinematography by Paul Berge, Norwegian) [available here]

[italian-lit-tournament]

Italian literature tournament - First round.

Propaganda in support of the authors is accepted, you can write it both in the tag if reblog the poll (explaining maybe that is propaganda and you want to see posted) or in the comments. Every few days it will be recollected and posted here under the cut.

The propaganda here are in order from left to right, first Carlo Gozzi and then Guid Cavalcanti

Carlo Gozzi propaganda by @girlboccaccio

Do you like theatre? Do you like opera? Are you interested in commedia dell'arte? Do you like fables with dubious morales, fairy tales with dark hidden meanings, plays inspired by 16th morally ambiguous short tales and The thousand and one nights? If yes you should take two second and vote for Carlo Gozzi (yeah the funky guy in b/w on the left). Without him we couldn't have masterpieces like Puccini's Turandot and The Love for Three Oranges by Sergei Prokofiev. He was a great admirer of spanish literature and theatre. He defended commedia dell'arte and funky plays when this manners of making theatre were dying. Immaculate yeah? He wrote an autobiography named Useless Memories, truly cunty, right? He was a rate A+ hater when he decided to start shitting against the king of the new modern way of writing theatre, Carlo Goldoni. He died in a Country that stopped existing in the last decade of his life (The Not So Serene Republic Of Venice) and lost all his friends in exile. He was the bitch of the venetian intellectual life. He was the bitch of the coolest italian actresses of the time. He was friend with Francesco Algarotti, the loveboy of Frederich the Great.

Fella, if you love the 18th century, you have only one choice in you hand: vote Carlo Gozzi.

Propaganda in favor of Guido Cavalcanti by @eresia-catara

May I add further propaganda for Guido: He's a noble, he disdains aristocrats, he was Florence's number one Server of Cunt, he was the city's faggot, he was heretical, he went on a random pilgrimage but interrupted it and managed to be buried in a church anyway, he had an archenemy who sent some men to murder him on said pilgrimage, he came back and tried to murder him back in plain daylight, he gave zero fucks about politics, he got exiled because he was considered a menace for the city. He SAW DANTE's poetical talent, encouraged it, shaped it, and through him the whole of italian literature. Think about it. Also they became besties until they evolved to a tormented psychosexual haunting dynamic (see break-up poem) where Dante himself actually exiled him. In the 13th century his poetry anticipates so many of the literary themes of the XXth century, going from fragmentation of the self (his is basically vivisection and dispersion of his parts), to dissociation from one's own mind and body, lack of identity, irony, desecration, his poetry is full of schizophrenic-like hallucinations, reading them is truly a trip, and yet his language is profoundly meoldic and sweet. And there's also gender-fuckery. and theater, of course, because his poems develop like a scene from a theater (adding layers to the dissociation). So really he has it all guys.

Guido Cavalcanti propaganda by @girldante

GUIDO CAVALCANTI PROPAGANDA ABBIAMO:

LA DISSOCIAZIONE SCHIZOFRENICA:

IL COMICO, IL SIMPATICO BURLONE, IL MEMATORE ANTE LITTERAM:

IL MACABRO, IL GORE, I SINTOMI™

IL BREAKUP TOSSICO PASSIVO AGGRESSIVO CON DANTE

in conclusione

[godihatethiswebsite]

Books Tag Game!

Tagged by @dragonnarrative-writes.

Point of order: I'm a picky bitch. The amount of books I've read vs the books I'd actually put on a bookshelf are like.... maybe 20, taking into account most of them are part of a series. Tho tbf most of the 'good books' I want aren't on KU and I'm kinda fucking broke. Also yes, the early days of booktok got me back into reading after a 10+ year slump in case that wasn't about to become insanely obvious.

1) The last book I read:

Fake It Till You Make It by Flora Quincy. Been on the hunt for more omegaverse books, but this one was terrible >< DNF'd.

2) A book I recommend:

I don't know how not to sound like a basic bitch broken record, but for the love of god go read A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas. Just stop after book three in the series.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout. Binged the first three books (that were out) in two days. Wish I could afford the rest.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

Hi. Basic bitch again :) A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas. You have no idea what this book meant to me the first time I read it and the strength it gave me to open my eyes and see that I was worth so much more.

5) A book on my TBR:

Currently there are about 28 of varying excitement to read (most of it is what I refer to as 'junk food'), but I've got an upcoming release in September for the fourth book in the Beasts of the Briar series by Elizabeth Helen called Broken By Daylight I'm looking forward to.

6) A book I’ve put down:

Exodus by Kate Stewart. I was prepared to put this series as one of my all time favorites with the way I felt falling in love with Sean and Dom, but after that... refused to read more. Genuinely devastated, still not over it. Haven't looked at rainy days the same ever since.

Also just because it still bothers me - House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas. What the fuck girl?! The first one was so good and I praise so much of your work! But it's like ever since ACOTAR book 4 came out you've just dropped the ball...

7) A book on my wish list:

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Hopefully it's better than some of the other dragon books I've tried recently.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

The Sight by David Clement-Davies. It's a fantasy book that follows a pack of wolves and their daughter who has visions. Have tissues on hand.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

Depends on the friend >>; We talking a cute hockey romance like Weak Side by SJ Sylvis... or is the freak flag flying with Shantel Tessier's The Sinner?

10) A fiction book you own:

Death: A Life by George Pendle. Not my usual fare, but it's a fun 'autobiography' about the grim reaper.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Does a high school yearbook count?

12) What are you currently reading:

Just cracked open Baby + the Late Night Howlers by Kathryn Moon, but I'm expecting to probably close it within the first few pages (seriously, my kingdom for a good omegaverse that I haven't already read 😭).

13) What are you planning on reading next?

God, idk. Most of the books on my list either cost money, aren't out yet, or are titles I know are most likely gonna be mid at best.

No pressure tags: @cosmicpro, @void-my-warranty, @all-purpose-dish-soap, @stuffireadandenjoy, and @rememberwren

[makethosenarratorsfight]

UNRELIABLE NARRATORS; SIDE A

Simon Snow Propaganda:

"BAZ ISN'T HERE, IT MEANS HE IS PLOTTING AGAINST ME, THIS GUY HATES MY GUTS AND WANTS ME DEAD, HE IS PLOTTING!!!!!" Meanwhile Baz has been kidnapped and the only thing keeping him sane is thinking about Simon Snow (because he's in love with him)

Dude spent 8 years sharing a dorm with his hot gay vampire roommate and was like “ah yea he’s so hot n sexy but NOT IN A GAY WAY HAHAHAHAAH i love women and i HATE this guy” cut to the vampires pov and he’s like “i fukcing love simon this stupid ass mouth breather i need to kill him my gay is becoming a problem” cut to them being enemies homoerotically as simon further deludes himself into thinking he hates his vamp roommate. Also when said roommate was missing from boarding school for 2 months Simon dedicated majority of his time trynna look for him and he was like “oOOoooOO HE’S PLOTTING I JEED TO FIND HIM” bitch ur gay accept it (he does clap for him)

Alcatraz Smedry Propaganda:

I think I'll start this propaganda section with a quote from the series's wiki about him: "It is difficult to get an accurate sense of Alcatraz's personality, as he intentionally alters how he portrays himself as a way to get the reader to hate him." Alcatraz is the narrator of his series chronicling his adventures against the evil librarians. In-universe, these books are presented as an autobiography. During the time he is writing them, he's viewed by the people he saved as a hero, and he wants these books to show how he isn't worthy of that title, and to show all the times he's failed and let people down. Throughout the course of the series, he will go off on completely irrelevant tangents, lie to the reader about important events, rewrite his and other character's dialogue to make himself sound lamer (or cooler, depending on how he's feeling), obfuscate the text in order to frustrate the reader, stop important scenes with his own commentary about the most random of subjects, and end on cliffhangers whenever he can. However, despite his best efforts, his books do indeed prove him to be witty, insightful, and caring. Sure he makes some mistakes, but his successes far outweigh his failures, and his unique writing style makes the story entertaining the whole way through. His books are a riot to read, and are pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on your face. And then you get to the end of book 5, the only time he is completely honest with the reader, and you experience the most depressing, gut-wrenching ending of any book I've ever read and finally see that every horrible thing he ever said about himself was true.

They are, in fact, not a fish.

[xxc4rt3rxx]

Okay Lestat and Louis are an unhealthy fucked up relationship. But something abt how Lestat can’t go twenty min in his own fucking autobiography without going “ Louis my bby my sweet little guy.Sure you lied abt me and I should hate you I mean … Louis💓💓💓💓💓”Something about how he so ready to become an enemy of all vampires just to draw him out ( and to be a messy bitch but you still)

[mibeau]

[Book Review] YOU’RE THAT BITCH: & OTHER CUTE LESSONS ABOUT BEING UNAPOLOGETICALLY YOURSELF (AUDIOBOOK) - Bretman Rock

SCORE: 4.0/5.0 . . My perspective may not be aligned with many parts of his lifestyle. But we have to admit that this multi-talented Bretman Rock is amazingly inspiring. Bak kata pepatah melayu, “Buang yang keruh, ambil yang jernih.” . So many truths he said can be offensive. But, him, being funny, cute, sassy, yet a kind of gentleman, is acceptable? Fair warning tho, be prepared with his language. Definitely, no kids are allowed! . I enjoyed the way he describe places and foods. This book is a well-delivered travelogue too. Haha. . We all live our own stories, yet we often do not know what to tell others. He is a natural storyteller. It is awesome how he structured his autobiography. It started with the highlights of his life to date. Followed by "extensive" discussions of the life events, by themes. All the struggles, how he deal with them and what can be done better. Due to this, there may be redundant phrases as we read on.

Family abuse is not okay. Hold yourself back from self-sabotaging. Be confident in your own skin. . He shared many tips and life hacks. One of my favourite discussions is on “How to stand up to your bullies” -- by being diplomatic, and compassionate. A great psychology trick. MashaAllah, great pep talk. . Being an iconic celebrity. How did post-famous affect him and transformed him better? The hardest part is to stay relevant and creative without losing our soul and mind. To handle fame, we must know our rights and adhere to our core principles. He also taught us what to consider in creating content and how to deal with criticism. . Learn to forgive yourself. Be a bad bitch but be kind. Yes, we need to adjust the pep talks values to our Islamic values. Overall, his advice covered everything, no matter where you at now in your life, inshaAllah.

One thing he shared that I love 3000: Whenever we feel lost in life, revisit our younger selves. We always plant seeds when we were young, reflect on those feelings, and don’t take things ever seriously. As we said in Islam - Tawakkal & Redha.

[rockingreads]

Miles Davis (w/ Quincy Troupe): Miles: The Autobiography (1989)

I read Miles Davis' autobiography too early ...

Much too early (the mid '90s, to be precise) in my tentative musical explorations beyond rock to fully appreciate the range of his musical endeavors and cultural impact, but I was keen to revisit it to mark the start of Black History Month.

Driven by a natural-born confidence, doggedness, even arrogance, to an affluent family (his father was a dentist), just north of St. Louis, Miles ascended to a protagonist's role in jazz history not long after moving to New York to study at Juilliard.

And though he was soon rubbing shoulders with many of the elder greats -- Dizzy, Bird (Miles' reminisces about him alone are worth the price of admission), etc. -- the restless, abrasive young trumpeter wasn't satisfied until he was assembling his own groups (one of his strongest suits) and leading sessions by his mid-twenties.

Not even a nasty heroin addiction was ultimately any match for Miles' indomitable will (after struggling for several years, he kicked it cold turkey at his family's farmhouse through "sheer meanness"), and little else would slow him down thereafter.

Moving through the '50s, '60s, and into the early '70s, Miles put his genius, intensity, and charisma toward pioneering a succession of styles (cool jazz, hard bop, modal, fusion, etc.), while employing and mentoring an unmatched number of musicians: John Coltrane, Paul Chambers, Gil Evans, Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin, etc., etc., etc.

A toxic blend of drugs, alcohol, and decadence forced Miles into semi-retirement in the late '70s, but he resumed sporadic recording, performing, and innovating in the '80s until his death in 1991, aged 65, and his influence obviously still looms large.

But beyond recounting an epic life story, co-author Quincy Troupe's biggest coup was capturing Miles' voice in all of its conflicting, often profane wisdom, pettiness, rancor, and occasional frailty, thereby addressing Davis' many human flaws (perhaps chief among them his poor treatment of women) as well as his achievements.

To echo critic Roy Lotz, "I picked up this book feeling curious, and put it down nearly obsessed with Miles," so as I delved into jazz after in the years that followed, I purchased as many Miles Davis records as I did of every other titan of the genre combined.

I suppose there are worse ways to wade into jazz's vast ocean ...

Featured Records:

Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (1970)

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue (1959)

Miles Davis: On the Corner (1972)

Buy from: Amazon

[elprupneerg]

(vague posting about a youtube video i just saw earlier but i don't wanna get into it with the creator or their other fans cuz i genuinely admire them and don't wanna be seen as a hater and also i'm sure the creator didn't mean anything bad by the video but i'm still pissed off and need to get this out somehow so here we are)

first: if you're gonna talk about a historical figure who spent their entire life crossdressing and wrote their own autobiography then maybe you should double check how that person referred to themself in the original language rather than just relying on what the translators decided to use. because translators (especially before trans people were more well known/respected by academia) may have gotten it wrong or mis-translated things, and also since english doesn't have every aspect of our grammar gendered the same way many other languages do we may not be able to read the person's self-professed gender as easily as someone reading the original words might.

second: queer people are not all angels. we can be petty ass bitches (what i'm doing right now), we can contribute to horrible things in this world (environmental issues and genocides and every form of bigotry under the sun), we can be mean and cruel to people around us (see every bit of intra-community fighting we've had since we started forming communities for ourselves).

that pettiness and cruelty and contribution to horrible things does not erase our right to be called the correct names, the correct pronouns, and the correct terms. i might not care for a certain olympic athlete's conservative politics, or a certain drag artist's ties with the fracking industry, or for the internalized bigotry a lot of people around me express cuz we're not perfect and still learning. but that doesn't make it ok to suddenly deny anyone the right to their name and expression

third: figuring out how to refer to historical people who express attitudes/behaviors that would today be seen as queer can be really tricky! i am not denying this! and trying to shove our words onto someone who isn't even alive to hear those words is uhhhhh Not Great. however, it is important to look at the words and attitudes someone has expressed and respect those. for example, if a person has spent a significant part of their life dressing as a man and living as a man and in the original text of their autobiography they use masculine grammar for themself and they only tell someone they're a "woman" because they were about to get executed and were hoping to avoid that and the last scene of their autobiography involves them threatening to beat up some people calling them a woman. Then Perhaps That Person Is Not A Woman And Using She/her Pronouns And His Birth Name Is A Little Bit Transphobic.

yes even if he was a conquistador jackass who traveled around getting into fights and contributing to the genocide of the americas. i do not support antonio de erauso's actions cuz he was a conman and an asshole and literally got a pension from the spanish government for his participation in a fucking genocide. but goddammit he was still most likely a dude and calling him by his birth name is gonna make me give you the stink eye.

[callmearcturus]

I'm bored and I'm obsessed with Process, so I'll elaborate.

Jim Butcher (author of the Dresden Files) The biggest negative example I know, TDF had this recurring issue where the author didn't seem Aware of what the implications of his own writing was and seemed baffled and even upset when people pointed them out. I learned about close third-person perspective from TDF and I learned the power of an Unreliable Narrator and the limitations of a narrator's knowledge. I learned how to leverage what the Audience knows vs what the Character knows. I learned a lot! Thanks Jim! Sorry your books suck!

Mark Z Danielewski (House of Leaves) I read House of Leaves in parts during the summer when my mother worked at Hastings Entertainment, this huge combination book-game-music-DVD store that didn't survive the shift to digital. HoL was the first thing I read that demanded so much of the reader and couldn't be read casually. I think I learned to trust myself to handle Weird Shit and also that there was an audience for Weird Shit.

Steven Moffat (Doctor Who, Sherlock) Negative example, but I learned that audiences can't just constantly be told something is cool over and over and over. Moffat's greatest failing is that he only cares about the myth arc. If you hand him a character without a legacy, I don't know what the fuck he'd even do. He has no patience for building a character up slowly to show that they are dangerous and powerful. He just says it and is like "trust me." You gotta show your fucking work.

Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear) /face in hands Metal Gear made me queer and pretentious. No, I... owe Kojima so fucking much, but I think the most I owe him is the idea that it's worth being overambitious and failing. Outside MGS2 and MGS3 and maybe DS, I don't know if any of his works truly succeed at the lofty goals he has for them. But it is worthwhile to try and fail and make a compromised artistic statement than to be a boring bitch. Be more queer and pretentious. Make pop culture that means something. And more than anything, Kojima taught me to make people uncomfortable. That is where growth happens. Thanks, Hideo.

Italo Calvino (Invisible Cities and If on a winter's night a traveler) My copy of Invisible Cities is covered in sticky notes for fast reference. I think Calvino taught me that you don't have to explain shit. There are emotional truths that become physical through the conviction of belief. I owe all of the Tradespeople concept to him.

Rachel Pollack (Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom) Archetypes. Symbology. A toolbox. Recurring images and their power. I have a Type and my Type is the Hanged Man. Also no matter how much there is an intended 'right' answer or interpretation, what is truly important is what you see instead. It'll always be more true.

Anne Carson (Autobiography of Red, the Sappho Translations, etc) The patterns repeat. The stories repeat. There is nothing new under the stars, but that doesn't mean its not worth telling. The lens matters. The words matter. Sometimes, you can kill someone with five words instead of seven.

Austin Walker (Waypoint, Friends at the Table) jesus fuck i owe Austin so much. Fuck 'good representation' if you have multiple instances of a group then no one person has to stand in for the whole. Make people messy. Analog is more satisfying than digital. All mech shows are about bodies. You can make it spiritual without it being religious. Utopia is a process, utopia is a process, the work will never be done but the work is good. When we don't see ourselves in the art around us, we will treat a famine like a feast and starve ourselves. Don't be afraid of a beautiful monologue. Make the voice distinct, make it count. People are vulgar and poetic.

Josh Sawyer (LOTS of games, esp Fallout New Vegas) Think about things! Build the world! Make it tactile, make the audience able to touch it and taste it. Come up with a weird idea and then stalk that idea for forty nights until you're in a new and weird place. Bring other people there.

sonnetstuck (Detective Pony) There is no such thing as Too Weird. There is no such thing as Too Deep. But have fun with it, for god's sake.

LightGetsIn (a lot of v good TDF fanfic) Literally one of the most important lessons I ever learned from a piece of fiction was from their fic Cross, and it was about the limited scope of character knowledge. I am obsessed with close third-person perspective. I write it almost exclusively. LGI taught me that every single character you write, each of them sees the world in a unique way. The language they would use, the details they would miss, how they interpret something that feels obvious to you. Make certain each character you write is truthful to how THEY would see the world and take care not to infused them with YOUR knowledge too much.

Kunihiko Ikuhara (Revolutionary Girl Utena) I'll never put it into words. The foundation was poured here.

Richard Siken (Crush, War of the Foxes) I don't know if I had words until Siken gave them to me. If you ever read a story of mine and go "wait, is that--" yes. The answer is yes. My copies of Crush and WotF are heavily dogeared and I rely on them to translate the world. I owe Siken so much.

Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor (Welcome to Night Vale) hahaha god. I learned self-respect. I learned to stop being afraid. I learned there were people like me. I learned a lot of technical tricks, the way to form sentences, how to make an audience see what you're not saying, how to write Theme-first. Fink and Cranor taught me words as talismans, and that's in SO MUCH of my work it's absurd. Invocation, baby. Everything you make says something, so make it good. Be fucking weird with it. Art is communication, so what do you want to say?

Pete Wentz (Fall Out Boy) /grins. I learned how to communicate between Artist and Audience. And that there are many forms of love, and one is how wonderful it is to have the key to someone's heart and still break the windows on your way in, just for fun. You're the antidote to everything except for me. Mythologize yourself. Be loud.

Christopher McQuarrie (Edge of Tomorrow, Mission Impossible 4-8) HOW THE FUCK DOES HE DO THAT? I'LL LET Y'ALL KNOW WHEN I FIGURE IT OUT.

my beloved mother tried to tease me about being into Tom Cruise and accidentally unlocked a TED Talk about McQuarrie and how he structures stories and what I'm trying to learn and decipher from him.

she mentioned it's funny that I never went to school for this stuff, which is fair tbh. I honestly have no idea if I got a BA or whatever in English if I would have been taught about all this. Alas, that was never in the cards, so I've built my own lesson plan over the years. I think it's gone p well.

I consider my teachers....

Richard Siken and Ann Carson

Austin Walker (god I owe him a Lot)

Italo Calvino

Mark Z Danielewski

Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor (but more the latter imo)

Jim Butcher (you can learn a lot from negative examples)

Steven Moffat (NEGATIVE EXAMPLES)

Josh Sawyer

Pete Wentz (tho not how you'd assume)

Hideo Kojima (SIGHS)

Kunihiko Ikuhara

sonnetstuck

and currently? Yeah, Chris McQuarrie

All of these are people I've learned something important from and that thumbprint is on my work. I like it. Synthesis is a fun art.

[herna-chan]

Fukurodani but make them

✨Hate each other✨

Akaashi Keiji aka physically okay/mentally fucked

You would think this man is okay. We all know that shit’s a lie.

Specifically exists just to be a brat

Being a mom really changed him

Onaga Wataru aka the “nice one”

Says he’s fine but be lying

He tries to be nice to them all but they tell him to shut up (he cries)

One day he gonna snap oh shit-

Washio Tatsuki aka why and how am I still here

He personally asks himself why he stays with them

They’re menaces to society he tells you

Screamed inside the storage room at least once

Komi Haruki aka should I care?

Bullshit be happening but he pretends not to see

You get called in by the cops, he would not send you bailout

would sell you out though

Yukie Shirofuku aka raging feminist

She probably has a Twitter no cap

You a man and you fuck up? “You’re just like your father”

Women ✨💕😩

Kaori Suzumeda aka “sounds like a you problem, luv”

You got a problem, do not ask this girl

Would not know what the fuck is going on half of the time

Also Women✨💕😩

Konoha Akinori aka 4K catcher™️

The man has seen enough shit in his life to write an autobiography about it

He says he’s better than Akaashi (he’s not, he’s worse)

Every since that faithful day, he would cry when walking into the showers.

Sarukui Yamato aka .w.

Would laugh at your anguish

He probably owns a dollar store camera just to catch some bullshit

Wears heels because “bopping people’s feet is fun :)”

And the captain that carries this wonderful team…

Bokuto Koutarou aka Dababy

Not like dababy but like he’s a little bitch 80% of the time

Probably cries himself to sleep

There’s always that one week during a month where he stops taking everyone’s shit and just goes off people (akaashistopfuckingdrooling-)

Oh yeah there’s Anahori Shuichi too

[bulletnotestudies]

Winter is here and it's time for our Winter Reading Challenge book recommendations ❆

for each prompt, we’re bringing 4 books into the spotlight, as well as giving you some additional recs because we simply couldn’t settle for just four great reads!

Investigations of a Dog by Franz Kafka

'If I think about it, and I have the time and inclination and capacity to do so, we dogs are an odd lot.' How does a dog see the world? How do any of us? In this playful and enigmatic story of a canine philosopher, Kafka explores the limits of knowledge.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

A science fiction short story about a family that has trouble with their technologically advanced house. As the parents are getting more worried about the nursery - a virtual reality room- their children are getting more and more attached to it. (blurb by our wonderful @fluencylevelfrench)

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

A collection of essays by John Green, in which he reviews select topics from the human-centered anthropocene on a five star scale, connecting each of them to his own life as a sort of autobiography. (blurb by our amazing @tungumalaast)

In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

Tanizaki offers an ode to Japanese aestheticism. A stream of thoughts with elegant prose, jumping from architecture to dinner plates, from busy streets to dark alcoves, from black lacquer to bright eyes, redefining the beauty of shadows. (blurb by our brilliant @smallfrenchstudyblr)

ADDITIONAL RECS BELOW THE CUT:

The Cask of Amontillado (Edgar Allan Poe)

The Turn of the Screw (Henry James)

The Sadeian Woman (Angela Carter)

The Birds (Daphne Du Maurier)

The Breakthrough (Daphne Du Maurier)

Empress Of Salt And Fortune (Nghi Vo)

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference (Greta Thunberg)

Whose Story is This (Rebecca Solnit)

Bitch Doctrine (Laurie Penny)

[miniimapp]

Every Hero Needs a Sidekick - Robaire

Gen ;; Action + Romance (Enemies to Lovers??) - Story

Warnings ;; Violence + Mention of Weapons (Guns)

Proofread + Edited ;; Absolutely not mate, have you seen any of my writing before ??

Word Count ;; Guess bitch lmao

Auth. Note ;; WELCOME TO DAY 13 OF THE 4*TOWN CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN !! Post 2 of the day lmao

I'm thinking this might be a new hero based au :DD

Enjoy !! <3

✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈«

You've learned two very important things since your being hired by the hero corporation: patience is a virtue and being a sidekick fucking sucks. Here, crouched behind a bunch of crates crowded near the entrance of the warehouse you could potentially die in tonight, is where you decided to analyse the choices that lead you to this moment.

As one of the corporation sidekicks you don't really have a set hero that you work with, you've worked with many though you do have the ones that crop up more often than most. One being the leader of world-famous hero group 4*TOWN.. Ro.

Look, you're not saying you deserve world fame, or even want it, but it's funny that you're the one running around, kicking ass while he barks commands at you and does next to nothing. Okay, well, he does actually do a fair bit, but still! At the very least you're doing the same amount of work and yet he gets fame and admirers and a shit ton of money and you get nothing? Not even a thank you half of the time? No one even remembers your name yet they can remember these guys entire autobiography because?

All you're saying is if the corporation has enough money to give 4*TOWN their own penthouse office then they have enough to give you a liveable wage.

Speaking of money, you hope they have a slightly heftier paycheck waiting for you when you get back after this mission. It's probably the most dangerous one you've been on yet and you've been lobbed in with Ro so the least they can do is pay you properly for your time.

It's a pipe dream, of course, but it keeps you going.

"Focus, mon amour. If we fail this mission you know what will happen.."

A scowl forces its way onto your face before you're even able to register it and you begin to grumble under your breath, "Yeah, I'll get all the blame and you'll still get praised no matter what.."

You sigh and force yourself to concentrate on the mission, saving your frustration for later.

Suddenly, words start flowing out of your ear-piece and into your ear giving you both a multitude of instructions, "Make sure keep out of sight you two, this is a stealth mission above all else. If you're seen you'll have to take down everyone in there and that's a death certificate waiting to happen. Be careful and we'll see you back at headquarters soon." You hear a click in your ear signalling that the line has closed.. so much for a fucking guide..

"Hear that, be extra careful because this is a stealth mission. Wouldn't want you messing things up after all."

In an attempt to centre yourself once again, you pinch the bridge of your nose and take a couple of deep breaths. God, why were you paired with this motherfucker..

"Being a sidekick has never been more annoying than right now.."

Ro hummed, "What was that?"

You quickly shook your head, "Nothing. Let's go, shall we?"

Ro smirks at you, "I thought you'd never ask."

Huffing out a sigh, you stand up from your crouched position and make your way towards the warehouse. With a short hum you reach for your utility belt, patting around for your grappling hook. See, while you had teleportation as you gift you weren't fond of using unless necessary, too much jumping caused nosebleeds and 12 hours naps. Not ideal.

Annoyingly enough, Ro doesn't seem to share your less than ideal side effects, being able to change his voice to mimic anyone or anything without so much as a sore throat afterward. If you were being honest, you have to admit that his perfect, amazingly strong powers do indeed piss you off, but you're not honest, not about this. Insecurities are dangerous on the field, an unreliable variable that can easily be turned against you just as much as it can encourage you.

You aim and shoot your grappling hook with practiced ease, soon feeling the sudden weightlessness of being pulled into the air. You note Ro following suit, just a second behind you, and continue forward, pulling yourself up onto the warehouse roof and looking around for an opening.

You practically tiptoe over to the warehouse's skylights, contemplating how much force you'd have to put into prying it open. Not much apparently, seeing as Ro brushes past you and slams as much force as he could into the skylight frame with a hammer he got from god knows where with all the stealth of a bull in a china shop.

Let it be known that you'd asked to take this as a solo mission before anyone gets too caught up in blaming you.. god, pay is going to be grim this week..

Obviously the people milling about inside the warehouse notice your.. entrance and, evidently, they're not happy about. At least, this is what you gather after being pushed through the hole Ro created in the ceiling and then immediately cowering away from the shit show that starts up.

Apparently, no one thought to warn that going out on a mission with Ro would leave you in the middle of open fire. Seriously, did no one think about this beforehand? Because a warning would've been nice, just saying..

No time to lament over the thoughts of your agency, unless you want them to be your last it seems. After a bullet skims the side of your face you throw yourself behind a unit packed with boxes upon boxes of what looks to be a gold dust of sorts. Not your problem either way, all you need to do is detain any villains, report to your bosses and then watch a "real hero" get all the praise. No, you're not bitter, shut up, you're just a little tired of being cast aside is all.

You press on your ear com and word vomit to whoever on the other end of the line, "Listen, I think we need emergency backup because we've got all hell breaking loose over here."

"Afraid we can't assist you at the moment, our hands are full until further notice. Keep us updated and stay safe." The line clicks closed once again and you're left reeling.

What in the ever-loving fuck could they possibly be doing that they can't spare one person?

"Mon amour, I need some help over here. I'm surrounded."

You let out a silent groan and teleport yourself back up to the hole in the roof so you can look over the whole warehouse. Clutching at your chest in in attempt attempt steady yourself, your eyes dart around, searching for some sign of Ro before finally locking on to his location. He wasn't wrong, he's completely surrounded and looking worse for wear. Better get stuck in before things somehow go even worse for the two of you.

You will yourself behind a guy to Ro's right, foot flying into the back of his knee as you tackle him to the ground. You quickly knock him out before dodging out of the way of an attack.. this is why you hate doing stealth missions with other people, they always seem to end up in a brawl.

Throwing yourself from person to person, from fight to fight, you lose track of Ro and, despite your complaints, you find yourself hoping he's okay.

As the number of lining up to fight you begins to thin you start look around for him, eventually spotting him behind you to your left. He catches you eye and winks at you as he punches the final minion attempting to get a hit. You scoff and roll your eyes as you duck under a shoddy swing from your current opponent and sweep their feet from under them.

"All done?"

You turn to the source of the voice: Ro. Hes smirking a little but its clear he's exhausted and in a fair bit of pain if the clear favouring of leaning on his right side compared to his left is anything to go by.

"Sure am, you?"

"As you can see, I have risen above all the things sent to try me."

You stare at him blankly before sharply turning and brushing last him and the many unconscious bodies that lay around your feet.

"What did we need to grab again."

You turn and glower at him as he takes an obnoxiously long time pondering before shrugging, "I think they just wanted a report on the situation."

Your eyes widen before narrowing at him, " You mean to tell me that this whole things was practically for nothing?"

Ro at least seems to have the decency to wince, "Not completely, I sure had a good time sharing this bonding experience with you."

You laugh humourlessly at his words, "I can't believe I was worried about you. I somehow forgot how much I despise you.”

You notice Ro's fave brighten just a little before he smirks at you, "I don't think you ever truly despised me, did you? Think wisely before answering, mon chéri, you don't want to go breaking my heart now, do you?"

"Don't push it, Ro."

"At least admit that you like me now, mon amour!"

"..I tolerate you."

"I'll take it!"

You huff and shake your head, using the movement to hide the smile sneaking its way across your face.

"Let's just go back to headquarters."

Ro smiles and dramatically waves a hand gesturing in the direction of what you both assume to be the exit, "But of course, mon chèri. After you."

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Praying that this isn't too shit,, not really used to writing like this,, kinda miss my headcanons but oh well lmao Hope you enjoyed !! <3

[ziracona]

You guys are terrible people!!! He ruined my life and broke my heart first yes by stealing my crush and cutting me out of the book deal for a book I had the idea for and was co-writing, but then his life fell apart!!! He was homeless and broke and his boyfriend dumped him and rebounded to me despite having been one of the 2 people who convinced him to cut me out in the first place, I invite the man to our wedding less than a year after he’s been dumped, and he fights for his life to make it across the country in time. Only to find out I’m the one marying his ex and I got a book deal with his ex publisher after he got dumped despite the fact said ex publisher was the /other/ person who convinced him to cut me out and ruin my life. He’s living on the street. We go to vegas and my drunk ass loses 10,000 dollars and he gets lucky and makes the first money his homeless ass has had since his life fell apart, but he finds me about to get shot over a gambling debt and literally buys my life for me because we used to be best friends and loses everything, he doesn’t object to the wedding, and he writes an autobiographical novel about the experience to try and salvage his dying career. His ex publisher refuses to publish despite their contract bc he doesn’t like him and finds him unmarketable with the number of publishing world enemies he’s made, and convinces me I should publish it under my name. He protests at losing his reputation and chance at a career and having me publish his autobiography as if it’s about me, and points out he saved my life and I’m stabbing him in the back here, but gives in after being strong armed and sings a settlement for it because he doesn’t want to be homeless. I am plagued by nightmares and guilt over this and it wasn’t my idea, but I still did it to him. He ruined my life first, but not to this degree, and he literally saved mine after. Now I’m going on a book tour about this book he wrote about his life, getting famous and loved over it, and he wants me dead for stealing the love of his life, his career, and his life story, he’s gone insane with betrayal and grief after trying as hard as a bitch can to atone for his own mistakes, and you want me to SHOOT him??? Like I get it homicide is extreme but he’s like, /destroyed/. He needs help. SHOOT HIM? For THIS???? I will jump off a roof first: NO.

So I’m playing Sometimes Always Monsters-

[noxiousaffection]

dol school love interests + wren and alex and what i think their favorite childhood series would have been

Robin: Magic Tree House

A Series of Unfortunate Events was a good contender, but it just hit too close to home. Don’t get them wrong, the books were good, but if they wanted to read about a miserable orphan coping with a shitty caretaker, they’d just write an autobiography.

Thoroughly read through every single book in the series, not just once or twice, but eight times. They could probably recite whole passages from memory. Orphans, especially under Bailey’s care, aren’t afforded entertainment, thus find ways to dissociate from their miserable existence busy their minds. Robin would have lost it years ago without these books.

It was pure chance that they discovered this particular series. Specifically, they selected a book at random from their middle school library, which also just so happensd to be the first of the series.

Whitney: Harry Potter

Now this may come to as a surprise, but Whitney is a diehard Harry Potter fan. I can feel it in my bones. However, let’s make one thing clear, this is not, nor will ever be, common knowledge. Even juvenile Whitney had a reputation to uphold, even if that reputation was just of him being an insufferable, half-pint delinquent.

Owns an abundance of merch, none of which they openly display. As if they’re into that bippity boppity boo bullshit, they’re not a nerd. Shut up before they make you. Now, if you were to somehow find your way into their closet, you may that it stores anything but clothes.

Vehemently loathes the golden trio, Harry Potter himself more specifically. Any clown foolish enough to express fondness for that assfuck orphan, his brain dead dog, and the know-it-all bitch within Whitney’s ear shot shall find themself befallen a great travesty.

Kylar: Warrior Cats

Talk about a fanatic; this is no mere phase, it’s a life long commitment. When you enter a relationship with Kylar, you also enter a non-negotiable relationship with their precious books. Has been attached to this series since primary school and will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Randomly makes various cat noises. (i.e. hisses at people who get too close to you, meows for your attention, purrs when you give them affection, etc.) Do it back. Seriously, do it. Instantly turns them on.

Unironically calls you their mate.

Please roleplay with them. Please.

Somehow always got a hold of every book before release. Their parents aren’t afraid to abuse their power for their precious baby.

Has not and will not ever read a single page of Erin Hunter’s spin-off series Survivor. Canines are the enemy; they’re no traitor.

Sydney: Dear America

Honestly, I remember very little about these books, but if what little memory remains stand to be true, then I just know little Sydney was obsessed. Outside of the temple, their passion for these historical works of fiction remains unparalleled even to this day.

For as long as they’ve been a library assistant, the series never seems to be available to be checked out. Sydney denies all allegations.

Owns a hardback copy of every single book, spin-offs included.

Wren: Goosebumps

In truth, Wren isn’t much of a reader (never having finished even a single book outside of school), but these books hold a special place in their heart.

Each book is the perfect length for this young smuggler’s near nonexistent attention span; a reliable source for those short bursts of dopamine they crave.

It’s not that they don’t like reading, per say, just that they’re dyslexic. Reading becomes a chore when you’re chasing words down on a page.

Their favorite books of all time would have to be Go Eat Worms and The Egg Monster From Mars. I have no good explanations for these, just vibes and a dash of projection.

Alex: Captain Underpants

I’m not quite sure how they first got a hold of the series, but they were hooked almost instantaneously. Their parents were more than happy to fund their latest fascination.

They hate reading, but they can get behind comics. They much prefer pictures to words and comics are chock-full of pictures.

If given the chance, I imagine they would have enjoyed Diary of A Wimpy Kid just as much.

Nowadays, the only thing Alex reads is the shampoo bottle label when they’re taking a shit.

[ribcagecarnival]

NO. 7 (ON VILLAINY)

2021 may have begun with Olivia Rodrigo controlling the narrative, but it may very well end with Joshua Bassett at the wheel.

I’ll put the usual disclaimers--I don’t know any of these children personally, and I don’t know what actually went down behind the scenes at the turn of the last decade when a supposed love triangle supposedly fractured the hearts and egos of all involved and led to some midlevel Internet drama which ultimately took a backseat to the genuine article--Sour, the 18-year-old Rodrigo’s record-shattering debut LP. In case you missed it: Rodrigo and Bassett started dating in secret while playing an onscreen couple in a Disney+ High School Musical spinoff, Bassett broke up with Rodrigo because of their age difference - he’s almost 21 - and in a suspiciously short amount of time began dating and cutely posting with 22-year-old Sabrina Carpenter, another artist and Disney alum. Teenage digital sleuths searched for Easter eggs in the style of Rodrigo’s biggest influence, Taylor Swift, while I became consumed with the parallel’s between Rodrigo’s experience and my own--feeling disproportionately large affection for men who can never reciprocate, drowning in insecurity over the Eurocentric beauty standard that makes being cast aside in favor of a fair-skinned blonde take on an extra sharp edge, splashing the thinly veiled narrative of my heartbreak across the web. That, instead of the logistics and timeline of the real people involved, was my Met Gala.

The culture-defining “drivers license” was Sour’s lead single, and its chokehold on the popular imagination has persisted even though it dropped way back in January. Perhaps the only narrative powerful enough to displace was the tale at the center of Taylor Swift’s Red rerelease, the storied ten-minute (and explicit!) version of “All Too Well” that did its own record-breaking and spawned an endless scroll of TikTok speculation about what the scarf really means and what Jake Gyllenhaal’s publicist must be doing right now. Again, I’m less concerned with what actually happened--it’s none of my business anyway--and more with what it means for every young woman who’s ever fallen for a withholding, condescending older guy. (Admittedly though I’m concerned with the scarf. I totally thought the scarf was a metaphor. Apparently it’s a real scarf and he actually stole it AND THEN WORE IT? AND WAS PHOTOGRAPHED IN IT? Dude. Major party foul.)

It’s worth noting that Taylor Swift, like many songwriters of her ilk of all genders, has dated fewer songwriters than non-songwriters. Even though John Mayer famously used “Paper Doll” as a late retort to “Dear John,” there are few examples of musical rebuttal to the Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe. Frankly, I don’t have strong feelings about that either way. While I’m ravenous for “Style (Taylor’s Version) (feat. Harry Styles),” I will be able to go on living if it doesn’t happen. I’ve come to expect that musical explorations of relationships will flatten and distort the facts; I accept them as autofiction rather than pure autobiography; I listen knowing I will never understand the story that inspired it completely.

Enter Joshua Bassett, on the precipice of dropping a three-song EP that seems to be the auditory equivalent of a “reply all.”

Bassett has been teasing each of the three tracks on TikTok; the first one I saw opened with the line “my label said to never waste a crisis.” Clearly he’s going for directness. The songs seem to tackle hate, regret, defiance, fear--it’s a sort of anti-apoplexy, choosing to write instead of fight or fly. It’s apparent that he wants to have this conversation on his own terms. When Saturday Night Live spoofed “drivers license,” Bassett took the sharpest line at his own expense and turned it into merch (if you look up “my bitch ex Gina is Joshua Bassett,” a link to a long-sleeve bearing the slogan on his website appears). But aside from that admittedly hilarious marketing move, and posting vague messages of support about Rodrigo’s success, he’s remained quiet. His own release earlier this year didn’t seem related to Rodrigo’s aside from timing, and his public persona has been more about Harry Styles than his relationship status. Sabrina Carpenter, the “blonde girl,” released her own confusing addition to the chaos with “Skin,” which, in addition to being bizarrely braggadocious, lacked the precision and pathos of Rodrigo’s work. But now, Joshua Bassett has decided it’s his time to speak.

Bassett is much harder to paint as a villain than Gyllenhaal. The main reason is that the couple split apart on Rodrigo’s Sour is comprised of two young people, whereas the narrative on Red is about an older man who should have known better than to get involved with a girl who was newly 21. Additionally, Sour seems to traffic in gray areas--“you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor,” “and I just can’t imagine how you could be so okay now that I’m gone,” “I guess the therapist I found for you, she really helped.” Compare that, then, with the details unraveled by the ten-minute version of “All Too Well” - “I’ll get older but your lovers stay my age,” “you call me up again just to break me like a promise,” “any time now, he’s gonna say it’s love, you never called it what it was.” In my view, part of the enjoyment of Sour was how much pain you can feel even if the other person isn’t an outright villain. It’s about how there is no way good or fair way to break someone’s heart, how seeing your ex with someone new can sting no matter how much time passes. What’s compelling, then, is Bassett writing his half of the story, grappling with the guilt of breaking the heart of someone he genuinely cared for, the limits of grace when you, too, are a child trying to love and be loved, and the world is hell-bent on calling you the problem. Admittedly, I thought back to a failed almost-relationship of my own, when my subtweets about the grief wounded the person who left me. Time has passed and we are friends and we both finally see each other for who we are--not egomaniacs, not dreams or ideals, but people.

I don’t know what I’ll ultimately think of the new Joshua Bassett project. But I think its entry into the cultural zeitgeist will force a conversation about relationships that we’ve been unable to have. For so long, people--largely women--were manipulated, abused, and broken by traumatic relationships, and the people carrying out that abuse were left unchecked. With the #MeToo movement, it has become a lot harder to dispute the pain caused by those kinds of relationships. But now the collective consciousness is failing to imagine anything beyond the binary of abuse vs. not abuse, criminal vs. legal. There is pain outside of trauma; there is trauma at scale; there is regret and there is harm and there is heartbreak. Maybe, just maybe, one day we will have room in our hearts and our culture for people to fall and to fail and then, eventually, to try again. 

[csykora]

hi! i'm sorry to bother you, i was wondering if you could rec a few books on the russian 5 / soviet hockey in general? language does not matter, english or russian is fine (pref. english so i can throw them at friends but either work). your posts are the best thing on this site.

Thank you, that’s a great question! I go back to first-person accounts for stories about the players themselves and use a lot of non-book materials for facts like tournaments and statistics, so most of the these will be autobiographies, but there are a couple more general books too.

Please let me know which if any of them you read and what you and your friends think!

I'd recommend anybody start with Igor Larionov’s 1990 book, “Larionov” (originally written in English, but I believe also available in Russian).

It’s a fast read (150 pages). You can dive in, spend an hour with your new best friend Igor in the bathroom at a party listening to him spilling his feelings and relationship drama, and get up to speed on what/who you need to know.

Igor at that age is funny, insecure, over the top, and telling (sometimes on purpose, sometimes not) about his pain. There are bits that might make you want to hold up a finger and ask if he’s sure a conversation went down like that or if maybe his friends remember some things differently--those are some of the bits that made me look for more books.

He writes more on the psychological weight of his experiences, but does discuss some of the physical abuses (more of that is in Fetisov’s book, which I’ll get to below.) It’s one of the most intimate portraits of Viktor Tikhonov—Larionov admits to taking notes on his coach just like his coach did on him. In that sense, it is radically different than the books and articles I’ve read by North Americans.

(Note that he talks about disordered eating, from the perspective of someone who at that time believed this was positive. The passages where he describes his own and his teammates’ diets can be difficult to read. Consider reading Alyonka Larionova’s essay in the Athletic after; it’s not an easy read either, but I found it reminded me there’s the possibility of change and healng even for older people from generational trauma.)

Then try either:

Home Game, Ken Dryden, 1989 (English), the chapter “No Final Victories”

A lot of Canadian men have read Ken Dryden books and thought, ’if I’m looking down anyway, why not navel-gaze about the meaning of life and measure my dick?’ This is, I think, not his fault. He’s writing from a very Canadian perspective, but he’s quite good at writing about that perspective and its gaps.

In this chapter he talks about what Canadian players or the public thought they knew about the Soviets between the 70s and ’89. It lays out a thorough, engaging play-by-play of how Larionov, Fetisov, and others worked toward leaving, and is a nice balance for the raw Igor experience.

This is one of the most popular all-time hockey books, so it’s worth looking for it in your library if you want to just read that chapter.

or

The Russian Five, Keith Gave, 2018, about 300 pages

I like the heart behind this book. There’s good information in it. Keith Gave wrote short, quick, newspaper and radio sports-news for 15 years—he has a deep knowledge of the Red Wings not just on the ice but as an organization, a very interesting personal adventure story, and a sort of eagerness to understand and empathize with the Russian players.

It’s his first time doing historical research or writing a book, so I do think he has trouble telling the things you need to know in the order you need to know them in order to care about them, if you don’t already have a good sense of the timeline.

Hard to find but keep an eye out for:

The Red Machine, Lawrence Martin, 1990

A much longer discussion of Soviet hockey focused on the national team from the early twentieth century to 1989. Has more context, vignettes, and details on the backstory of the ’70s/early 80s team and life at the Soviet training compound than many other books in English.

It’s widely cited by other books but it’s out of print and a bit rare—I think I might have just bought the only copy that was up for sale this year, so I’ll post about it in more detail when I can!

Russian options:

Овертайм, Slava Fetisov, 1998, reprinted in 2016 (Russian), about 400 pages

This is where the really rough details are. Fetisov writes about his childhood, life in CSKA, and leaving. He mostly talks about his own life, rather than saying much about other players, but includes lots of little details about daily life and how it was intertwined with his friends. He has time to get a lot more detailed about the physical strain of training than Larionov’s book, including injuries, players who died in training, the deaths of his brother and injury of Konstantiov in car accidents, and the corporal punishments and other violence, including the time he alleges Tikhonov arranged to have him tortured by police.

I think his writing is very evocative and enjoyable to read, so that helps, at least.

(It’s a bit hard to find, but if you have access to a Russian library or second-hand store, keep an eye out. It was re-released as part of a series in 2016, which is after he talked with Alexei Kasatonov and became official BFFs again, so I don’t know if the text was updated at that point.)

Tretiak: the Legend, Vladislav Tretiak, 1987 (originally written in Russian, but widely available in English!)

This one’s very interesting to think about the psychology/culture of Soviet players. Tretiak writes heartbreakingly about his own personal experiences, especially his relationships with older players and his relief at retirement. But there are also a lot of ‘missing’ details that probably reflect how he wrote it before Larionov publicly discredited the system—he only writes quite vague positive things about Coach Tikhonov, which are completely different from how he speaks now.

Хоккей в моем сердце, Boris Mikhailov, reprinted 2016 (Russian)

I will never come up with a book title as good as Boris Mikhailov’s ‘Hockey In My Heart’.

Mikhailov is very witty and sharp. While he doesn’t tend to talk about the details of his conflicts with Tikhonov, he has great little stories about lots of the people in Soviet hockey. He also played and coached in St. Petersburg and smaller regions as well as Moscow, so he has some interesting information on the contrasts.

Viktor Tikhonov: Life in the name of hockey by Tatiana Tikhonova

Sasha Mogilny once commented that the only people who could stand Tikhonov were his wife and his dog, “and I don’t know how they do.” Would you like to read his wife’s book of pictures of him with the dog? Would you like to read about how she thinks Tatiana Mikhailova is a bitch, which immediately makes Mikhailova seem cool as hell? Try this book.

Xрустальные люди/ Crystal People, Stanislav Gridasov

A detailed portrait of the hockey community in Saratov (where the young Boris Mikhailov played before CSKA). Completely different than the rich Moscow system, it seems like a great counterpoint, showing the regional tensions in the Soviet Union. I was just recently tipped off to this, but you can find excerpts of in English in Bruce Berglund’s new 2020 book The Fastest Game in the World: Hockey and the Globalization of Sports, which itself looks pretty good.