#literally the best book in the entire universe methinks

[birds-and-boys]

Adolescent Identity in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

         The Young Adult genre of literature has witnessed quite the popularity boom since the turn of the 21st century. As more teenagers find themselves fascinated with reading about characters that share similarities to them, more authors are finding ways to create accurate representation of diverse communities (Warrior Cats is a whole different story). Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a novel centered around two queer Mexican American teenagers navigating the world around them while simultaneously trying to understand who they are. The story highlights the significance of identity in the psychological development of adolescents, illustrated through nationality, sexual orientation, and gender roles.

           The top row of photos follows the idea of adolescent development. The photo in the top left shows a starry night in the desert, a picturesque scene that Ari enjoyed viewing quite often. Anytime he wanted to clear his mind, the stars would provide an escape. This represents Ari’s psychological development of his independence. He goes out of his way to ensure his autonomy, often jokingly referring to his mother as a fascist. Driving out to the desert and staring at the sky was method of self-reliance he could always depend on. As Laurence Steinberg and Susan B. Silverberg found in their study, The Vicissitudes of Autonomy in Early Adolescence, “Studies in the development of self-reliance… indicate that this aspect of autonomy increases steadily as youngsters move from the preadolescent to the late adolescent years” (p. 843). Saenz wrote Ari as a young boy fascinated with having a life that was his own to live, which is a very common pattern of thinking and behaving for teenagers. The picture in the top right is indicative of this development too, representing Ari’s use of silence as a coping mechanism. In one of his first conversations with Dante after the surgery, Ari says “Rule number one: We won’t talk about the accident. Not Ever” (p. 128). Ari chose to let the traumatic car accident live and fester inside him, reverting to silence in order to get by. Later in the story, we see a continuation of his development as he begins to open up more, eventually coming to terms with his identity and love for Dante. The center photo in the first row illustrates Ari’s constant questioning of masculinity and what ‘makes’ a man. This is evident in one of the earlier scenes in the story, when Ari overhears boys at the public pool make misogynistic comments about a woman lifeguard on duty. Gee, Allen, and Clinton found in their study, Language, Class, and Identity: Teenager Fashioning Themselves Through Language, that not only is language incredibly significant for adolescent development, but the language certain teens use is associated with the ‘type’ of person they are, much like how Ari feels as though the boys at the pool are a different ‘type’ of masculine.

           The second row of photos revolves around Ari’s identity-forming through the people around him. The first photo in particular represents Ari and Dante’s Mexican American nationality. Ari seems to rarely question ‘how Mexican he is’, while Dante, on the other hand, actively tries to distance himself from his heritage. His fluency in Spanish and his understanding of Mexican culture is limited compared to Ari’s. Adolescent development does not only consist of forming an identity we like, but it also includes pushing out the parts of us we are unfamiliar or uncomfortable with. This conclusion is also reached in the third photo. This represents Ari’s imprisoned older brother who he knows little about for most his adolescence. While Ari wishes that he had been a more present figure in his life, he also knows that he does not want to go down the same path. His own identity conflicts for a moment: his love for Dante versus his brother’s crime against a transgender woman. The center photo depicts the activities that Ari and Dante’s parents – or more specifically, fathers – partake in together. It symbolizes the differences between the two. Ari’s father is reserved and stoic, while Dante’s is talkative and doting. Ari constantly compares the two as he tries to navigate the choppy waters of masculinity. Saenz writes, “I wondered what that would be like, to walk into a room and kiss my father” (p. 26). Ari is confronted with two contrasting versions of fatherly love and affection, and throughout the story we see him figure out his tolerated level of affection and silence from father figures.

           The third row of photos highlights the part of Ari’s identity that focuses on sexual orientation and softness. The first photo represents his mother, who kept in constant communication with her sister, even after the rest of the family shunned her for being lesbian. The audience can tell that finding out about this has a significant impact on Ari. It simultaneously encourages and discourages him to come out. While he can be comforted with the notion that his parents would accept him, he was reminded of the way queer people were treated, not just by strangers, but also by family. The second photo represents one of the largest plot points of the story: Ari and Dante falling in love, or rather, falling in love and coming to terms with it. While Ari’s affection is obvious for the audience, it isn’t until the final pages when he himself understands that he likes Dante. Dante himself isn’t without his own struggles, he admits to Ari that he’s worried his parents won’t be happy about his identity because he wouldn’t be able to give them biological grandchildren. Angel Daniel Matos describes this phenomenon is his article, “A Narrative of a Future Past”, pointing out that “Because of this blame placed on queer people and communities, the engagement in practices that pressure reproductive logics is framed as non-normative…” (p. 35). Dante is not alone in his feelings of guilt, as Saenz likely understood from being gay himself. The last photo represents Ari’s initial uneasiness with crying and emotion. While he chalks it up to feeling emasculating, it seems to stem deeper than that. He likely associates a lack of masculinity with being queer and is in denial of both things. Dante, on the other hand, cries often and a lot. He is unashamed about showing emotion and it sometimes proved to be unnerving for Ari.

           This novel contains healthy representation for queer and Latinx teenagers, while also accurately following the psychological development of identities amongst adolescents. This book was released around the time that most of my peers were coming to terms with their sexualities. I’ve had multiple conversations with Latinx queer friends, with some telling me that this story helped them accept their identity. This narrative is important, it provides young teenagers the reminder that growing up isn’t easy and self-discovery won’t be as magical as people say it will be, but when you allow yourself to love wholeheartedly, you become free. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe shows that there’s a lot more to the identity-forming of teenagers that can conflict and tangle together but gives hope that it can all come together in the end.

________________________________________________________________

References

Gee, James Paul, et al. “Language, Class, and Identity: Teenagers Fashioning Themselves Through Language.” Linguistics and Education, vol. 12, no. 2, 2001, pp. 175–194., doi:10.1016/s0898-5898(00)00045-0.

Matos, Angel Daniel. “A Narrative of a Future Past: Historical Authenticity, Ethics, and Queer Latinx Futurity in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.” Children's Literature, vol. 47, no. 1, 2019, pp. 30–56., doi:10.1353/chl.2019.0003.

Sáenz Benjamin Alire. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2012.

Steinberg, Laurence, and Susan B. Silverberg. “The Vicissitudes of Autonomy in Early Adolescence.” Child Development, vol. 57, no. 4, 1986, p. 841., doi:10.2307/1130361.

[bigskydreaming]

what are your favorite and least favorite tropes in fanfiction regarding dick grayson?

Most of these I feel are probably a given with me given that I am apparently physically incapable of being subtle and am donating my body to science upon my demise so that this phenomenon may be studied. For Science.

(But also like, the funny thing about me is as much as I rant about a few specific topics its only so frequent because there’s actually only a few specific things I gripe about its just that they’re eeeeeeeeeeverywhere.)

Thus, in no particular order, my least favorite Dick Grayson tropes in fanon and in canon because I can’t read apparently OR AT LEAST I CHOOSE NOT TO FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS EXERCISE, JEEZ, LEAVE ME ALONE....

1) Police officer Dick Grayson

2) Dick hated Jason pre-death and/or judges and is incapable of understanding or empathizing with Jason post-his return

3) Police officer Dick Grayson

4) Dick’s loved ones and friends all making jokes and insults out of the nickname he keeps in memory of his parents and Dick being all like lol this is fine, this isn’t debilitating to my self-esteem at all hahaha oh man that was a good one, I AM a Dickface, you nailed it!

5) Police officer Dick Grayson

6) Dick’s loved ones and friends all punching Dick every time he puts a foot out of place and then everyone both in-universe and in-comments being like NO PROBLEMS DETECTED, and also WOW, CHILL OUT DG, TEMPER MUCH?

7) Police officer Dick Grayson

8) Dick fired Tim and callously kicked him out of his home and the city UMM METHINKS THE FUCK NOT

9) Police officer Dick Grayson

10) Only addressing conflicts between Bruce and Dick when using the framing device “when you think about it though isn’t it still like at least half Dick’s fault that Bruce fired him and kicked him out of his home and hit him and guilt-tripped him into doing what he wanted.”

11) Bonus round - sub Dick Grayson. Like, I barely ever read smut in this fandom because I’m like ‘mmm, no thx and also hard pass’ to rape and incest as fetish or porn, and its like....hard enough to find any mature content with Dick that doesn’t overlap with at least one of those so I just kinda stopped looking ages ago, but even just when glancing my eyes past tags while browsing, I just DON’T GET THIS. I tend to be a variety is the spice of life kinda guy and thus usually can make a case for any character going any which way in any number of things, but this is the one character where I’m like, I do not see any angle in which he has a submissive bone in his body. Yeah he has control freak tendencies and there’s that trope about people who spend most of their time in charge wanting to give up control and let go at times, buuuuuut that only actually works with people who don’t fully WANT to be in charge or control to begin with, not people like Dick whose control freak tendencies IMO are directly born of how rarely he gets to be in control of even his own personal life in the first place. Just doesn’t compute for me.

And in no particular order, top ten most favorite Dick Grayson takes in canon and fanon, with these weirdly just being the direct inverse of things I hate because I mentioned the Not Subtle thing and also the Not Actually As Picky As I Often Come Across As, right?

1) Anything other than police officer Dick Grayson

2) Dick and Jason being bros who get along and confide in each other about the stuff they can’t/won’t share with anyone else because they understand each other in ways most others never will, and also also them having Secret History as Brothers BECAUSE THEY ARE BROTHERS WITH HISTORY BUT I FUCKIN’ DIGRESS

3) A Tim who respects and appreciates Dick’s contributions to his life and happiness and the amount of time and effort Dick has put into being there for him often at his own personal expense, even if there have been like one or two times in the grand scheme of thirty years of comic book content when Dick wasn’t able to put Tim first because he felt he had to put someone with directly competing needs to Tim’s first in this particular time and place instead, just like he had so often before put Tim’s needs ahead of others who had competing needs at the time

4) A Bruce who acknowledges his fuck-ups with Dick and actually apologizes instead of just being like “I am going to look at you solemnly with my Apologetic Eyes but its on you to read the Apology clearly present in my Apologetic Eyes cuz that’s the only one you’ll ever get as I am a genius and a renowned playboy but I do not do the words good except for when I am being genius-y and renowedly playboy-y and not Apologetic.” And who also puts in actual work to actually fix things with Dick when he fucks up in that over-the-top-I GOTTA BE THE BEST THERE EVER WAS, POK-E-MON!! kinda over-achieving way in which he does everything in life.

5) An extended Batfamily and hero community who actually ACT like Dick is someone they respect and appreciate and are in awe of for his position and accomplishments in the hero community and the fact that he’s been out there risking his life day in and day out for people almost as long as any other hero out there, and who has in fact been doing this for a FAR greater percentage of his lifetime than any other hero, period. Rather than an extended Batfamily and hero community who just SAY that Dick is respected and appreciated by everyone and this is why actually they resent him and think he’s over-rated, with no actual sign or evidence of Respect, Appreciation and/or Awe on display anywhere at any time ever.

6) A Dick Grayson who is allowed by the narrative to be as hyper-competent and intelligent and multi-skilled as any member of the Batfamily, without feeling a need for qualifiers about him being second best or a good acrobat but not as good at the detective stuff as the others, etc, etc. Noooooope. Nerp. Nuh-uh. Someday I will rise from my death-bed amid my death-throes one last time just long enough to gasp out “The Batfamily’s entire high concept is that they are a family of literal Mary Sues and thus all of them are every bit as intelligent and hyper-competent as the plot demands and its stupid to try and rank them and telling when Dick somehow always ends up ranked bottom last despite being the kid whose very existence as a hyper-competent little genius troll boy is what jumpstarted the kid hero trend in universe in the first place, which is the kind of thing that could ONLY happen if he was impressing and making second-guessers of nay-sayers left and right BUT I FUCKING DIGRESS, GOOD NIGHT NEW YORK, AND SCENE!” At which point I will expire, my work here done.

7) A Dick Grayson who is allowed to get mad and yell when people DO FUCKED UP THINGS LIKE HIT HIM AND BLAME HIM FOR SHIT THAT ISN’T HIS FAULT without this being viewed as a “flaw” and him Being Dick Grayson Badly. Extra points for a Dick Grayson who is allowed to stay centered in his own traumas and tragedies without everyone else around him somehow making it out to be that they’re MORE victimized by the things he is most directly the victim of.

8) A Dick Grayson who eats more than just sugary cereal because he was literally raised from birth even pre-Bruce as a world class athlete and show me one single person that description matches who doesn’t know how to actually keep to a nutritious diet. Yes, by all means have him eat the occasional sugary snack as a treat, that’s fine, but when the take is that this is all he exists on or would be the only thing he exists on if not for the intercession of Actual Adults being like eat your veggies, Dickie, like.....mmmm, but whatcha doin’, fic?

9) A Dick Grayson who doesn’t actually even HAVE to get mad and lose his temper when people do fucked up things like hit him and blame him for shit that isn’t his fault or do nothing but mock and insult him and make him feel bad, because there’s actually other friends and family present who make a point to be like WHOA, HOW ABOUT I SHUT THIS SHIT DOWN LIKE AN INTELLECTUAL, BECAUSE THIS SHIT IS NOT OKAY? I’m just saying, how is it that every single fic and their grandma posits the existence of a swear jar because Alfred will not tolerate uncouth language in his domain, but it coooooooompletely flies over everyone’s head that Alfred of all people would be okay with people casually disrespecting his eldest grandson for the sake of a yawn-worthy punchline every single time someone opens their mouth to say “Dickhead” without even any kind of “Swear jar!” follow-up, let alone a “I don’t know who gave you the idea it was alright to disrespect Master Dick’s memories of his parents, young sirs, but I assure you most assuredly...‘TWAS NOT I.”

10) The existence of literally any other plot for Dick Grayson than one involving or relying on brainwashing. Like, just spitballing here but maybe people would have less trouble acknowledging and remembering the hyper-competence and skilled and genius qualities of the first Batkid if he was able to more often put those things on display instead of just running around 24/7 either brainwashed or brandishing pom-poms in enthusiastic commemoration of the hyper-competence and genius of everyone BUT him.

11) Bonus round - literally any other career choice besides being a cop.

[fae-fucker]

Review: Death Wind by Tara Grayce

Essie should be planning her happily ever after, not planning a war. Although they once were enemies, the humans of Escarland and the elves of Tarenhiel have allied to fight the trolls from the far north. But alliances are tricky things even in the best of times, and with Farrendel, the elves’ foremost warrior and Essie’s husband, captured by the trolls, the circumstances appear dire indeed. But Essie won’t give up, and she will make her two peoples work together to fight this war if it’s the last thing she does. One way or another, she will get Farrendel back, no matter what it takes.

Gonna be honest, didn't expect much given my lukewarm reaction to the previous two books, but this one? This one actually held my attention for genuine reasons rather than just being a light read. Because the plot involves a lot of conflict (arguably the biggest conflict possible, war), the pacing is steady, and two of the three POV characters are mostly suffering and/or being tortured, there's actually tension for once. It's a welcome change, and proves that the author is very much capable of writing it but just chooses not to in favor of boring and conflict-free family interactions.

With Melantha introduced as a POV character, we're offered a pretty buckwild concept for this series: a character that makes mistakes and has to live with the consequences. I actually found myself liking Melantha, not because I thought she was a compelling character (she wasn't) or because I felt bad for her (I didn't), but because she had what Essie didn't: flaws. There's even a point in the book where Melantha thinks about how much she dislikes Essie because Essie is so sugary perfect and everything Melantha wishes she could be, and I think it's supposed to show us how bitter and insecure Melantha is? Except she's 100% correct, Essie is literally too perfect to be a real person and I just sat there going "yeah, you're right, and don't feel bad for being shitty because literally nobody can actually be like Essie."

However, Melantha suffers from Stupid Bitch Syndrome, which doesn't exactly make for a good protagonist/POV character. She's not intended to be dumb, the book expects us to think she was simply misguided and bitter and not, like, a complete idiot who should've known better. But her instant remorse feels less like character development and more like her suddenly realizing she’s actually a huge idiot who fell for the enemy’s nonsense, which she is. She's supposed to be an older elf, a grown woman, yet she makes such an obvious mistake and immediately regrets it and folds like a wet blanket the moment shit hits the fan. It's honestly a bit pathetic. The only reason I preferred her over Essie was because she introduced some much-needed depth to the character roster, but that depth was still about the size of a teacup, compared to Farrendel's thimble and Essie's singular water molecule. Her relationship with the troll prince was actually ... interesting? It was all mostly unspoken, which I think made it stronger than the overly telegraphed thing Essie and Farrendel have going on, and I’m sure it’ll be flattened out and become boring in the next book, so enjoy this potential before it’s wasted.

Farrendel spends the entire book being tortured and thinking about how he's being tortured. I can't blame him, but it doesn't make for good reading. I honestly think his POV could've been left out altogether and it wouldn't have changed much. Melantha is already there with him letting the reader know he’s suffering, we don’t need two POVs telling us the same thing. Oh uh, except for the part where he ... puts his magic in a soul-bond pocket. I'd mark this as spoilers but it's literally on the cover. I guess if his POV was removed then we'd never know how Essie learned to blast his power in battle at that one convenient moment, but it barely affects the plot afterward so um, yeah. I'm having a hard time justifying his POV at all. I'm still not over that part btw, how Farrendel just ... makes a "mental fist" (no, really), grabs his magic in one and his soul bond with Essie in the other and just puts them together like he's connecting two cables to an adapter. And he knew to do this ... how? It's not like we've seen him experiment with his magic before, in fact he's been shown to hate it and only use it when necessary, but apparently this tortured and exhausted man has the presence of mind to try something as vague and theoretical as ... putting his magic in a soul pocket. He spends a few pages going “I wonder if I can do this” and then it works on the first try. He does consider whether it’ll hurt Essie and decides not to try it, but as I said, he does it soon after anyway so like ... I don’t think it’s supposed to be funny or show how little of a shit he gives about Essie, but that’s sort of the implication and I thought it was funny as hell. 

Anyway, the magic pocket is about as much worldbuilding/lore as we get from this series entry, aside from the trolls having their own political intricacies and tensions, which I’m assuming the next book will expand upon. The writing itself in this book was pretty bad at times. The repetition of certain words and names was really glaring in some parts and felt amateurish. Take a shot every time the word “magic” appears and you’ll be in the grave before the book ends. Prince Rharreth and King Charvod are almost always referred to with their full titles and names for some reason? A few editing rounds would’ve helped this a lot, methinks.

The plot is mostly moved along in Essie’s POV, which is slightly less insufferable than usual because she’s the one observing the movement of the two armies and there are actually action scenes in there that, while don’t exactly made me worried about her (there’s no way this perfect idiot will ever die), still provided some tension. But it’s honestly not much, the “war” lasted two entire weeks (and that’s including the strategy, logistics, and mobilizing) and with how fast the armies travel and how little resistance they face (and how Deus Ex Farrendel-d the final battle was, the guy is apparently full of godlike destructive power despite being starved and tortured, go off king), it all felt very unrealistic and easy. Like, we have two armies marching in the middle of a mountain chain during magical snow storms, all while being regularly assaulted by the defending army, and they still get there no problem, without a single mention of soldiers struggling not to die of exposure. Aight. I guess these elves and humans are just very resistant to the cold, for some reason.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the reason it goes over so fast in-universe is because the author wanted Farrendel to be horribly tortured throughout his captivity, but also knew that if that lasts too long, the damage will be too severe to easily resolve in the next book. But instead of easing off the hardcore torture, because then we’d lose out on that drama and those High Stakes, she decided to speed up the whole war thing, because hey, who cares about that, anyway? We just want Farrendel back, right? Riiiight? Better hurry up guys! Don’t want Farrendel to be too tortured to fix with some strawberry-flavored medicine and vague counseling in the next book!

So yeah, the plot moves on speedily, but at what cost? Mainly depth. Again. And once again, Essie suffers the most from being a bland caricature of a person and dragging the whole thing down. The author’s GR bio says she writes “spunky and tough” leading ladies, and I guess having no other things in your brain except sparkly kitten gifs is a certain kind of toughness in an “immovable object” sort of way, but “spunk” implies a of counter-culture edge that sweet widdle Essie simply does not have.

There was one small section where Essie felt bad over how the human and elven warriors were going to die, how many mothers and sisters and daughters would suffer just so she didn’t have to, but then we don’t find out the death count, the casualties are never even mentioned, and Essie moves on from this without even a single thought questioning the morality of a monarchy or her own position of power. Now, I get that that’s not the focus of this series, but it just adds to how Essie’s worries are always surface-level and never justified by the plot, how she never has to do any introspection and is never allowed to not always be annoyingly positive. Whenever she even begins to think something negative, she instantly, almost compulsively changes trajectory and just decides not to worry about it, and then it never comes up again anyway. This would’ve been like, an interesting take on toxic positivity and how Essie represses her own emotions, but no, the book never goes there, she’s just that perfect and wee and optimistic, even during a war and when her husband’s being tortured to near-death. It’s kind of insulting to read, honestly.

Oh yeah, that’s another thing that annoyed me. Even when she loses Farrendel, she takes it surprisingly well and focuses mostly on keeping a positive attitude for his sake, so he doesn’t feel her sadness through their “heart bond.” I never really felt her loss, her love for him, when she so easily could just decide not to feel bad “for his sake.” I want her to feel bad, I want her to miss him and to ache at his absence and to fear for what they’re doing to him. But no. That would just upset him more and hurt him more. So Essie doesn’t get to experience any negative feelings because it might upset her husband. Essie doesn’t get angry and determined to fight, she just keeps being her cheery little Stepford Wife self because being nice will keep everyone’s spirits up and make them hope and fight harder to preserve that hope!! :)

It just comes off as really flat and moralistic yet dishonest at the same time, because nobody would fucking react like this IRL. Essie might be a good person in-universe, but she drags the entire series down just by being perfect, cheery, and never, ever challenged or even allowed to challenge anything herself. Essie isn’t allowed to have any negative feelings because it might affect her husband, and yet we’re supposed to find this empowering somehow? We’re supposed to believe she’s spunky and confident and a sweet little firecracker of a redhead?

Eugh.

At least Melantha is an idiot, I guess. One whole female character gets to have a flaw, and she’s the almost-villain who needs to be fixed with love.

Idk man. The sexism in this series is like a constant undercurrent that grows stronger with each installment as our “understanding” of this world expands. All of Essie’s brothers, including the king, are at the front lines because they are manly men “have to” be there, while the women who aren’t Essie or Jalissa stay behind to be mothers and caretakers. It’s never expanded upon and just sort of accepted as part of both human and elven society and the narrative treats it like this obvious thing that even Essie doesn’t really bother noting how unfair and/or weird it is. There’s not even a single comment on it. Essie is in the war not because she can fight but because Farrendel needs her, and Jalissa is there because ... Um. Because ... she. Uh. She needs to be there when they confront Melantha? She’s Farrendel’s sister? Idk. Jalissa’s main point in this series so far seems to be the ship tease between her and Edmund that feels awkward and one-sided as fuck.

So yeah. The pacing and plot flowed along really well, but the characters and the writing and worldbuilding are all just really undercooked, which, at three books into the series, feels more glaring than ever.

But hey, at least it was a quick read!

[craftychocovibes]

MIDNIGHT SNACK

When water tastes like it's from Gods personal Pond

Do you ever eat at random hours of the night? I do sometimes, with many days in between, hehee. I eat all sorts of things, from full meals to sizeable portions of junk. Who says no to fried waru? My favorite midnight snacks are veggie sandwiches and fruit. Mangoes are the unicorn of fruit I believe. From how they look to how they taste down to their benefits. My fruit vendor probably purchased his new fruit cart with my 'hardware' contributions' over the lasts 2 months. Such a simple and rich taste feels wonderful without the disturbances we encounter in the course of the day. It's like the dark of night offers the perfect companion for such indulgence. Perhaps one of the most therapeutic acts of a silent night, having something to eat in silence. Aside from fruit Jenga while trying to get a banana from a pile of Vegetables.

Those of us that consider ourselves nocturnal do all sorts of things in the dead of night. Some work through the night, either indoors or taking a shift at their place of work. Some cook, coming up with entire meals and recipes. Some party, though I fail to understand how we ever managed to make it to 6 AM back on campus. Honestly, siku hizi nimebaki jina kaa bibo. Lovers have a perspective of the night that can only be experienced by those in the same boat. When time and space merge, and bonding sessions stretch into the dead of night with stars coming up randomly in conversations and shadows take on a personality. A guy I know chooses to stay up because the WiFi in his building works better at night. I suggested moving to a place with a pro-active landlord but got a smoldering glare in return, well that's that.

Book lovers if anyone thrive in the silence and serenity of the night. The perfect stage for unfolding drama. When characters and stories take on life, our imaginations making them as real as can be and because for a while, they always are. When we lose ourselves in the lives of characters, forming bonds, gaining insight, the occasional tear, bounds of laughter and the simple satisfaction of feeding our minds in the best way we know how. Reading is an intrinsic interest for me, a stepping stone that helps me fast forward into evolution. Books are just thoughts by someone else that carry new information literally or figuratively between the lines. Reading is time traveling.

To me, the secrets of life lie in books of all kinds which open the layers of vaults in my mind, watering my imagination and expanding my creativity. Books pave the way for experiences, especially books on topics that had never crossed my mind; "The subtle art of hypnosis, Marijuana growers handbook, The law of one, Babylonian Talmud". The ones I stumble upon when browsing on Amazon for a good read; "The Occult Anatomy of Man, The power of Now, Book of Secrets". Or those I get from random Facebook pages, vast online libraries and those that land on my email courtesy of a friend; " Why Vegans are onto something, The god conspiracy, Herbology, Erotic Memoirs, awakening the third eye". By reading such books my life is never the same. Such books challenge who you are, what you do, what you eat, who you relate to, what you practice and preach, how you think, perceive, respond and the entire periphery surrounding your being. Books that challenge facts you have always known, who you have always been and what you have always thought. Such books are no different from other books, just that they offer choices in between the information they relay. Choices to think and intentionally seek guidance towards freedom of the mind, heart, body, and soul. That instead of watching the lives of other characters unfold, you can take said information, practice it and as a result multiply the choices in your life. Creating a life with so many choices, that you can only live intentionally not out of habit. Si kubahatisha. I choose to share what I learn along the way in my own way. Someone will definitely relate, for learning is but one of the constant themes of life.

The food I eat in between reading books is a privilege I cannot take for granted. It is because of books that I know what I know. The end product that we consume as food is a result of billions and trillions of micro-beings that power the universe. Sunrays through the ether to me and you and to the food that gives us life, without which not a single plant would exist, let alone grow. Is the sun divine? A balanced and Alkaline diet is required to maintain an aura of health and vitality. We are carbon-based beings made up of 102 minerals, (as per Dr.Sebi's Afican biomineral diet). Nutrition is a big part of life, probably the biggest and so is the access to this food. To readily access fruit and vegetables is a thing to celebrate and be grateful for. It is said that an interest in books and reading to a point of mental liberation, can be directly linked to one's diet. Supplementing your body with the right nutrients it needs to properly function requires strategy and wisdom. Otherwise, anything goes. Enter GMO's. which are just... I can't even...Tsk. Food is the foundation of the building blocks of genes, and if genetically modified... Kuku hatagi nyoka, tafakari. A properly balanced diet accompanied by intermittent fasting is the closest you will ever get to 'servicing your vehicle'. Yet urban thought patterns will have you thinking that 'watching' and observing your diet isn't important enough. Please, dear soul. Your body is a vessel that ferries you across the earth as you interact with other vehicles ferrying souls across the entire world, Every. Single. Day. Of. Your. Life. What enters your mouth should ever be a priority. Unchain yourself.

Efficiently supplementing your body with necessary nutrients enables the networks in your brain to function efficiently which in turn powers the mind to work beyond the scope of wonder. The trinity comprises of the Soul, Body, and Mind. Master, Vessel, and Servant. Equilibrium must be maintained. The mechanics of our bodies are governed by the nutrients that get to our bodies. Not only does proper nutrition supplement internal physical and mental health, but healthy skin, hair, and nails are a default guarantee. Food is God's way of keeping our bodies alive while we spend our time here on earth, living, loving, laughing, earning, and existing intentionally with the people that surround us and spend time with. It's a gift that freely grows all over the earth so the sons and daughters of the most high can freely access these gifts wherever they go. Our lives are centered around food. We take care of our bodies by balancing and supplementing the functions and systems that run the universe in our bodies. Man is a miniature version of the universe(You should really have a look at the "Occult Anatomy of Man by Manly P. Hall", its only 20 pages long and you would be sparing me from sounding like an evangelist due to repetition. You're the god of your innerverse and you owe it to yourself to take responsibility. For everyone to be alive they need food. Hunger can literally drive you mad and a crappy diet tips the opposite scale. However, most of us take food for granted. What to do?

If you can read this, chances are high you rarely go a day without food. At least not due to of lack of food. Probably due to lack of time, a weight loss diet you're on, temporary money issues or maybe you're too tired to eat. For some, the access to any kind of food is a luxury. Something rare and rationed, seen every now and then. Some barely access a scale of food enough to balance their diets leading to nutritional deficiencies like kwashiorkor. Food is a gift, and half of us abuse and misuse this gift. Junk is abuse of the body methinks. Worst case scenario you're dramatically damaging the troops that make up the armies that govern the 'mechanical' -( and I say mechanical because the wonders that make up the ways of the cells is a story for another day) ways that keep the body running. By feeding the body any unnecessary compounds that strain organ functionality we set the wheels of another dimension spinning. You must watch what you eat, garbage in garbage out. If you took the time to lovingly supplement the cells that power your body, your body will in turn lovingly house your mind and soul, powering you to heights unknown. You can imagine the outcome... That's all you can do, imagine it, unless you took the active role of watching what you eat. There are gods who walk among men simply because they understand the balance between the trinity that makes up the occult anatomy of man.

Awareness on the importance of the importance of Food is very important. Diet is important. Nutrition is invaluable. Everyone has a right to food and the least we can all do is keep them alive for their journey on earth to continue. Without food, we die. This is the human way. And so far we're all human, aren't we?( if you came by interstellar travel this is your greenlight) We eat to live, period. Food is such a joy to our lives we have entire industries centered around food. Hehe, another story for another day for we truly have many days together. They're already here, from the sun to the food we crave, down to the dynamics of our thoughts and the functionalities of our bodies. In this moment, give thanks for food. These are the musings of a midnight snack. As the armies in my body receive the fruit I give...

So grab a midnight snack every now and then, joining Alice down the rabbit hole into wonderland... Such WonderLust.

[spynotebook]

Amazon is going to use The Lord of the Rings series as their way to create their own Game of Throne-style series, by allowing themselves to explore the vast universe of Middle-Earth. While is this … definitely a choice one could make, I find myself wondering why couldn’t those millions of dollars have been used to create an adaption that was more—I don’t know—obscure. Less known. Less already adapted into multiple massive blockbusters.

Science fiction and fantasy are filled with material that is ripe for proper adaption. While The Hobbit movies were a pestilence upon this Earth, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is one of the world’s cinematic gifts as both a series of films and a literary adaption. Therefore, while there is room for more Middle-Earth, methinks there are also many other universes worth exploring. Here are a few:

(1) Tortall Universe & Circle Universe by Tamora Pierce:

Tamora Pierce has been making awesome diverse and inclusive fantasy series for decades, and yet her work has never gotten the big-budget adaptation it deserves. Her most well-known series is the Tortall Universe, which includes five book series that start with Alanna: The First Adventure, which features a young girl named Alanna who switches places with her twin brother to become a knight, living like a man for her entire adolescence.

For anyone looking to build upon the fantasy knighthood of Game of Thrones, but without all the rape, and produce a series with a compelling mythology that can literally go on for decades, look no further. There’s also Pierce’s The Circle of Magic Series takes place in a separate magical universe in which magic is common. A medieval The Magicians-style series, with a diverse cast, queer representation and again … no rape.

(2) The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin: 

N.K. Jemisin is one of sci-fi and fantasy’s modern geniuses, with the first two books in her Broken Earth Series, The Fifth Season and Obelisk Gate winning the Hugo back to back the first. She’s also the first black author to win that award. While that series would make a fantastic series, I think that her debut series, which starts with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, is also excellent.

The series takes place in a world where gods, godlings, and mankind interact. In the first book, Yeine Darr, a mixed race Arameri princess who after the murder of her mother (the previous Arameri heir), returns to the land of her mother to find out who murdered her. Mystery and mythos combine.

(3) The Gormenghast Series by Mervyn Peake:

Mervyn Peake’s series is beloved by lovers of the genre, but to mainstream audiences, The Gormenghast series is largely unknown. Leaning more towards speculative fiction and fantasy overall, Gormenghast is made up of three books: Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950), and Titus Alone (1959), which chronicle the life of Titus Groan, the heir to the throne of the House of Groan.

Made up of grotesque, gothic characters and a pseudo-medieval setting, this series has been called one of the best fantasy series of all time, with the critic, Harold Bloom even calling it better than Lord of the Rings. The castle of Gormenghast stands throughout the novel as an isolating, claustrophobic monstrosity which poisons the family within it slowly.

(4) Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Nnedi Okorafor’s book Who Fears Death is already in production with HBO for a series, but if Margaret Atwood can have two series on television with two different streaming service, there is no reason we can’t double dip here. Both Okorafor’s Binti series, which won both a Nebula and a Hugo for Best Novella, and her young adult series Akata Witch, would be perfect for adaption.

Akata Witch is about an American-born Nigeran albino girl named Sunny, who discovers she is a Leopard Person (witch), and while learning more about her new society, has to deal with a serial child killer who is attacking Nigeria and has ties to her family. Binti is a science fiction story with evil space aliens, about a young woman named Binti who is the first person from her tribe to be accepted to the prestigious intergalactic university, Oomza Uni, and hijacks a spaceship to go. The dramatic possibilities here are literally endless.

(5) The Diviner Series or Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray:

Libba Bray is one of the best young adult writers we have. Her two series are smart, inventive, and brilliantly researched, and I am constantly disappointed that people haven’t given her all the money to make her works the right way. The Diviners takes place in New York City during the 20s, when the world was fascinated by the supernatural and contacting other realms. Seventeen-year-old Evie O’Neill is sent to New York to stay with her uncle Will, who works as a curator for the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, while a series of supernatural murders are taking place.

My favorite series by Bray is the Gemma Doyle trilogy, which is basically a Victorian-era version of The Craft—with more genuine female friendships and complex female characters who are both flawed and powerful.

(6) His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman:

I mean, duh. That movie shouldn’t be held against us. The Golden Compass needs the mini-series treatment, and with the success and acclaim for the series over decades, I think it is worth investing some serious bank.

(7) The Dandelion Dynasty by Kevin Liu:

Ken Liu has won all of the fantasy awards and his series, The Dandelion Dynasty, is a series about two men, Kuni Garu and Mata Zyndu, who are part of an uprising to remove the current emperor. While the first book is seriously lacking in female leads, that is corrected in the sequel, thank goodness, and the series has amazing worldbuilding and characters.

Not to mention an adaption would mean lots of Asian actors; maybe Netflix can take the amazing cast they squandered in Marco Polo and given them something fun to do.

(8) The Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix

The Australian author Garth Nix has made many amazing books for young adult and children, the most iconic of the series being The Abhorsen or Old Kingdom series, which starts with the best-selling Sabriel.

The series deals with a universe where there is a person named the Abhorsen, who protects people from the Dead, and people with dark magic. In the first book Sabriel, must go save her father, the current Abhorsen, from being trapped in Death.

If you had all of the money, what fantasy series would love to see adapted?

(image: Goodreads, edited by Princess Weekes)

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