#mai dear desiree

[maideardesiree]

🌸These sweet boys !!💕💕💕💕💕💕

[five-rivers]

Ghost in a Bottle

This is my truce gift for @linziefey! I've made a picture and a little ficlet to go with it, beneath the cut. Hope you enjoy.

Danny sat on the roof of the Ops Center, trying to ignore the sounds of his parents yelling at each other down in the house.  The evening was clear on this Christmas Eve, and he was hoping to see some stars, despite the light pollution.  The increased light pollution.  Curse the ten million different Christmas displays.  And Christmas, just in general.  

There was the sound of an ecto-gun going off in the house, and something breaking.  Danny rolled his eyes, then rubbed them.  Christmas couldn’t be over soon enough.  He didn’t know how Jazz dealt with all of this.  

He looked up again.  The sky was a dusky color, and, if he remembered correctly…  There.  The first star.  

“Star bright, star light, first star I see tonight,” mumbled Danny, hoping that a touch of whimsy would do something to break through his general holiday malaise.  “Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”

He sighed again.  What did he wish?  Not that the fighting would stop.  That was impossible.  He knew better.  But what else…?  Oh, yeah.  There was another problem that haunted him every time he laid down in bed or finished a meal.  

“I wish Dani was somewhere safe,” he said.  

.

Desiree hadn’t come to Amity Park looking to make trouble.  Not this time.  At least, she hadn’t come to make trouble right now.  She’d just wanted to boost her powers with some Christmas wishes - all of them granted in the spirit of the wish, of course!  She didn’t want to wind up on the wrong side of the Truce.  

But this?  This was a little too good to pass up.  

She knew better than to say it out loud, but, well, she mouthed the words.  

As you have wished it, so shall it be!

.

Dani Phantom was minding her own business.  And, okay, maybe her own business involved a lot of pickpocketing, maybe some breaking and entering, just a little bit of shoplifting…  Okay, it was mostly shoplifting, but it wasn’t like stores were people, and this chain was owned by Vladco, so, really, it was like child support or whatever.  

Danny didn’t know how child support was supposed to work, so Dani didn’t either.  Most of her memories were effectively his, after all.  

The point was, she wasn’t bothering anyone and just going through her normal day when a portal just opened up underneath her.  

She fell in, of course.  

.

Dani fell.  Before she fell very far, she transformed, but by that point she had already fallen through the portal, which promptly vanished, just in time for Dani to run into the curved wall of glass that had been behind it.  She stopped and looked around.  

The room she was in… wasn’t a room.  It was a round glass bottle.  One held by–

“Desiree!” shouted Dani, raising her hands in preparation to fight and ignoring how the bottom of her foot was already dripping ectoplasm.  The genie-like ghost was floating beyond the glass, her hair loose and a red shawl draped across her shoulders.  The room beyond was dark and filled with pale green smoke.  “I wish I was out of here and kicking your butt!”

“Hello, dear,” said Desiree, “I am afraid I cannot hear you.  The glass, you see, and you are so, so small.”  She tapped the stopper that closed off the bottle.  

Dani scowled.  Her shins were starting to melt.  

“Now, I am sure you are wondering what wish landed you here.”  She smiled and circled.  “Your cousin.  So incautious, wishing for you to be somewhere safe, not thinking at all about what that would mean.  But rest assured, you will be quite safe in this little bottle, just as I was in mine.”

She tilted the bottle back and forth.  “Although, if you had a wish…”

Yeah, Dani had some wishes.  Mostly ones that involved giving Desiree a black eye or making her back off.  

“But, oh, if you are anything at all like that cousin of yours, how could I trust you not to attack me the moment I took out this cork?”

Dani��s rings flickered into being briefly around her waist, but she banished them.  Even if she was melting, she wanted the protection from ghost powers her ghost form provided.  She didn’t trust Desiree at all.  

“But it is truce time,” said Desiree, tilting her head, her red eyes glinting.  “The time when ghosts refrain from fighting or harming one another.”

“This is what you count as refraining from harm?” demanded Dani, incensed.  Despite wishing to kick Desiree’s butt earlier, she knew what the truce was - barely - thanks to Danny’s memories.  So, she knew what had happened to Ghostwriter when he’d broken it.  She just hadn’t realized the truce was now.  She hadn’t been keeping track of the date.  Things like that were sort of a luxury for people like her.  

Desiree swirled the bottle again.  “So, perhaps I will take the risk and let you try to wish yourself out of your… predicament.  In the spirit of the truce, I will even keep to the spirit of your wish.  Consider it a Christmas wish.”

There was a catch here.  Desiree talked like Vlad, and with Vlad, there was always a catch.  There was no way that Desiree would just let her wish herself free. 

More of Dani’s foot melted off.  That could be the catch.  

Probably not, though.  

“And while you are thinking, think of your cousin getting you into this mess, and all those people who are safe and warm and full at home…”  She tapped the glass wall of the bottle.  “Just think.”

Okay, there was the catch.  Desiree expected her to make trouble for Danny.  Well.  She wouldn’t.  So, there.  

But… now she was thinking about the things Desiree had said.  She was thinking about Danny, and how he’d been thinking about her, and had wanted her to be safe, and she was thinking about all the people who were home for the holidays… with their families.  

Then, Desiree popped the cork off the bottle and smiled broadly.  “What do you wish for?”

Dani bit her lip and put her hands on the bottle wall.  She wished– She wanted– “I wish my family was together - like a real family - for the holidays.”

Desiree threw back her head and laughed.  “As you have wished it, so shall it be.”

.

Dani woke up in a bed.  It took her a few minutes to realize why this was strange.  Once she did, she sat straight up, completely awake.  

This–  This was Vlad’s house.  She recognized the moulding and the furniture style and color scheme.  But…. other than that…  She looked all around the room.  There were posters on the walls, and they weren’t Packers themed.  They were mostly for bands, ones that Dani liked, when she’d been able to hear them, but there was one for that skateboarder she’d heard of, Tony Hawk, a couple for spacecraft, and a huge, detailed world map.  The desk had a computer and a bunch of video games, and there were little things scattered around the room.  Toys and gadgets, art projects and models.  A bookshelf was full of books whose titles were things like Deep Sea Exploration and Hidden Wonders of Eastern Europe.  

Feeling dazed, Dani climbed out of bed.  How had she gotten here?  Had Vlad kidnapped her and set this up to try and, what, buy her forgiveness?  That didn’t sound like him, except for the part where he would get to avoid saying sorry.  

Except, the last thing she remembered was Desiree…  And that wish…

Well, if Vlad tried anything funny, she’d– Do something.  Probably.  She ran an ectoblast over her fingers to test how stable she was.  That seemed to be… okay.

Time to investigate.  

She eased the door open and peered out into the hallway.  It was empty.  She stepped out.  

“Dani?  Why are you still in your PJs?”

She jumped.  She didn’t know how she’d missed him before, but Danny was standing there, wearing a vest and dress pants and tying on a bow tie.  

“Um,” said Dani.

“I know it’s kind of stupid,” said Danny, rolling his eyes.  “But Dad likes it when we’re all ‘put together’ for Christmas pictures, and we can do that for him, I guess.”

“Oh, um, right,” said Dani.  

She was going to beat the heck out of Desiree.  Spirit of the wish her butt.  At what point had she wanted some kind of alternate universe where Danny called Vlad Dad.  

“Are you okay?” asked Danny.

“No– I mean yes,” said Dani, quickly.  How could she ask what she wanted to know.  “Is there, um.  I’ve forgotten, um.”

“The Fentons are coming at two,” said Danny, patiently answering at least one of them.  “Dan’s coming by at three, since he wanted to go to Johnny’s truce party, everyone else is coming at five, for dinner.”

“Uh,” said Dani.  

“Or did you want to know if you’re the last one up?  Yeah.  I’m pretty sure the rest of our sextuplets beat us down.  At least, I heard Dusty thumping around.  Are you sure haven’t caught a cold or something?”

“I’m fine,” said Dani.  “I’m just going to go.  Get changed.”

She retreated back into the room and shut the door.  Then she sat down.  Sextuplets.  Six.  That’d be everyone, all the clones, including the ‘perfect’ one, plus Danny.  Who knew who Dan was, though…  She shook her head.  It didn’t matter.  None of this mattered.  She should be out looking for Desiree to get her to fix this.  

But… Would it really be so bad if Dani waited to find her until after Christmas?  It wasn’t like Danny liked Christmas with his family all that much.  

She chewed her lower lip then opened her closet.  Hopefully, there would be something in there better than skirts.  

[wandixx]

Ok it closes out on me when I tried typing it the first time-

Anyway, I'm a sucker for shock value ones, just so funny to me, so how about M'gann being nervous about introducing bf danny and it happens at an inconvenient time! Could go ghost royalty, ancient of space or anything, hell ghost as dragons would be pretty funny, up to you though!

I'm not sure if I did a good job at this, but I didn't want you to wait too long and real life is keepimg me busier than expected, so for now, it's here. I may continue it one day (I also have different version of fill for this prompt, because neither idea felt right, so if you'd like to see I too, just let me know whatever way is most convenient to you)

This wasn't supposed to happen like that. M'gann didn't have a super detailed plan on how it was supposed to happen, but even her vague (thought and rethought every night) ideas were anything but this. It was supposed to be a calm, low-stakes situation. Maybe even make it look like an accidental meeting, Team in civies hanging out around Happy Harbour, bumping into Danny and then she'd just introduced him, perhaps adding ‘btw, he is my boyfriend’ almost like an afterthought. This seemed like the best possible scenario.

This was also, as expected with the way hero life is, the exact opposite of what actually happened.

Of course, it didn’t start with anything heralding the absolute disaster this day had to become. Kinda accidentally the Team stumbled upon something between a cave and a basement, and in it a group of people, who decided to perform a summoning of a genie so they could… wish for stuff. They didn’t even look like cultists or villains of any sort, just a group of random adults from seemingly very different backgrounds. M’gann had a really hard time understanding what actually brought them together other than their wishes.

Which was actually pretty useful when it came to fighting them, because nobody really cared about their fellow summoner, just trying to save their own butt. She kinda wished more of their opponents were so incompetent.

Though, she spoke too soon because in the excitement of the fight, somehow all of them didn’t realize that one or two of the summoners… actually managed to finish a summoning. It was honestly a little bit embarrassing.

But, it was too late to dwell on all that, as right above the summoning circle appeared a circle in a worryingly familiar shade of green.

Of course, this one time she didn’t have any equipment from Danny, had to be when the Team encountered a ghost.

Ghost in question was a beautiful woman, with long hair covering one of her eyes, in a blue outfit that was related to one of Earth cultures, but M’gann didn’t know which, and a bunch of bracelets on her wrists. Martian could make a hazard guess on who it was, based on the stories Danny told her.

“We don’t have time for explanations, I think I know who this is, if I’m right for the love of everything that’s dear to you, don’t say the word ‘wish’ out loud” she demanded over the Mindlink.

Before she finished, Artemis took silver tape from somewhere and slapped a piece of it over Wally’s mouth. M’gann understood the sentiment but still… it was a little bit too nuclear option.

Desiree (if it was her) didn’t attack anyone, looking a bit confused, giving Team a moment of reprieve to plan and for Kid Flash to make sure none of the summoners could make whatever wish they wanted either. Also with the use of silver tape. Djinn’s were always tricky.

M'gann used this moment of everyone getting their bearings to curse herself for not bringing any ghost weapons this time. Any other mission, Team or not, she had something on her but today? Today she had nothing.

Excluding the summoning engraved into clips holding her cape but it was kinda last resort. It wouldn't annihilate everything in one mile radius or something but she didn't want to drag Danny there if he was during a test, other ghost fight or something. She knew better than anyone that he didn’t need more distractions.

Conner crashed into a wall right next to her. Artemis seemed to lose her cool when none of her arrows seemed to reach the ghost while Robin was trying to make some counter plans with Kaldur. They couldn't do a thing to Desiree and it was a matter of seconds before she stopped entertaining them and went to the city. It… would end badly, most likely. Danny would prefer to get involved before it got that far. Yeah…

She really wished she didn’t have to call.

“I have an idea, cover for me for a minute or two”

“Bold of you to assume we can stop her from anything”

“I believe in you Wally. Just distract her”

“My water attacks seem to be effective weapon against her”

“That’s aster! What do you plan to do, M'gann?”

“Summon another ghost”

She expertly ignored yelling that followed, taking the golden clip off of her cape. She held fabric in place with absentminded use of telekinesis, while she focused on an engraved pattern. Danny's summoning circle wasn't actually too complicated or intricate but she needed to do it just right. And frankly, she just liked looking at it. Physical proof that her boyfriend would be there if she needed it. Drawn representation of who he is, the deepest and truest parts of his soul written in the language that only Universe itself could fully understand.

And it was beautiful. Absolutely incredible. Much better than Desiree's circle, thank you very much.

M’gann dropped to her knees and grabbed leftover chalk from previous summoning and crouched to quickly draw Danny's seal. She had a lot of practice from all the times she doodled it on a whim just to get something of him with her when she missed him the most. She rarely actually summoned him, again, it was difficult to align their schedules, but she was very familiar with the first step.

And it was really easy from there.

She placed the clip in the middle of the circle, shapeshifted one of her nails to get a bit of blood on the chalk and leaned back.

After a careful, deep breath, she started an incantation, putting as much power in her voice as she could.

“I call upon you guard of Amity Park, I call upon you dearest child of the Ice, I call upon you one favored by the Time, I call upon you vanquisher of the Fear, I call upon you subduer of the King, I call upon you defender and the guide, I call upon Phantom, both worlds beloved child”

Circle erupted in green light, putting a momentary pause to the fight. M’gann was still blinking spots away when a figure flung itself out of the summoning circle, right at the Desiree.

“What the fuck?!”

Only after the first punch was thrown did Danny turn back to her, with his usual, somehow both gallant and bashful smile, that without fault made her knees get a little weaker. She smiled back.

“Hello Starlight” he greeted, sounding almost casual.

“Starlight?”

“Hi Angel. Nice of you to drop by” she answered in the same manner. Wally tried to yell from behind the duck tape.

“Angel?! M'gann, who is he? Who is she?!”

“I will always come if you call” he said without any doubt, suddenly as serious as if he was sharing information that could break or make the world.

It certainly worked like that to her world. She actually melted a little on the inside.

“I know”

“Actually, that's kinda cute. I still have no idea who this is, but you go girl”

“I feel like it's not the right time Artemis”

“Not to interrupt… whatever this is, but the other ghost is escaping” Robin cut in “Also, if you want to make out afterwards, please find the room, Batman and Catwoman are traumatizing enough“

Few people snorted, while Danny blushed green. He darted back at Desiree, clearly to escape the embarrassment. M’gann stood up, totally at ease now, that he was there to take care of it.

“Will you need a hand? I don't have any tech but we have a trick or two up our sleeves!” she asked, projecting her voice so it carried through the cavernous basement without yelling.

“I'm good for now but thanks for asking!”

“M’gann, can you give us anything substantial? Who is this? How do you know him?”

“One question at the time and let's wait until he finishes, okay?“

She cut off Mindlink before anyone agreed or protested.

“Miss Martian!”

“Soup time!”

With a blast of light, Desiree got sucked in and Danny landed in front of them with a proud grin.

“My job here is done”

“It truly is. You're getting faster too”

“And thanks to who is that?”

“You”

Danny sent her both an incredulous and playful glare.

“Of course. I miraculously found a ways to not be a mess and don't crash through every wall on my way and–”

“Well, no but–”

“Let me remind you, you're not alone… also who are you dude? And where did the other lady go?” Wally asked, right after ripping the duct tape off his mouth.

“Oh, well, I'm Phantom, I usually work in Amity Park?” he said a bit unsure, as if calling him a protector was under any question. That just wouldn't do.

“He's a hero from Amity Park”

“Thanks love. It's nice to finally meet you all. M talked a lot about you!”

“Can't say same about you, sorry”

“That's fine. I know M was agonizing over how to introduce me in the best way possible. I'm really happy it's finally over,” he paused for a moment, with his brows furrowed “Did I do good? This first impression thing?”

“You're… far less imposing that I personally expected after hearing Miss Martian summoning you, but–”

“M’gann how could you hide this from us?” Conner blurted out quietly, and oh, he sounded so utterly crushed. Everyone fell silent, the playful atmosphere gone as if it had evaporated.

“I never intentionally hid it. It wasn't significant enough to mention at the start and when it became important I felt like I couldn't just drop it at you during lunch or something. I always planned to tell you, there was just never the right time nor right words. I never wanted to hide it.”

“Even just me?”

“Especially you”

“You still should've…”

“Yeah, I should. I'm sorry”

“How long ago have you met?”

“Half a year ago,” Danny said before she managed to answer “It's all kinda my fault actually. I was really set on not getting mixed up with more hero business than I had to back then. I didn't want you or Justice League finding out about me. And when I agreed, it was already really late. I'm sure she'd told you all from the get go if I let her, I'm sorry”

“Why wouldn't you want us to know about you?”

“It's… Probably not the conversation we should have right here, over gagged wannabe cultists.”

“Valid. Let's call the cops and get going. You two have much to explain”

“And you're sitting eight feet apart until you do!”

Danny leaned in to kiss her, quick and playful, before he jumped back at the demanded distance.

“Well, this still went better than at your side”

“Absolutely”

*******

Also, here is some lil arts for a longish wait, sorry again, I hope this story is yours to your expectations

[pupsmailbox]

LOVECORE ID PACK

NAMES ︰ adelaide. admirer. adora. adoraten. adore. ai. aiko. amadeus. amara. amor. amora. amore. amorette. amorie. amour. amoure. amourette. amy. angel. annabelle. aphrodite. arrow. atuf. bambi. bastet. bear. beau. bes. bliss. blossom. bow. bunny. caleb. candy. carwyn. ceri. charity. chelsea. cherie. cherria. cherrill. cherry. cheryshe. claire. clarissa. claudia. connell. connor. cordelia. crimson. cupid. dahlia. dante. david. delphine. desiree. desyre. dhalia. doll. dove. dylan. eldad. eros. esme. esme.cara. euphor. flower. freya. frill. garden. harp. hart. heart. heartstring. heretic. honey. honeybee. hubert. hugh. ingrid. iris. julia. julie. juliet. juliette. june. kalei. kara. kevin. kiss. koramor. lennon. lev. love. lovebird. lover. loverboy. lucinda. luvbelle. luvia. lynn. mabel. mabel.mila. mai. mars. may. maya. melody. milo. milos. mona. obi. ophelia. paramour. paris. passerine. passion. pearl. phillip. pippa. pippi. raymond. red. reed. reese. ren. rhett. rhys. roma. romanciel. romeo. rosalyn. rose. rosetta. rosette. rumor. sky. sugar. tahlia. teddy. thalia. theo. tyas. val. valen. valentina. valentine. valentino. valerie. vanessa. venus. vera. vincent. violet. vivian. vivianna. vivianne. yua. ásta. éowyn.

PRONOUNS︰ ado/adore. adore/adore. ae/aer. am/amour. bli/bliss. bouquet/bouquet. bow/bow. bud/bud. charm/charm. che/cher. cher/cherish. choco/chocolate. chu/chu. co/cora. coo/coo. cu/cupid. cu/cute. cupid/cupid. cute/cute. dar/darling. date/date. de/dear. de/devote. dear/dear. desi/desire. doe/doe. doe/dove. er/ero. ero/ero. eternity/eternitie. euphor/euphoria. fle/fleur. flower/flower. fri/frill. friend/friend. gift/gift. he/heart. he/hymn. hea/heart. heal/heal. heart/heart. hon/honey. hope/hope. hug/hug. hx/hxm. hy/hymn. h♡/h♡m. kie/kiss. kiss/kiss. kyuu/kyuu. lae/lace. lav/lavender. lo/love. love/bug. love/love. love/lovely. love/lover. lu/luv. lust/lust. luv/luv. myst/mystic. pass/passion. pink/pink. plu/plush. pray/pray. prince/prince. re/red. red/red. ri/ribbon. ro/rose. rose/rose. royal/royal. sacri/sacrifice. shx/hxr. shy/hyr. sh♡/h♡r. smitten/smitten. soft/soft. sweet/sweet. tear/tear. ted/teddy. thxy/thxm. th♡y/th♡m. tu/lip.| val/val. val/valen. val/valentine. valentine/valentine. ve/venus. vei/veil. veil/veil. vir/virtue. xo/xo. xoxo/xoxo. ye/yearn. yearn/yearn. ❤️ . 🌹 . 🍓 . 🍫 . 🍯 . 🍰 . 🎀 . 🏩 . 👑 . 💋 . 💍 . 💌 . 💐 . 💒 . 💓 . 💘 . 💝 . 💞 . 🤍 . 🦢 .

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in April 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Spring on the Peninsula - Ery Shin 🧡 When I Arrived at the Castle - Emily Carroll 💛 Bloodline - Jenn Alexander 💚 Grey Dog - Elliott Gish 💙 Every Time You Hear That Song - Jenna Voris 💜 I'm in Love with the Villainess v. 2 - Inori and Hanagata ❤️ The Caravaggio Syndrome - Alessandro Giardino 🧡 Leather, Lace, and Locs - Anne Shade 💛 Firebugs - Nico Bulling 💙 I Married My Female Friend v.2 - Shio Usui 💜 The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray - Christine Calella 🌈 A Sweet Sting of Salt - Rose Sutherland ❤️ The Selected Shepherd: Poems - Reginald Shepherd 🧡 Rough Trade - Katrina Carrasco 💛 Aubrey McFadden is Never Getting Married - Georgia Beers 💚 Taming of a Rebel - Eada Friesian 💙 Dayspring - Anthony Oliveira 💜 The Titanic Survivors Book Club - Timothy Schaffert ❤️ Orphia And Eurydicius - Elyse John 🧡 The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers - Samuel Burr 💛 A Good Happy Girl - Marissa Higgins 💙 Winnie Nash Is Not Your Sunshine - Nicole Melleby 💜 Here We Go Again - Alison Cochrun 🌈 Women! In! Peril! - Jessie Ren Marshall

❤️ Blood City Rollers - V. P. Anderson and Tatiana Hill 🧡 The Prospects - KT Hoffman 💛 Crazy Like a Fox: Adventures in Schizophrenia - Christi Furnas 💚 WATCHNIGHT - Cyree Jarelle Johnson 💙 Love From The Sidelines - Tuesday Harper 💜 The Pleasure in Pain - Roxie Voorhees ❤️ Mal - Perla Zul 🧡 The Black Girl Survives in This One - Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell 💛 Darker by Four - June C.L. Tan 💙 Otherworldly - F.T. Lukens 💜 Hearts Still Beating - Brooke Archer 🌈 Tryst Six Venom - Penelope Douglas

❤️ Teenage Dirtbags - James Acker 🧡 The Heart Wants What It Wants - D.M. Batten 💛 Something Kindred by Ciera Burch 💚 Sheine Lende - Dr. Darcie Little Badger & Rovina Cai 💙 Rainbow Overalls - Maggie Fortuna 💜 Flowers for Dead Girls - Abigail Collins ❤️ Canto Contigo - Jonny Garza Villa

❤️ Court of Wanderers - Rin Chupeco 🧡 Molten Death - Leslie Karst 💛 Triad Magic - ‘Nathan Burgoine 💚 You, Me and Bad Movies - Twoony 💙 The Faithful Dark - Cate Baumer 💜 A Case for Discretion - Ashley Moore ❤️ Party of Fools - Cedar McCloud 🧡 The Last Love Song - Kalie Holford 💛 This is Me Trying - Racquel Marie 💙 Dear Wendy - Ann Zhao 💜 Sun Eater - Dre Levant 🌈 The Breakup Lists - Adib Khorram

❤️ Bad Dream - Nicole Maines & Rye Hickman 🧡 If We Were Stars - Eule Grey 💛 The Broken Lines of Us - Shia Woods 💚 Eye of the Ouroboros - Megan Bontrager 💙 Henry Henry - Allen Bratton 💜 Dear Bi Men - JR Yussuf ❤️ Paige Not Found - Jen Wilde 🧡 Mechanic Shop Femme’s Guide to Car Ownership - Chaya Milchtein 💛 Wide Awake Now - David Levithan 💙 Merciless Saviors - H.E. Edgmon 💜 Smile and Be a Villain - Yves Donlon 🌈 Crash Landing - Charmaine Anne Li

❤️ Call Forth a Fox - Markelle Grabo 🧡 Central Avenue Poetry Prize 2024 - Beau Adler 💛 Good Bones - Aurora Rey 💚 Curiosities - Anne Fleming 💙 Someone You Can Build a Nest in - John Wiswell 💜 Revisiting Summer Nights - Ashley Bartlett ❤️ Bright Spring - Emmaline Strange

❤️ Girls Night - I.S. Belle 🧡 Late Bloomer - Mazey Eddings 💛 Withered - A.G.A. Wilmot 💚 A Wolf Steps in Blood - Tamara Jerée 💙 It Always Finds Me - Anthology 💜 Dulhaniyaa - Talia Bhatt ❤️ Moon Dust in My Hairnet - JR Creaden 🧡 Blood Justice - Terry J. Benton-Walker 💛 Relinquishing Control - J.J. Arias

❤️ Selamlik - Khaled Alesmael 🧡 Houseswap 101 - Jaime Clevenger 💛 Earthflown by Frances Wren & Litarnes 💚 Covenant v.1 - LySandra Vuong 💙 Honey - Victor Lodato 💜 The Dragonfly Gambit - A.D. Sui ❤️ Double Dyno - Sharon K Angelici & Taylor Rose

[ask-carmenpondiego]

Welcome back, though I don’t know if any mlp blogs are still around. A lot has changed and have to ask Miss Carmen, have you been just staying out of sight to avoid being found?

Thank you, my dear! I think there are some floating about still, Banana Pie was the first to welcome me back. But even if I may be one of the last, I’m not entirely sure I’m considered a mlp blog. If I am, awesome! If not, thats ok too.

I think its just me, M, Wally, and two kids who are fully mlp. The kids being Daring and Blendin. Aciano is a newly introduced child of Carmen and Lekir’s, he’s partly mlp but looks more like a kirin with more wolf characteristics instead of dragon. And Desiree has a chosen look of a pink tiger cat. She shares more DNA with her father Kiros, who is SCP 682 (only in this story world), just healed and cleaned up. Making her more like SCP 682-A. (She’s not officially an scp but in this story she is) Theres a whole chapter or so in progress to explain him and a much later one to explain her.

But yeah, I think the only thing keeping me as a mlp blog is pretty much the main character and some main supporting characters being mlp in origin. I’m happy to show off my story either way!

As for my disappearance, I have been hiding a little bit under the guise of pseudo-retirement. Story wise, its a bit more complicated, and have had false rumors of my death circulating around the social medias and news outlets.

But what really happened was that my artist had a bit of a mental burnout while dealing with some cancer and financial things, really mentally heavy things.

She’s been dealing with it for more than 5 years and things just came to a head and popped. She secluded herself from everything, hiding me away in her head, she stopped talking to all of her friends, it got bad.

Now she has a better job, her health is bouncing back as are finances and she’s feeling like her old self, so I resurfaced and helped her reconnect with everyone, but theres still more fixing to do. Its like fixing up an old dusty house back to its old glory. A bit of spit and shine. Good as new.

[nastya-sokolova-2002]

More facts about Pinky and the Brain in my AU but only that I created in last year when I started to love them a lot:

1)Brain's parents are Bernard (this is the second Bernard, the first Bernard is Larry's father) and Desire, Pinky's parents are Roger (yes, Roger again, but what can I do, I love the namesakes, or this is the first Roger, and the second Roger is Porcelain Sage) and Vanessa. In reality, in Animaniacs fandom, I remind you that Brain's father is nameless, but I came up with a name for him for my AU. The name of Brain's mother in reality is and always will be. But Pinky's parents are both nameless and I also decided to invent for them what first came to my mind. The real surnames of Pinky and Brain are unknown and, unfortunately, I could not come up with. But I do not know if the surname of Brain's wife is considered in honor of his name or not. Who knows what the real creators did when they created Julia Brain.

2)Pinky's father has black hair and Pinky's mother has yellow hair. So why does Pinky have white hair? Very simple. He got his hair color from his grandmother Polly, who is Vanessa's mom. He got character from all his parents, but his grandmother Polly is less stupid than her daughter and son-in-law. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Both of Pinky's parents, including his grandmother, also have blue eyes.

3)Brain's parents have red eyes. If they are in the form of mice, then their tails do not have a zigzag shape like their son. When Brain was a little mouse, his tail was the same as for all mice. His tail, as it is now, became such because of one experiment. This can be seen in a series of Animaniacs called "Roadent trip". Well, in my AU, Brain isn't the only one with this tail. His grandmother Belle (Bernard's mother) and grandfather Bruno (Desire's father) also have a zigzag tail. Brain got his eye color from his grandmother Belle. Brain took on the appearance of his grandfather Bruno. Bruno has yellow eyes. But just in case, I'll say one more thing. Bernard's father and Belle's husband's name is Diego and he has red eyes. Desire's mother and Bruno's wife's name is Delilah and she also has red eyes. If all of Brain's parents are in version 035, then their hair color will be like this: Bernard, Desire, Belle, Bruno and Diego will have white hair like their offspring; Delilah have yellow. Brain inherited the character from all his parents, because despite the fact that all his parents love him technically (despite the fact that Brain reunited with Bernard and Desiree for one day but then he got rid of them by sending them to a far away place because he wanted to talk to them since he had not seen them for a long time since the moment people caught him when he was a little mouse, but his parents only made a remark to him, specifically about this moment you can see an episode from "Pinky and the Brain" called "Visit". And even though the parents of Bernard and Desiree did not see their grandson alive, because they probably left their children when Brain's parents got married) may sometimes or rarely threaten to punish and beat him if their offspring will not listen to them. The nature of Brain's ancestors clearly shows that Brain himself can beat anyone, except those who are dear to him, with all his might, but not to death. In my AU, Brain's legacy of conquering the world came from grandma Belle and grandpa Bruno. Bruno and Belle themselves abandoned this desire when they fell in love in their future spouses and married to them. It is known that when Belle tried to conquer the world, her partner was Polly (Pinky's grandmother, Vanessa's mother). It is not known whether all of Brain's parents know what is happening to him now or they don't care, who knows. Desiree, the only one of Brain's parents, who dreams of having grandchildren from her son. (Don't ask me why I added all of Brain's grandparents in my AU, I love very him of all the male characters from Animaniacs fandom :3)

4)Since Brain has a wife in my AU, there is a possibility that he and his wife will have one child, but what gender it will be a surprise for you, since I am currently thinking about it.

5)Pinky for Brain is of course his friend, since childhood, when they started living together in the same cage in the ACME laboratory, but Brain has a bad relationship with him. So currently in my AU, his real and best friend in the world for the rest of his life is Larry. Only after the death of Larry and his secret team will Brain lose the desire to do what he does each day. Namely, take over the world.

6)It may seem to everyone that in my AU and in the original, Brain is a real villain, but he, like all protagonists, also has a positive side, but he tries to hide his positive feelings (such as happiness, grief, pain, sympathy, longing, loneliness, need for help (as a child in episode "Roadent trip" from Animaniacs, he was injured due to electronic shock, as people taught him to be helpless by this) etc.) from everyone.

7)Since Pinky and the Brain are lab mice capable of transforming into 035, there is a nuance. In the two shows "Animaniacs" and "Pinky and the Brain", both of them are 2 years old in mouse age, but in human terms they are 40. And since 2020, starting in the show "Animaniacs reboot" and currently, they are 3 years old at the mouse age, and by human standards they are somewhere around 60. In my AU, we can say that in 2023 in March (since they were born in the same month and the same year, but with different dates, since Pinky has March 11, and Brain has March 30) they both turn 63. Julia Brain's age is unknown, or I'll come up with her age later.

[antelabbitsghost]

danny is the only real halfa send tweet

“now parker,” you may be crying, “that simply isn’t true! what about vlad and danielle?”

well be prepared! because i am about to tell you!

you may also be asking “gee parker, why the fuck do you care?”

well dear reader, it’s because i’m a nerd

anyways

so, the only real definition canon gives us for what a halfa is when poindexter calls danny “half a ghost, half alive”

that’s paraphrased but you get the picture

so, let’s define the concept of being alive

the astrobiology section of nasa’s website says that for something to be truly and scientifically considered alive, it must have “cellular organization, the ability to reproduce, growth & development, energy use, homeostasis, response to their environment, and the ability to adapt”

i’ll admit that there is no way of proving a couple of these because there isn’t an episode where they show us if danny would still be able to adapt after getting electrocuted, but i’m going to take a wild guess and say yeah probably

but how do we go about defining ghost in the context of the series?

i’m going to ignore butch hartman’s shitty definition as well as i ignore the rest of his terrible ideas because stfu about your “monsters from another dimension” headcanon, poindexter and desiree and the dairy king were all definitely alive at some point

so let’s use the actual literal merriam-webster definition

ghost : a disembodied soul–especially the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness

so it basically means the metaphorical heart, soul, and consciousness of a dead human being taking the form of their own body

(they are dead. they have died. they were alive at some point, but they are not anymore. remember that, it’s important to my argument)

halfas don’t have a definition because they aren’t real and aren’t a widespread concept and canon doesn’t really give us one aside from poindexter’s comment, so i’m going to make one up

halfas are essentially creatures that are both dead and alive at the same time. they are schrodinger’s species, neither human nor ghost, but rather both of them occurring at the same time. they need to fit the criteria for being alive AND for being dead.

so basically if the definitions for being alive and for being a ghost don’t apply to them at the same time, they aren’t a halfa

feel free to contest this definition since i thought of all of this on my 20 minute walk home, but i think it’s sound enough for now

looking at it, however, only one of the 3 canon halfas can fit this description: danny

all the halfas came about in different ways, but i’m going to start at the beginning for format’s sake

vlad is typically what we consider to be the first halfa, which is only semi-true

yes, he was the first canon character to have any sort of whatever in the same ballpark as danny, but he doesn’t meet the qualifications for a halfa

vlad got his powers from getting ectoacne after getting slapped with energy from the mini prototype portal

we don’t really get as detailed an explanation for the timeframe between vlad being hospitalized and vlad mastering his powers, but i think it’s pretty safe to assume he didn’t turn into a ghost instantly like danny did

he also says that it took him years to master his powers and figure out what they all were, while it only took danny a little over a year at most

this is a long winded way of saying that vlad did not necessarily die

vlad’s powers are, for lack of a better word, an infection, something that is part of him that he cannot get rid of, but will eventually consume and possibly kill him

he’s not so much a halfa as he is a human being with ghost powers

this means that we can safely cross him off the list of known halfas

that leaves us with the other two: danny and danielle

danny, as i stated before, is the only real halfa by definition. yes i will elaborate

danny checks all the boxes for what is scientifically considered alive just as the other halfas do

and as the absolute banger of a theme song likes to remind us every episode, he died as well

he was hardcore electrocuted and became a ghost as a result, yet somehow maintaining his status as a living being in the process

he defied every physical and biological and scientific law in existence (as cartoon characters tend to do) and is both alive and dead simultaneously and irreversibly

this status as being both dead and alive at the same time makes danny a true halfa, something vlad is not

this, however brings danielle into question

seeing as she’s danny’s genetic clone it would make sense for her to also be considered a halfa right??

nope :)

danielle was created from danny’s dna after he had already died, which is the reason she has powers and can switch between being human and ghost at will, just as danny can

however, definition dictates that in order to be a ghost, you have to have actually died at some point in time. danielle was created with deadness already programmed into her genes. she’s got the human part down, but not the ghost part

she was dead before she was alive, making her something else entirely

what is danielle then? not sure, but she’s not a halfa

besides danny, she is certainly the closest to one there is in canon, but she just barely misses the cut

tl;dr: vlad isn’t actually dead, he’s just a human with ghost powers. danielle comes mucher closer than vlad to being a halfa, but also didn’t die, which means she comes just short of what it means to be a ghost. danny is the only character who is truly alive and dead at the same time, making him the only halfa

[winterecho-archive]

4 / 4

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transcript under the cut ~

Desiree: Oh!! Oh darling, I knew it!

Blakely: Dessie...

Desiree: Of course this handsome young man knows your name! You’re a member of the famous Hyatt family, after all!

Desiree: Admit it, you’ve fallen for my dear Blakely! You followed her to the tennis courts hoping for a chance to confess your feelings, but were too nervous to speak to her! Ohh...

Soren: Er, well-

Desiree: It’s all so terribly romantic!!

Blakely: You’ve certainly changed your tune. Listen, Dessie, I don’t think Mr Tozel meant-

Soren: Wait a moment, don’t go putting words in my mouth, Miss Blakely. Now, this may be a touch bold, but would you like to accompany me for a stroll around town? I know you’re short on time, so I promise I won’t keep you long.

Blakely: What?

Desiree: Oh, how delightful! Of course she would!

[snaileer]

Fight or Find the Balance: Part 1

Danny can’t believe his parents are gone. His family. His friends. Mom, Dad, Jazz. Tucker. Sam.

And I guess, Mr. Lancer, too.

Vlad was not a problem. For now. Danny knew what was at risk. What staying with Vlad would do to him. He couldn’t let that happen. So for now, Vlad stayed in the thermos.

That was the expected part of the plan.

The unexpected part of the plan was being named a temporary beneficiary to his entire fortune. (Every illegally gained cent.) Only for as long as the billionaire was technically ‘missing’.

Danny hated it.

He hated even more that it only made his parent’s wills seem like less.

But that didn’t matter. Because his parents were coming back.

They were all coming back.

And if that meant Danny had to bribe 4 lawyers and overshadow a couple judges to get himself emancipated, then so be it.

Bribes go a long way. Overshadowing goes even further. And sure, he felt guilty about possessing- no, overshadowing, that many people, but it had to be done. He needed the freedom to find his family.

Danny’s first stop, the Ghost Zone.

Specifically, Desiree’s haunt.

He floats just above the biggest island, but can’t see her anywhere. He doesn’t think she’s back in the human world, not since the last time.

“Desiree!” He looks around once more, “Where are you!”

There’s a puff of purple smoke and then a voice booms around him, “You seek me, and so I appear!” Desiree’s face pops out from the smoke, “You called for me, young halfa?”

“I need to make a wish, Desiree. A big one.”

She smiled, “Oh? Well, then I am at your service,” she rose into the air with her hands poised, “Wish with all your heart, child.”

“I wish I had my family back, I wish them alive again! And I wish that I was just human again!” Danny squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the clap, for the ‘you wish it and so shall it be!’ But nothing came. He peeked one eye open.

Desiree stood above him, looking down with a sad look in her eye.

“What? What’s wrong!? Why aren’t you granting the wish!? That’s why I came here!”

Desiree floated down to him, “Oh, child, not even I can undo the effects of death. Not your friend’s, nor your family’s. And not your own either, even halfway as it is.”

Danny’s knees crashed to the ground. “Then there’s nothing? There’s nothing you can do?”

“Not but offer a hand to grieve, young one.”

Danny drooped further. Desiree’s core aches with sympathy. Perhaps….

“I may not be able to do anything for you, but I know who can.” She said gently, “Or rather what can.”

Danny jerked his head up, once again flying up to meet her, “You have to tell me Desiree! I have to get them back!”

“Relax, young one, I will tell you.” She paused, and conjured a picture in the air with ectoplasm, “they are called the Miraculous. Symbols of powers and ideals from across the world. The two most powerful, are the Ladybug earrings and the ring of the Black Cat.” Their images floated in green around them, “When in possession of both, the user could make one wish, for anything, but the consequenc-“

“I could use them to bring my family back, right?” Danny interrupted.

“These were powerful objects, Phantom, they were not meant to be taken lightly.”

“Were? Why past tense? They still exist right?”

“I don’t know, my dear, they were certainly active in my age, but I’ve heard neither hide nor hair of them since I was released from my lamp. All I know is that the Temple of the Miraculous was destroyed long ago, and the Guardians were all scattered or killed. Perhaps the miraculous were lost to the sands of time as well.”

“So all I have to do is get to them before they got lost, I can do that, easy.” Danny perked up, maybe it was possible, maybe he could get his family back. “Thanks, Desiree, you’ve been real helpful but I’ve got a date with the infini-map!”

Danny shot into the sky of the ghost zone, already heading towards the Far Frozen.

“Wait! Phantom! I didn’t tell you about the Guardians- oh, screw it, if it’s important he’ll find out.” Desiree turned back to her haunt, disappearing behind the curtains.

[maideardesiree]

🌺The cat has caught the mouse🙈

[phodesiree]

Dear muse, This is a starter call, saliento que será seu char falando, então escolha uma dessas sentences para ganhar uma interação com a falida lady Phoebe Desiree Benett. Ah! E não esqueça de especificar o char caso tenha mais de um.

[wandixx]

Hey! As you may or may not have gleaned from my deranged rambling in your comments section, I absolutely love your writing, and I love your Danny/M'gann ship. Anyway, I got super inspired after reading the "relationship reveal with ghost summoning on the side" one shot you wrote, and the rest of the Spearmint one shots, so I made you fanart! It's acrylics on watercolor paper.

It's the scene where M'gann summons Danny during the fight with Desiree! The circle is my take on Danny's summonings; I know you said that it was drawn fairly simply in chalk, but I figured that once the summoning began the circle colored itself in or added detail or something. I like to headcanon that a ghost's personal summoning circle is very, well, personal, and has their death, their mentor, their greatest title, and their obsession on it, plus whatever they hold dearest. So, Danny's circle has the "on" button from the portal, the hourglass for Clockwork, the crown for defeating Pariah, and Danny's own symbol of protection (I kind of just went with protection being his obsession for this painting). The outside flower wreath is for Sam, and the sun is for Tucker. Space is in the background because I headcanoned that he had a space core for this, and the red circle in the middle is Mars, for M'gann (she's literally in the center of his universe)! That is supposed to be her hand reaching over the summoning circle, though I'm not very good at drawing hands yet, so you'll have to excuse the wonky fingers. The circle's supposed to be glowing/splitting as the portal opens for Danny to come through. Oh yeah and the crown is made of ice for Frostbite and the yetis (I tried to include as many parts of Danny's titles/the incantation that M'gann said in your story that I could).

Anyway, sorry, that was a lot of explanation for one painting. Main point is, I absolutely love your writing, and I hope you like the fanart! Have a good day, friend!

From,

Pickle :D

Pickle, Pickle, you're making me loose words in very best possible way. Like, I literally spent last twenty or so minutes just internally screaming in absolute excitement and joy and wondering how I can convey it all into language. I'm dangerously close to opening thesaurus and writing down every synonym for positive emotion I can name in English and I don't think it'll be enough to express all of the feelings I have.

It's absolutely stunning artwork, and level of attention to detail is making me giddy, over the course of these few dozens of minutes I read your explanation at least five times because it all just makes sense and I'm just... ugh, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love the idea you went for when designing this summoning circle and you actually reached to who Danny is deep down and put it in a single painting that is just perfect.

Like, I wasn't really imagining this circle in any way (ah aphantasia my beloathed) but I feel that there is no better way to do it than you. Like, not only did you fulfill this sentence:

"Drawn representation of who he is, the deepest and truest parts of his soul written in the language that only Universe itself could fully understand."

but you also did it in a way that we don't need to, you know, be The Universe themself to understand it.

And this thing about what's dear to him being his friends and M'gann as a center of his universe is so cute I can't. Just kjnonkpehwiwjenpiuweriveowvweeweeow

And this hand looks great, different textures are just *chef's kiss* it all looks fantastic, if my friend lived a bit closer I'd brave snow and late night to run barefoot to show her in person to share the happiness but as it is, we're freaking out over messeges because I can't reiterate it enough, this is absolutely breathtaking

Also, serious question, would it be okay if I tried printing it to hang by my desk?

[sunb0rn]

10 Jul 2021

30th birthday

sinimulan ko yung araw playing this song from The Lumineers

this song is kinda a metaphor to my life and what I wanted to do with it, after what I've been through since I turned 23

Pack yourself a toothbrush dear, Pack yourself a favorite blouse. Take a withdrawal slip, Take all of your savings out. 'Cause if we don't leave this town, we might never make it out

//

first greet sa Messenger was from Vii; isa sa closest girl friends na nakilala ko dito. I think our friendship started 2016-2017.

when I got this, na feel ko nanaman kung gaano ko tnetreasure Tumblr friends ko.

Tumblr has been a big part of my 20s. Bumalik ako dito when I decided to go MIA from everyone, I was 23 then. Kahit na for the most part hindi pa din naman ako maka sabay sa "kada" culture or interactions dito, I still managed to have a few friends na hanggang ngayon nasa life ko pa din. Yun namang mga hindi na nakakausap, naiisip ko pa din sila; may mga detalye sa kanila o sa napagsamahan namin na nakatatak na sa akin.

//

Flex ko na din greet ng "fave bby brother" ko sa office

ang aga nya bumati from the rest at hindi pa sa GC. huhu. dagdag "fave bby brother points". hahaha.

//

dahil nga naka deact ako sa FB, I only expected to recieve greetings from my closest friends, workmates and family; nagulat ako when a random acquaintance greeted me. I then asked cemt- @ipickedoutyourstar kung hndi ba ako naka deact. taranta na ako non, ewan ko ba pota talaga.

ang stressful ng pakiramdam na isang linggo na pala activated FB ko. mukang nalimutan ko ideact yung account from last Saturday after I checked stuffs for school.

kumalma naman ako ng kaunti nung naayos ko na.

//

nakatulong din sa pagkalma ko etong suggested playlist from @paosio

that's why I'm sharing some of my picks from the tracklist.

plus this greeting- 🥺🥺🥺

//

tumambay na ako kina kuya after kong maligo, at bilang malungkot ang tita niyo (or maybe I feel a little indifferent), ako ang pumili ng panunuodin ng mga bata HAHAHA.

-Home, 2015

nakita ko kasi sa list while my cousin was scanning. I remember streaming this mga earlier part ng 2016 ata. still on my darker days, naging emotional ako non. and this OST-

//

simple family lunch-

solid forever yung dinuguan ni daddy! ang dami kong nakain!!

and eto yung cake ko :)

birthday wish- matapos na thesis ko

//

chill time with the fam habang hinihintay si Desiree. nanuod lang kami docu sa youtube. tas nag kayayaan mag Sagada and beach kapag maluwag na ang travel.

separate kwento nalang yung catch up and chill time with Des.

[justkeeponsimming]

Now that the family has grown up and started to make their own way in the world, Desiree wants to get a grasp on her own future.

Her aging bar may still be sparkling, but she’s not seen the Grim Reaper yet! Much of her retirement has been spent trying to make amends for the trouble she caused in her youth. She was a mean sim, manipulating others to climb her way to the top. She never accepted responsibility for when she finally fell, losing everything that she held dear. She favoured one of her children, Leo, and was harsh on his sisters - Bellatrix and Ariana. She has sort of made amends with Bellatrix and gets on well enough with Ariana and Leo, but she has never felt truly forgiven for what she’s done. She does know that she probably doesn’t deserve it, but maybe, just maybe, she’s repented enough and it’s time for her to move on with her life too.

Desiree has some thoughts, but she wants to discuss them with Leo first. She wanders mindlessly into the bathroom closest to the guest bedroom, then gasps when she sees Jayla on the toilet. They both stare at one another awkwardly for a moment before Desiree profusely apologises and flees from the room.

This clearly shows how big her decisions must be! She’s completely distracted!

[annethunderstorms]

My Year in Books 2021:

12,230 pages read

37 books read

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

historical fiction, magical realism, slavery

set in Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) & US (New Orleans, Louisiana) in late 18th century

main characters: Zarité, Maurice, Rosette, Toulouse Valmorain

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

historical fiction, family, religion

set in Nigeria in 1960s

main characters: Kambili, Jaja, Aunty Ifeoma

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

historical fiction (based on the Mirabal sisters), oppression, politics, revolution

set in Dominican Republic between 1930s-1960

main characters: Minerva, Patria, Maria Teresa & Déde Mirabal

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

historical fiction, race, family, identity

set in US (Louisiana and Los Angeles) between 1940s-1990s

main characters: Desiree Vignes, Stella Vignes, Jude Winston

The Captain’s Daughter by Alexander Pushkin

historical fiction, Russian literature, romance

set in Russia (Orenburg) between 1773-75

main characters: Pyotr Andreyich Grinyov, Marja Ivanovna Mironova, Yemelyan Pugachev

Of Stone and Bone (De pierre et d’os) by Bérèngere Cournut

fiction, inuit culture, nature, spirituality

set in Greenland

main character: Uqsuralik

A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende

historical fiction, migration, family, romance

set in Spain during the Civil War & Chile between 1930s-1990s

main characters: Víctor Dalmau, Roser Bruguera

The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

historical fiction, family, war, trauma

set in Vietnam between 1930s-present

main characters: Huong, Dieu Lan, rest of the Tran family

Eva Luna by Isabel Allende

historical fiction, magical realism

set in Latin America (most likely Venezuela) between 1950s-1980s

main character: Eva Luna

Us Against You (Beartown #2) by Fredrik Backman

fiction, sports, coming-of-age

set in northern Sweden (fictional Björnstad)

main characters: Peter Andersson, Maya Andersson, Benji Ovich

A Mercy by Toni Morrison

historical fiction, slavery, African American

set in US (Virginia) in late 17th century

main characters: Florens, Lina, Mr and Mrs Vaarn

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

historical fiction, war, loss, family

set in Afghanistan (Kabul) between 1960s-2003

main characters: Mariam, Laila, Rasheed, Tariq

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy

fiction, dystopia, environment, nature

set in the future; Ireland, Greenland, Atlantic Ocean

main characters: Franny Stone, Niall Lynch, Ennis Malone

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

historical fiction, war, loss, family

set in Palestine (Ein Hod, Jenin, Jeruzalem), US (Philadelphia), Libanon (Beirut) between 1940s-2003

main characters: Amal, Yousef, rest of the Abulheja family

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

historical fiction, magical realism, slavery, African American

set in US (Georgia, SC, NC, Tennessee, Indiana), mid 19th century

main character: Cora

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

fiction, family, romance, coming-of-age

set on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska (fictional Kaneq) from 1974-1986

main characters: Lenora ‘Leni’ Allbright, Cora Allbright, Ernt Allbright, Matthew Walker

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

fiction, magical realism, family, race, African American

set in US (Mississippi)

main characters: Jojo, Leonie, Michaela ‘Kayla’, Pop, Richie

Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee - A Look Inside North Korea by Jang Jin-sung

nonfiction, memoir, politics, North Korea

set in North Korea, China

The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer

nonfiction, politics, history, race, Native American

set in US

Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende

historical fiction, family saga, romance

set in US (San Francisco) & Chile (Santiago) between 1860-1910

main characters: Aurora del Valle, Paulina del Valle, Severo del Valle, Eliza Sommers, Tao Chi’en

Among the Lost (Las tierras arrasadas) by Emiliano Monge

fiction, crime, mystery, human trafficking

set in Mexico

main characters: Epitafio, Estela

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

historical fiction, magical realism, family saga

set in Colombia (fictional Macondo) between 1850s-1950s

main characters: José Arcadio Buendía, Úrsula Iguarán, rest of the Buendía family

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi

fiction, gender, oppression, feminism

set in Egypt between 1950s-1970s

main character: Firdaus

The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

historical fiction, coming-of-age, family, feminism

set in Uganda between 1930s-1980s

main character: Kirabo Nnamiiro

Heritage by Miguel Bonnefoy

historical fiction, family saga, war, migration, magical realism

set in Chile & France between 1873-1973

main characters: Lazare Lonsonier, Margot Lonsonier, Ilario Da

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline

historical fiction, prison, exile, survival

set in England (London) & Australia (Tasmania) between 1840-1868

main characters: Mathinna, Evangeline Stokes, Hazel Ferguson

Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown by Anne Glenconner

nonfiction, memoir, royalty

set in UK

There There by Tommy Orange

fiction, Native American, race, identity

set in California (Oakland)

main characters: 12 Native Americans from Oakland

A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter

nonfiction, memoir, travel, nature

set in Svalbard in 1934

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

nonfiction, memoir, feminism

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

historical fiction, loss, family, redemption

set in Afghanistan (Kabul), US (Bay Area, CA), Pakistan (Peshawar, Islamabad) between 1975-2002

main characters: Amir, Hassan, Baba, Ali, Rahim Khan, Soraya, Sohrab

A Sailor, A Chicken, An Incredible Voyage: The Seafaring Adventures of Guirec and Monique (Le monde selon Guirec et Monique) by Guirec Soudée

nonfiction, memoir, adventure, sailing

set in France (Bretagne), Atlantic Ocean, Greenland, Northwest Passage, Pacific Ocean

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

historical fiction, family, identity

set in Afghanistan (Shadbagh, Kabul), US (Bay Area, CA), France (Paris), Greece (Tinos) between 1949-2010

main characters: Pari, Abdullah

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

nonfiction, memoir, family, politics, Chinese history, oppression

set in China 1900s-1970s

The Yield by Tara June Winch

fiction, Aboriginals, colonialism, identity, family, environment

set in Australia (central New South Wales) 1800s-present

main characters: August Gondiwindi, Albert and Elsie Gondiwindi

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

fiction, oppression, corruption, environment

set in West Africa (fictional Kosawa, most likely Cameroon) in 1980s-2000s

main characters: Thula Nangi, Sahel, Bongo, Yaya, Juba, village children

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

fiction, fantasy, mental health, regret

set in UK (Bedford)

main character: Nora Seed