#nathalia holt

[thepaperquillco]

Currently reading: Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt

[readingwithwrin]

Blogmas Day 27 | Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt | ARC Book Review

Blogmas Day 27 | Wise Gals by Nathalia Holt | ARC Book Review

Title: Wise Gals Author: Nathalia Holt Publisher: G.P. Putnam and Sons Published Date: September 13th, 2022 Genre: Non-fiction, WWII, Women’s History, History Source: Netgalley and Publisher Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Goodreads Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls comes the never-before-told story of a small cadre of influential female spies in the…

[loveislanduk]

I have exactly one thing to add!

bianca majolie brought the nutcracker to america! no one gave a shit about tchaikovsky until this little five foot nothing italian immigrant brought it to disney! isn't that crazy? and she was a big part of the genius behind pinnochio, cinderella, bambi, and dumbo among others!!!! you go bianca you rock!

in other news im only like 50% done with this book and its probably going to be my favorite book of the year its genuinely that good so far tens across the board.

I just finished a book called The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt, about women animators at the Walt Disney Studio. I cannot believe the shit I found out.

(Hopefully I got this all correct, I was listening to an audiobook instead of reading a hard copy, so I can't consult it for name spellings and the like. I'm relying on Google, and well, we know how that goes sometimes.)

Some things I learned from this book. -Walt Disney became a personal champion of women in the animation department, arguing not just that they were as talented as men but that they could bring something to storytelling that men could not. After his death, the number of women in the animation and story departments plummeted, along with the animation department itself. -But he also paid women way less. (Except Mary Blair.)

Not just women, but many animators had a hard time getting on-screen credit for their work. This was one of the issues that led to a massive strike in 1941 that tore the department in two, temporarily shut down the studio, and resulted in a lot of people, both union and non-union, losing their jobs when it finally reopened.

On the rare occasion women did get credit, they were sometimes ignored by reviewers.

The second woman to be hired to the animation department, Grace Huntington, was a pilot who held multiple speed and altitude records. She eventually quit the studio with the hopes of getting a full time aviation job, but died young of TB before her career could take off.

Traditional animation is apparently a terrible way to make money. Only a handful of the early animated feature-length films made more at the box office than it took to make them.

Women animators were drawing things for The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast as early as the 1930s.

Men thought drawing fairies was unmanly, so the fairy sequence set to Nutcracker music in Fantasia was drawn and directed entirely by women.

While the women animators were doing that, the men drew super gross racist and sexist centaurs to Beethoven music, and the reviewers all hated it. (Essentially they were like HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO BEETHOVEN.) - Generally, male animators tended to like slapstick comedy in their cartoons, while women tended to be more about storytelling and character development.

Obviously there were exceptions to that rule, like Walt Disney and Mark Davis.

Disney hired an LSU professor to write Song of the South. When everyone pointed out to him this was a terrible idea, he hired a Communist Jew from New York as co-writer for "balance."

This went about as well as you'd expect.

When the LSU professor demanded his co-writer get taken off the script, Disney replaced him with another "progressive" white guy.

Apparently he never considered hiring an African-American writer.

Literally everyone, including the studio's legal team, told him not to make this movie, much less hire a white guy from Baton Rouge to write it.

The lead actor James Baskett, who won an Honorary Academy Award for the role, couldn't go to the premiere because it was held in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the Communist got put on Cinderella. He interpreted the story as a worker rising up against her oppressors.

This is also known as the correct way to interpret Cinderella.

Apparently the writer (so sorry, I'm forgetting his name) included a "violent" scene in which Cinderella goes after her stepmother and stepsisters.

I have no more details than that, but apparently the other animators made him take it out.

I'm now just picturing Cinderella stalking around her house with a raised butcher knife in her hand like in "Psycho."

Artist Mary Blair was art director for many of the classic Disney movies, including Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. Disney loved her work so much that when she had to move to Long Island for her husband's job, Disney let her work remotely and fly back and forth from New York to Los Angeles.

She was responsible for the rich colors and design choices in the princess movies. She resigned part way through "Sleeping Beauty" but the art director after her used her designs for Maleficent.

Her husband, Lee Blair, was also an animator for the studio before he left to fight in World War II. He was apparently extremely jealous of Mary's artistic talent, and when he returned from Europe, he moved the family to Long Island, became an alcoholic, and started abusing her and later their children. Mary didn't feel she could go to Walt, or any of her other friends at the studio like Retta Scott and Mark and Alice Davis, because domestic violence and divorce were so taboo back then.

Even after the move, Disney let her work remotely, and she spent a lot of time flying between New York and Los Angeles. She eventually resigned hoping to work on her marriage (this didn't really work, though her husband did eventually start going to AA meetings after spending a year in jail for drunk driving) but was later rehired to help design the It's A Small World ride.

Everyone who worked on that ride hated the song btw.

The men apparently got over the idea of drawing fairies making their balls fall off or something by the time they were making Peter Pan, but one of them still asked why Tinker Bell "had to be so naughty".

101 Dalmations was the first animated film to be made using Xerox technology, which decimated the studio's female-dominated ink and paint department (their job was to trace over the animators' work). The Xerox machines could only make black and white at first, which is why so much of that movie is so colorless compared to the earlier Disney films Mary Blair worked on.

The silver lining was everyone got to play with puppies while they were making it because Disney ordered a whole bunch of them to just be there in the studio for the animators to draw.

Speaking of cute animals, the Burbank lot was home to a bunch of stray cats. Disney liked them being there because they hunted mice, so he didn't like when employees fed them.

Disney hated 101 Dalmations, because of the Xerox machines, but it made more of a profit than any of his previous films, because of the Xerox machines.

Julie Andrews originally turned down the role of Mary Poppins because she was pregnant, and Disney promised to wait on her. (Joss Whedon, take notes.)

After Walt died of lung cancer, the animation department was nearly killed and pretty much stopped hiring women. Mary Blair, who had been almost as influential to Disney's art as Walt, was edged out and by the time new animators started working on the Disney Renaissance films, they didn't even know who she was.

Many of the women who left the studio went on to work for Little Golden Books and other children's book publishing companies.

One of the few women animators at the company at this time, Heidi Guedel, who drew Tigger, left with Don Bluth when he departed to form his own company in 1979.

When The Little Mermaid was in production, there was only one woman animator--she may have been the only woman in the entire story department, I don't remember.

Disney then began hiring more women animators at the directive of then-Disney CEO Mike Eisner and head of animation Jeffrey Katzenberg.

One of the women screenwriters working on Beauty and the Beast (I think Linda Woolverton, but it may have been Brenda Chapman) wrote a scene in which Belle puts pins on a map showing where all she hopes to travel.

The animators changed the scene in the storyboards so that Belle is in the kitchen making a cake instead. When the screenwriter saw it, she apparently raged BELLE DOES NOT MAKE CAKES!

Pixar at this time had no women in its animation department.

Brenda Chapman became the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film for Brave. During her acceptance speech, she talked about her daughter Emma.

When making Frozen, Disney held a "sister summit" of women discussing their relationships with their sisters and other women. Men at the summit were not allowed to speak.

btw Brenda Chapman also worked on The Prince of Egypt. (I did not learn this from the book, I learned it just now while looking her up on imdb.)

If I have had a very bad day, and am very tired, then the mere mention of Howard Ashman's name will make me break down in tears.

[khofiecloud]

Books I want to read during this academic year

Fiction:

The sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang

The poppy war trilogy by R.F Kuang

The gilded ones trilogy by Namina Forna

My year of rest of relaxation

The picture of Dorian gray by Oscar Wilde

The queen’s gambit by Walter Tevis

The giver by Louis Lowry

Alice in wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Just kids by Patti Smith

Little women by Louisa May Alcott

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

And then there were none by Agatha Christie

The alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Tram 83 by Fiston Nasser Mwanza Mujila

The War of Buttons by Louis Pergaud

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Nonfiction:

A brief history of time by Stephen Hawking

The art of war by Sun Tzu

Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin

Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari

I know why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

It's a lot of books, but one of my goals this year is to is to read and finish more books. If you like this list and have any recs to share, please comment them.

[audikatia]

I'll be honest, it was a lot of rereads this year because 1) I love rereading favs and 2) so many of the new books I read this year were just eh.

Total list with ratings below:

Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage by Nathalia Holt ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Maid by Nita Prose ⭐️⭐️

Book Lovers by Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Beauty, British Spy by Damien Lewis ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Pallbearer’s Club by Paul Tremblay ⭐️⭐️

Harry Potter and the Art of Spying by Lynn M. Boughey ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Honeys by Ryan La Sala ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass ⭐️

Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Teen Titans: Robin by Kami Garcia and Gabriel Picolo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bad Gays: a Homosexual History by Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Dearest Darkest by Kayla Cottingham ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han ⭐️⭐️

It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han ⭐️⭐️

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han ⭐️⭐️

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Seige and Storm by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rise and Ruin by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels, and Crooks by Patrick Raddon Keefe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Afterglow by Phil Stamper ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World by David K. Randall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Five Survive by Holly Jackson ⭐️⭐️

Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Queer Principles of Kit Webb by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Brooklyn was Queer by Hugh Ryan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly ⭐️⭐️

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Only One Left by Riley Sager ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐��⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Opal by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens ⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of Us is Next by Karen M. McManus ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of Us is Back by Karen M. McManus ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Liar City by Allie Therin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Deeper Waters by F.T. Lukens ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Seriously, Murder? by Monica Hoopes ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Awakening by Kate Chopin ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Drift by C. J. Tudor ⭐️⭐️

Scones and Scofflaws by Jane Gorman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune ⭐️⭐️

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ten Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wolfsong by TJ Klune ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman ⭐️⭐️

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix ⭐️⭐️

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Raven King by Nora Sakavic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

All the King’s Men by Nora Sakavic ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Christine by Stephen King ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Male Gazed by Manuel Betancourt ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro ⭐️⭐️

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Nine by Maureen Johnson ⭐️⭐️

The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon ⭐️⭐️

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gwen and Art are Not in Love by Lex Croucher ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When Crack was King by Donovan X. Ramsey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Slippery Creatures by K. J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Sugared Game by K. J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Subtle Blood by K. J. Charles ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Monsters by Claire Dederer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Allergic by Theresa McPhail ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[tam--lin]

Every book I read in 2023!

Key:

🖖 = science fiction

💀 = horror

🏰 = historical element

🚀 = space non-fiction

✨ = favorite fiction

🧠 = favorite non-fiction

A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart (🧠)

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (🖖,✨,🏰)

Free Time by Jenny Blake (🧠)

No More Police: A Case for Abolition by Mariame Kaba and Andrea J. Ritchie (🧠)

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal (🖖)

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Savage Appetites: True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession

The Missing Cryptoqueen by Jamie Bartlett

Second Contact by Mike Resnik (🖖)

Hype: How Scammers, Grifters, and Con Artists Are Taking Over the Internet - and Why We're Following by Gabrielle Bluestone

Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race by Mary-Jane Rubenstein (🚀)

Black Hole Survival Guide by Jana Levin (🚀,🧠)

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (🏰,✨)

One Giant Leap by Charles Fishman (🚀,🧠)

The New Guys by Meredith Bagby (🚀,🧠)

The Mission: A True Story by David W. Brown (🚀,🧠)

Intuitive Eating by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole (🧠)

Up To Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes by Christine Yu (🧠)

Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt (🚀)

The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud (🖖,💀)

The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown (🖖,💀)

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Michael Brown (🚀)

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes (🖖,💀)

Off-Earth: Ethical Questions and Quandaries for Living in Outer Space by Erika Nesvold (🚀,🧠)

The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage by Nick De Semlyen (🧠)

If It Sounds Like a Quack...: A Journey to the Fringes of American Medicine by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling

The Possibility of Life by Jamie Green (🚀,🧠)

It Rides A Pale Horse by Andy Marino (💀)

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle (💀)

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is a book by Bart D. Ehrman (🧠)

The Dark Between The Trees by Fiona Barnett (🏰,💀) 

Ararat by Christopher Golden (💀)

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2023, edited by Anya Elizabeth Johnson 

Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour Workweek by Rutger Bregman  (🧠)

System Collapse by Martha Wells (🖖,✨)

Paladin's Faith: Saint of Steel #4 by T. Kingfisher (✨)

Far and away Doomsday Book was the favorite work of fiction I read in 2023. I had a better year of in 2023 than 2022 - I didn't like the majority of the fiction I read in 2022.

Most of the space non-fiction books I read were bangers. Honestly, most of the non-fiction I read this year, I also enjoyed. The Last Action Heroes stood out to me as being a light, fun book that was both a new release and out of my regular wheelhouse.

Astrotopia was my least-favorite non-fiction, Arrarat was my least-favorite fiction. (Neither of these are saying that much, since I DNF most books I really dislike.

[hannahhook7744]

Arwen kids info part 1;

BASICS:

Full name: Loholt Tom Pendragon.

House: Pendragon.

Age: 26 years old.

Birth place: Camelot.

Current location: Avalon (before rebirth).

Titles: the first born son, Sir Loholt, and Prince Loholt.

Occupation: Knight of the round table and Prince of Camelot.

Known as: The politer twin, Twin 1, Tom Jr, Twin 2, Lo, Holt, and the twin of Llacheu.

Known for: Being Prince of Camelot, a knight of the round table, a hero, and Prisoner of Sir Caradoc.

ATTIRE:

General outfit: A grass green embellished tunic with matching poulaine shoes, a black belt, and tan trousers.

Weapons/Equipment: A tinted green type xvi sword made of an unknown material that he made himself.

Extra accessories: Black sheath that can be clipped to his belt.

PERSONALITY:

Fears: Being locked away, getting sick, dying, His friends betraying him, being forgotten, leaving his loved ones behind, not being able to protect his loved ones, losing his brother, and heights.

Dreams: He wants to be a better king than his grandfather was and keep peace in the land. Even if he has to fight for it himself. If he could be something other than king, he'd chose to be a royal negotiator.

Likes: Sewing, welding, sword fighting, swimming, learning languages, keeping the peace, horseback riding, gardening, his friends, listening to Dragonet's jokes, and watching Dragonet do his jesterly duties.

Dislikes: Snakes, those who abuse their power, being high up, being kidnapped, assassination attempts, being separated from his loved ones during battle, and classist people.

FAVORITES:

Favorite Color: Grass Green.

Favorite Food: Veggie gruel.

Favorite Drink: Red wine.

Favorite Animal: Horses.

Favorite Season: Summer.

Favorite Weapon: Sword.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Friends: Dragonet, Sir Kay, Cai the fair, and Lady Florie of Kanadic.

Parents: Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon.

Siblings: Llacheu Pendragon, Nathalia Pendragon, Aedulf Pendragon the 3rd, Amhar Pendragon, Iduna Pendragon, Duran Pendragon, Gwydre Pendragon, Artie Pendragon, Melora Pendragon, and Hilde Pendragon.

Love Interest: None.

Children: None.

Animal companion: A horse named Fern.

HISTORY:

Childhood: Loholt was born to Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon in Camelot with his twin, Llacheu, after the battle of Camlann. The two of them were close as close could be and were the cool older siblings that their younger siblings could always count on. The two of them quickly befriended Dragonet (Merlin's son and the court jester), Sir Kay, Cai the fair, and Lady Florie of Kanadic. He spent most of his youth couped up in the old Blacksmith's quarters and in the library with Dragonet and Florie when he wasn't by his brother's side, and was known as the politer twin.

Life: Loholt in his later years became a knight of the round table alongside his bestfriend, Kay, and his twin brother, Llacheu. Saving lives and keeping the peace as his mother and father prepared him to be king. Something that unbeknownst to them, would never happen.

Death: At some point, Loholt was captured by Sir Caradoc of the Dolorous Tower who locked him up in his prison. Where he contracted an unpleasant disease and died soon afterward, after being saved by Lancelot.

Quote: "Warriors are not always the strongest or fastest men."

Theme Song: "Soldier Poet King."

BASICS:

Full name: Llacheu Ewan Pendragon.

House: Pendragon.

Age: 26 years old.

Birth place: Camelot.

Current location: Avalon (before rebirth).

Titles: Llacheu the Giant Slayer, Prince Llacheu, Llacheu the brave, and Sir Llacheu.

Occupation: Knight of the round table and Prince of Camelot.

Known as: 'Cheu, Pendragon, Twin of Loholt, Twin 2, the rude twin, Prat Jr, Dollophead Jr, and Llach.

Known for: Being Prince of Camelot, a knight of the round table, a hero, a giant slayer, and the lover of Lady Florie of Kanadic.

ATTIRE:

General outfit: Black cloak leggings, a brown belt , and an orange embellished tunic with matching poulaine shoes.

Weapons/Equipment: A tinted orange xvi sword made of an unknown material that Loholt made him.

Extra accessories: A brown sheath that can be clipped to his belt.

PERSONALITY:

Fears: His friends betraying him, being forgotten, leaving his loved ones behind, not being able to protect his loved ones, lamias, losing his brother, and drowning.

Dreams: He wants to be the best knight be can be. One so great that he'll never be forgotten or fail his people. He also wants to be a good king to his love's people and help out his twin whenever he can. If he couldn't be a knight or a king, he'd be a traveling sword fighting instructor.

Likes: Horseback riding, sword fighting, hunting, jousting, taken part in tournaments, his friends, listening to Dragonet's jokes, watching Dragonet do his jesterly duties, parties, and Lady Florie of Kanadic.

Dislikes: Deep water, being kidnapped, assassination attempts, lamias, council meetings, being separated from his loved ones during battle, and classist people.

FAVORITES:

Favorite Color: Brunt Orange.

Favorite Food: Sausage links.

Favorite Drink: Ale.

Favorite Animal: Dragon.

Favorite Season: Winter.

Favorite Weapon: Sword.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Friends: Dragonet, Cai the fair, and Sir Kay.

Parents: Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon.

Siblings: Loholt Pendragon, Nathalia Pendragon, Aedulf Pendragon the 3rd, Amhar Pendragon, Iduna Pendragon, Duran Pendragon, Gwydre Pendragon, Artie Pendragon, Melora Pendragon, and Hilde Pendragon.

Love Interest: Lady Florie of Kanadic.

Children: None.

Animal companion: A horse named Mandarin.

HISTORY:

Childhood: Llacheu was born to Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon in Camelot with his twin, Loholt, after the battle of Camlann. The two of them were close as close could be and were the cool older siblings that their younger siblings could always count on. The two of them quickly befriended Dragonet (Merlin's son and the court jester), Sir Kay, Cai the fair, and Lady Florie of Kanadic. He spent most of his youth willingly training in the courtyards and exploring the forest, and was known as the louder, ruder twin. Something he never quite minded. He also spent alot of his youth jealous of the fact that his brother was going to be king and that he was closer to Dragonet but cared less about it as he got older.

Life: Eventually he fell in love with Lady Florie and went to live in her kingdom, under her service and was followed by his best friends, Kay, and Cai the fair. Fighting giants, saving his mother from a kidnapping attempt, and gaining alot of glory as he began to court Florie. Completely unaware of Kay's ever growing jealousy. He was distraught for days after his brother went missing and helped search for him, and grew angry when he found out about his brother's death. Swearing that he'd never allow anyone or anything to hurt his loved ones again, and that he'd never let a title lead to a fall out between him and a loved one again.

Death: After he slayed the giant Lorgin, he was murdered in his sleep by Kay who wanted to take the credit for the heroic act that he himself could never quite manage to achieve.

Quote: "When you're a twin, it's hard to get some recognition. "

Theme Song: "I just can't wait to be King."

BASICS:

Full name: Nathalia Ygraine Pendragon.

House: Pendragon.

Age: 24 years old.

Birth place: Camelot.

Current location: Avalon (before rebirth).

Titles: Nathalia the Martyr, Nathalia the Vrigin, Saint Nathalia, Nathalia the explorer, Princess Nathalia, the first Pendragon daughter, Lady Nathalia, and the Vrigin Princess.

Occupation: Princess of Camelot and an explorer.

Known as: Natty, Nat, 'lia, Na, N, and Thalia.

Known for: Being a princess of Camelot, a Martyr, exploring, and going on a pilgrimage.

ATTIRE:

General outfit: White Cracows shoes, black cloaked leggings, a small fur coat, and a simple gold lace necklace with her family's crest on it.

Weapons/Equipment: A mace.

Extra accessories: A simple rucksack that use to belong to Merlin in which she hides her mace and other things.

PERSONALITY:

Fears: Being betrayed by her loved ones, being forgotten, disappearing without a trace, small spaces, and fire.

Dreams: She wants to be a famous adventurer-- discovering new lands and cultures and things never seen before.

Likes: Exploring, climbing, sword fighting, horseback riding, sewing, traveling, her friends, writing stories, listening to music, and reading.

Dislikes: Fire, being separated from her friends, her loved ones in danger, being kidnapped, assassination attempts, lamias, council meetings, classist people, and being stuck in one place for too long.

FAVORITES:

Favorite Color: White.

Favorite Food: Bread and jam.

Favorite Drink: Cider.

Favorite Animal: Unicorn.

Favorite Season: Spring.

Favorite Weapon: A Mace.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Friends: Princess Urusla, Canute, Pepin, Columbanus, Balbina, Dragonet, and Eulalia.

Parents: Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon.

Siblings: Llacheu Pendragon, Loholt Pendragon, Aedulf Pendragon the 3rd, Amhar Pendragon, Iduna Pendragon, Duran Pendragon, Gwydre Pendragon, Artie Pendragon, Melora Pendragon, and Hilde Pendragon.

Love Interest: None.

Children: None.

Animal companion: A horse named Unity.

HISTORY:

Childhood: Nathalia was born to Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon in Camelot a couple of years after the battle of Camlann with her twin. In her youth, she befriended various different princesses and saints who she remained close to. She spent most of her spare time tucked away in the library, usually with her brothers, Loholt and Amhar, and their kind of cousin, Dragonet. When she wasn't in the library she was exploring the nooks and cranies of the kingdom and the forest. She had dreams and was set on accomplishing them, no matter what anyone else had to say about it.

Life: In her adulthood, Nathalia explored the world alongside her friends. Going on several pilgrimages and adventures, and outliving both of her older brothers.

Death: She died with 11 thousand other vrigins on a pilgrimage as a martyrs but the details of how exactly are fuzzy.

Quote: "I'd rather die having lived a life full of adventure than live trapped away in a golden cage."

Theme Song: "Art of war."

BASICS:

Full name: Amhar Elyan Pendragon.

House: Pendragon.

Age: 24 years old.

Birth place: Camelot.

Current location: Avalon (before rebirth).

Titles: Prince Amhar, the head chamberlain, and the black sheep of the Pendragon family (though no one is allowed to say that aloud for fear of getting punched).

Occupation: Prince of Camelot and chamberlain.

Known as: Prince Amhar, Amhar the Chamberlain, Am, A, and 'Har.

Known for: Being a Chamberlain despite being a prince and being the odd man out in his family, though only really to outsiders.

ATTIRE:

General outfit: A yellow hooded tunic, black trousers, and yellow Cracows shoes.

Weapons/Equipment: Bow and arrow.

Extra accessories: A black quiver.

PERSONALITY:

Fears: Betrayal, losing his loved ones, being a disappointment, being abandoned, being disowned, getting lost, and shapeshifters.

Dreams: He just wants to make his family proud and to take care of his dog, family, and friends. While staying out of the limelight.

Likes: Hunting, playing fetch, listening to music, listening to Dragonet's jokes, reading, helping Lucan with his cleaning, writing poetry, his friends, and occasional travel and sparring.

Dislikes: Classist people, his loved ones in danger, being kidnapped, assassination attempts, being compared to his siblings, being compared to his friends, not knowing where he is, not knowing the people around him, and evil shapeshifters.

FAVORITES:

Favorite Color: Yellow.

Favorite Food: Chicken.

Favorite Drink: Lemon juiced water.

Favorite Animal: Dogs.

Favorite Season: Fall.

Favorite Weapon: Bow and arrow.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Friends: Dragonet, Griflet, Bedivere, Lucan the Butler, and Amhren.

Parents: Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon.

Siblings: Loholt Pendragon, Nathalia Pendragon, Aedulf Pendragon the 3rd, Llacheu Pendragon, Iduna Pendragon, Duran Pendragon, Gwydre Pendragon, Artie Pendragon, Melora Pendragon, and Hilde Pendragon.

Love Interest: None.

Children: None.

Animal companion: A hunting dog named Lemons.

HISTORY:

Childhood: Amhar was born to Arthur and Guinevere Pendragon in Camelot with his twin, Nathalia, a couple of years after the battle of Camlann. Amhar spent most of his childhood tucked away in the library with Dragonet, Loholt, and Nathalia. And when he wasn't doing that, he was in the stables or taking care of the hunting dogs and helping his friends with their duties. He is considered a bit of a black sheep to the outside world when compared to his family due to how he is more hesitant to run into danger compared to them and is more than happy to just sit on the side lines, and help them with their duties. He was friends with mainly servants.

Life: In his young adult years, he was employed as a Chamberlain by his parents. A job he took very seriously and did his best to make them proud of, and gladly helped out all his loved ones with their duties.

Death: A shapeshifter took the form of his father and murdered him (I'm not gonna make Arthur actually be the one to kill him like in the legends. I can't find more info about the situation so I don't feel comfortable trying to figure out a reason why Arthur would murder his own kid. He just doesn't seem the type in Merlin to do that).

Quote: "Being a black sheep isn't all that bad."

Theme Song: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."

⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

Author's note: Based on Poor Thing Robb Star, the King in the North on Thrones Amino's template. I removed and added some things, but I did use their template. So go check them out. Also these are loosely based on the legends.

[eileentothestars]

Fun fact: The woman playing Tinkerbell is not an actor but Ginni Mack, a member of the Ink and Paint Department!

Fun fact source: The Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt

Disney's "Peter Pan", BEHIND THE SCENES (Released on Feb 5th, 1953)

[thethirstyspittoon]

A Little Bit Of Something For Everyone: “Rise Of The Rocket Girls” ; Nathalia Holt

[lltmmxxiii]

As obscured as an entombed mural in Disneyland, the work of these female artists surrounds us, even though many of their names have faded from our consciousness, often replaced by those of the men they worked with. They have shaped the evolution of female characters in film, advanced our technology, and broken down gender barriers in order to give us the empowering storylines we have begun to see in film and animation today. In the shadow of their artistry, millions of childhoods have been shaped, with an untold number yet to come.

The Queens of Animation, Nathalia Holt

[blackcatfilmprod]

Hi Guys,

While at the Disney exhibition gift shop I find this book on the history on the female animators who help work on the Disney cartoons for the Disney Studio

[foreverlostinliterature]

2/16 Book Deals

Good morning, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. :) I hear some places are getting some pretty crazy weather, so if that’s you then I hope you’re safe and making it through okay!? It’s been super regular weather here, so I have no idea what extreme weather is like, haha. Also, sorry for the irregularity of my posting lately, it’s been a super busy time for me and I’m trying to pop on when I can and am hoping to become more regular again once everything has calmed down. 

Anyway, the reason we’re here is for all the awesome books on sale! Be sure to have a look if you are once again in need of some new reading materials. :) I love Melissa Caruso’s books and The Obsidian Tower is so good! There’s also some nonfiction that’s fantastic (A Long Way Gone, for one!) as well as some more fantasy, sci-fi, and general fiction. Have you read any of these books? Let me know!

I hope you all have a fantastic day--and happy reading! :)

Today’s Deals:

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso - https://amzn.to/3jTj6q9

A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry - https://amzn.to/3jSi51w

Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer - https://amzn.to/3dfsenP

Severance by Ling Ma - https://amzn.to/3qsGQ6P

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison - https://amzn.to/3qrx3y2

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher - https://amzn.to/3poOmhR

Ark (Forward Collection) by Veronica Roth - https://amzn.to/3qsF8lU

Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries by Kory Stamper - https://amzn.to/37i1pLG

At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O'Brien - https://amzn.to/3u0SxUC

In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien - https://amzn.to/3aur9H3

Augustus: First Emperor of Rome by Adrian Keith Goldsworthy - https://amzn.to/3u4i7Ij

The Wars of the Roosevelts by Wiliam J. Mann - https://amzn.to/3auscGZ

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang - https://amzn.to/3qqja3f

Ashes of the Sun by Django Wexler - https://amzn.to/3rWN3bE

The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes - https://amzn.to/2N2CzJ9

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Lia Mundy - https://amzn.to/3tZnPLL

Columbine by Dave Cullen - https://amzn.to/3qsxEiT

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah - 

Real American: A Memoir by Julie Lythcott-Haims - 

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt - https://amzn.to/3tXFao6

NOTE:  I am categorizing these book deals posts under the tag #bookdeals, so if you don’t want to see them then just block that tag and you should be good. I am an Amazon affiliate in addition to a Book Depository affiliate and will receive a small (but very much needed!)  commission on any purchase made through these links.

[nero-neptune]

i super recommend this book for women's history month if you love animation, love female artists, love reading about behind the scenes, and/or love mary blair

[rainysaturdayafternoon]

last song: Bela Lugosi’s Dead , Bauhaus

currently watching: erm , i finished heartstopper but i’m in the midst of going back and rewatching all the imogen scenes and tori scenes

currently reading: The Queens of Animation : The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History , by Nathalia Holt . very very good , def recommend

current obsession: morgan donner on youtube ! ! i think bernadette is either taking a posting break or doing a Big Project , so i’ve been looking at morgan’s stuff ! very very fun , rightly recommend her video about the Medieval Bed

tagging: @losticaruss @simplyabnormal @rosethevoid and open tag :]

i got tagged by @giallos

tag game ✨

9 people you’d like to know more about

last song: long live (taylor’s version) by taylor swift

currently watching: nothing

currently reading: red white and royal blue

current obsession: the little mermaid (2023) and red white and royal blue (2023)

tagging: whoever wants to do it 🤍

[cricketnationrise]

quarantine reads part 4

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

76. The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan: book 3 of the brothers sinister romance series. you absolutely DO NOT need to read these in order. i certainly didn’t. also. its a romance novel. there is sex.

77. Joy: And 52 Other Very Short Stories by Erin McGraw: short story collection. some of these are less than a page long. ideal reading for only having like 5 mins.

78. One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Sarah MacLean: did i get this from the library because of the title? yes. is it a fantastic story? also yes. book 2 in the rules of scoundrels series. romance novel. there is sex.

79. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman: magical library world at the heart of multiple universe has agents that retrieve unique works. featured universe is a sort of victorian england plus elves and werewolves and vampires and dragons and magic and this book is FANTASTIC. still need to get the others because IT IS A SERIES BUCKLE UP BUTTERCUP

80. The Rogue Pirate’s Bride by Shana Galen: book 3 of the sons of the revolution series. look i like romance novels. i especially like that you don’t have to read them in order. its a romance novel. there is sex. also PIRATES and the leads saving each other’s lives.

81. The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt: non-fiction look at the history of disney animation via the women who worked there. lots of details i didn’t know. chapters are movies rather than years.

82. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett: bit of a misnomer since the guy is straight up stealing rare books with credit card fraud. he just thinks he’s being gentlemanly by amassing these books. it started off as a feature article and it shows.

83. We’re Here, We’re Here by KM Szpara: tor.com short story, 2 members of a boy band fall in love. management doesn’t like that so starts to control/manipulate the implants they put iN THEIR VOICE BOXES AHHH

84. The Night Soil Salvagers by Gregory Norman Bossert: tor.com short story, cool story telling form with in-world songs/poetry/recipes, very poetic writing

85. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt: two brothers are hitmen get hired for a job. one of the brothers is really excited, the other starts to contemplate a different life, gold rush era california/western USA, horses, violent, seriously at least one person is killed in every chapter. at one point they burn down a whole lodge. cw: harm to animals, murder, starvation

86. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin: classic piece of writing about the Black Male experience in the united states

87. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick: lonely old man goes on scavenger hunt to find the meanings behind the charms on a bracelet he finds in his dead wife’s closet. travels all around UK and paris and makes friends near and far.

88. The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by HG Parry: some people can read characters out of books. i repeat. CHARACTERS CAN COME OUT OF THEIR BOOKS. theres a whole diagonalley esq space that houses characters that can’t go back. chaos and danger ensue when uriah heep refuses to go back into his book. magic!

89. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett: #11 in the discworld series, DEATH gets tired of doing all the things and decides to retire.

90. Death and What Comes Next by Terry Pratchett:  discworld short story

91. Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan: girls life is about to change when her sister is proposed to, very gifted, coming of age, crush on her teacher, endgame is her/her best friend who is a guy and has clearly been pining THE WHOLE TIME

92. Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography by Laura Ingalls Wilder:  i love the little house books and this was the first non-fictionalized account of her life i’ve read. the introduction by the editor was especially cool/helpful to read, lots of photos and drawings

93. Exhalation by Ted Chiang: this might be my favorite book of all quarantine. and i read a lot of books. a collection of short stories that all fucked me up, but in a good way? title story contains the sentence, “It’s no coincidence that “aspiration” means both hope and the act of breathing.” which like, how dare you sir

94. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell: book 2 in the simon snow series, which is a fantasy series created by rowell in her novel Fangirl. She then proceeded to write fanfic of this already fictional series. i’m in love with the meta. 3rd book out in 2021.

95. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: set in mississippi before/during/after hurricane katrina hits, follows one family through the eyes of the daughter. tw: sexual assault, dog fighting, harm to dogs, death of dog

96. The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce: was still doing my Emelan reread. 4 protags reunite to help out Sandry as she goes to Namorn to deal with her estate and her cousin the empress. whether they will be allowed to leave is another story

97. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner: book 3 in the queen’s thief series, seriously, go back and read from the beginning. political machinations of the king from a (Mostly) outside POV. the gods are always closer than you think

98. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson: a very Spanish vibe fantasy novel. book 1 in a series. chosen one trope. new queen stumbles into the resistance. magic!

99. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley: first book in a mystery series. a young teen girl is super into chemistry in 1950′s england countryside. someone is murdered in her garden. she tries to figure out what happened because her dad is still shell shocked. cw: kidnapping, harm to children

100. A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe by Alex White: first in the salvagers trilogy. motley crew turns into found family on a space ship. in this world almost everyone has magic. older female protagonist. queer representation out the wazoo, SPACE. boots just wants to brew her beer and be left alone.

[readingrobin]

Comfort Zone Bingo Update #1

Well, after a few weeks I’ve managed to make some headway into @anassarhenisch’s comfort zone bingo reading challenge. Again, my goal is to wrap this challenge up by the end of winter break, which ends around the last week of January. So 19 more books in a month? No problem. *sweats*

In this group of books I didn’t really set out to get a bingo as I was concentrating on reading things I’d already checked out from my library and luckily they all fit onto the categories here.

1. A Fairy Tale or Myth: Uprooted by Naomi Novik. This was a readalong I participated in with @logarithmicpanda hosting. I had heard a lot of word about this book and the overwhelming consensus was that you either loved it or hated it. Fortunately I fell into the former group. I loved the magic system in this world, as it seemed to depend on the person wielding it. The way a person’s magic works tends to align with their personality, which I thought was very creative. Naturally, I thought it could have used a little more gay, since Agnieszka and Kasia had more chemistry than the coupling we got, but I’m not complaining. It was a fantastic read and I hope to purchase my own copy in the future.

2. Mystery: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evenlyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. I’m not always partial to mysteries, so it’s a genre that I’m not very well informed on. I picked this book mainly because I heard all the clout surrounding it and the premise sounded really interesting. A character with amnesia solving a murder mystery, while some body swap/Groundhog Day shenanigans are happening? Sounds like a needed shakeup to the usual format! Unfortunately, the execution didn’t really live up to the idea and I thought that the perspective focused on the wrong character. I don’t want to give too many spoilers away but it didn’t really make sense why we were following this particular person when the main conflict is surrounded around a different character. It was a so-so read and it didn’t make a lasting impression on me.

3. Written in 2020: Moonstruck Vol 3. Troubled Waters by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle. Can’t really talk about this one without giving spoilers but all you need to know is lesbian werewolves are a 10/10 concept and I personally would like more queer werewolves in the future, as it is an untapped market. I thought this particular volume was lacking and the character motivations were a bit muddled but that could be just me since I took a big pause between volumes. I really recommend the series though, since it has really cute art and decent wlw rep.

4. Feminist: Queens of Animation by Nathalia Holt. This is a nonfiction title about the women animators/storytellers/inkers that have been working at the Disney Animation Studios all the way back to the days of Snow White. It was such a fascinating read, seeing how so many women have been involved with the creation of Disney films for years and never were credited or praised for their work. The regular public has likely never heard of Mary Blair, Retta Scott, Sylvia Holland, and the like, but they worked just as hard as the big boys to create stories that have resonated within pop culture for decades. It also detailed how the technology behind animation changed over the years, but I kind of went glassy eyed at these parts as I was more interested in the women and their history at the studio. It feels like there’s two different books here, the biography and the technical guide, but It’s still a worthwhile read if you’re interested in the subject.

5. A season or holiday: The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum. This is a book I’ve had on my TBR ever since I watched the 2000 film version. It’s a simple fairy tale about Santa’s origins and how the folklore surrounding him got started. There were a lot of great, creative ideas in this story, which is no surprise as it came from the man who dreamed up Oz, but my only gripe is that Claus is noticeably passive in this story. Everything is provided for him, he is not at the only center of conflict in the story, and it’s just odd that our main character feels like an afterthought in his own story. It feels like there is more development given to the Immortals, a group of spirits and creatures that protect the forests of the world. I know it’s only meant to be a fairy tale for kids written in 1902, but dang it over analysis is on brand for me.

That’s all I have for this update! Let me know if you’ve read these books, what you thought of them, or if you have any suggestions for the remaining prompts!