#susan nguyen

[lunchboxpoems]

TO BE BRAVE, I LOOK TO THE DAFFODIL

To be brave, I look to the daffodil. A stupid flower, I’ve always thought – too eager to enter a world not fully thawed. Shrinking  after just one cold night. I surround myself with pluck. Always one for adventure: running naked  across campus into a stranger’s car as rite of passage, jumping into the freezing bay. Hitchhiking home but afraid to speak in class. To order in my mother’s tongue, my mother’s food. I let the dark take on its own shapes, unchecked. No, I am not brave, but I like the people who are. Who never overprepare or let their anxieties  stop them. For whom things always work out.  I’m chasing the high from one novelty to another, wanting adventure but so unwilling to find it on my own. Instead, I lose myself in people who live unafraid. Bravery by osmosis. This might be the truest thing I say today and it scares me. To admit that on my own, I was never wild. All this time I thought the daffodil’s dropped  petals, the green leaves that remained, marked an ending.  But underground she is rebuilding for next spring.  For when she’ll dare, again, to push through the frostbitten earth. Year after year, it goes on like this.

SUSAN NGUYEN

[kiisuuumii]

Susan Nguyen, from "Unending," featured in Leaning toward Light

[virtuouslibertines69]

"You credit yourself with a detachment which you do not yet possess. You are right in listening to your dreams and accepting them—how could you refuse?—but wrong in condemning the self that is revealed in them." - Susan Sontag, from The Complete Works; “The Benefactor,”

Painting by Lai N Nguyen

[dc-megatournament]

DC Mega Tournament

Round 1

Please vote for who you think would win between the 2 characters and not who you like more.

[canonrpfinder]

✨✨ hey there! 18+ writers only please. i'm looking for someone who'd be willing to write canon female characters! mainly, i'm looking for someone to write / plot or headcanon around some canon characters with, with some of my favorites specified below.

i’ve got more than a few characters i’d looove to write opposite, of course —— these are just a few:

dc

talia al ghul, donna troy, cheshire / jade nguyen, artemis crock (young justice), black canary, zatanna, yara flor, lois lane, huntress / helena bertinelli, carol ferris, jessica cruz, catwoman / selina kyle (comics or zoe kravitz), wonder woman, ravager / rose wilson, starfire / koriand’r, lilith clay, dawn granger (titans tv), mera, punchline, poison ivy, hawkgirl, lady shiva, supergirl, sofia falcone (reevesverse), arrowverse girls (sara lance, laurel lance, thea queen, iris west, dinah drake, mia smoak), etc.

marvel

elektra, emma frost, jean grey, psylocke, rogue, susan storm, kate bishop, felicia hardy, wanda maximoff, carol danvers, mary jane watson, gwen stacy, hope van dyne, claire temple, agatha harkness, gamora, etc

a song of ice and fire (game of thrones / house of the dragon)

cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, margaery tyrell, melisandre, alicent hightower, rhaenyra targaryen, alys rivers

star wars

rey or leia

video games

ashe or kiriko (overwatch) / tifa, aerith, or jessie (final fantasy 7) / ellie williams (the last of us, part 2) / max caulfield, chloe price, juliet watson (life is strange)

disney

jasmine (aladdin), colette (ratatouille), cinderella, helen parr, tinker bell, kim posible or shego, elsa, alex russo, teddy duncan

other

starlight (the boys) / gwen tennyson (ben 10, alien force version only) / daphne blake (scooby-doo) / heather, gwen, courtney (total drama) / betty cooper (riverdale) / yennefer (the witcher show) / jessica rabbit (who framed roger rabbit?), etc.

these are just a few of the characters i’m looking for tbh, or the main ones at least. there’s quite a lot that i’d love, tbh.

as for who i'd play, i'm fine with most anyone, be it canons or crossovers or whatever. it depends on the pairing or plot, we can talk about it!

i'm fine with most themes and plots, and definitely most pairings. no real limits!

if any of this interests, like this and i‘ll message you! i mainly write through discord.

✒

[read-alert]

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Here's some of my favorite reads by Asian authors from the past year!

Full titles under the cut!

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Djinn City by Saad Z Hossain

Femme in Public by Alok Vaid-Menon

The Future is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes, and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea by Kai Cheng Thom and Kai Yun Ching

Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

[prpfz]

✨✨ hey there! 18+ writers only please. i'm looking for someone who'd be willing to write canon female characters! mainly, i'm looking for someone to write / plot or headcanon around some canon characters with, with some of my favorites specified below.

i’ve got more than a few characters i’d looove to write opposite, of course —— these are just a few:

dc

talia al ghul, donna troy, cheshire / jade nguyen, artemis crock (young justice), black canary, zatanna, yara flor, lois lane, huntress / helena bertinelli, carol ferris, jessica cruz, catwoman / selina kyle (comics or zoe kravitz), wonder woman, ravager / rose wilson, starfire / koriand’r, lilith clay, dawn granger (titans tv), mera, punchline, poison ivy, hawkgirl, lady shiva, supergirl, sofia falcone (reevesverse), arrowverse girls (sara lance, laurel lance, thea queen, iris west, dinah drake, mia smoak), etc.

marvel

elektra, emma frost, jean grey, psylocke, rogue, susan storm, kate bishop, felicia hardy, wanda maximoff, carol danvers, mary jane watson, gwen stacy, hope van dyne, claire temple, agatha harkness, gamora, etc

a song of ice and fire (game of thrones / house of the dragon)

cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, margaery tyrell, melisandre, alicent hightower, rhaenyra targaryen, alys rivers

star wars

rey or leia

video games

ashe or kiriko (overwatch) / tifa, aerith, or jessie (final fantasy 7) / ellie williams (the last of us, part 2) / max caulfield, chloe price, juliet watson (life is strange)

disney

jasmine (aladdin), colette (ratatouille), cinderella, helen parr, tinker bell, kim posible or shego, elsa, alex russo, teddy duncan

other

starlight (the boys) / gwen tennyson (ben 10, alien force version only) / daphne blake (scooby-doo) / heather, gwen, courtney (total drama) / betty cooper (riverdale) / yennefer (the witcher show) / jessica rabbit (who framed roger rabbit?), etc.

these are just a few of the characters i’m looking for tbh, or the main ones at least. there’s quite a lot that i’d love, tbh.

as for who i'd play, i'm fine with most anyone, be it canons or crossovers or whatever. it depends on the pairing or plot, we can talk about it!

i'm fine with most themes and plots, and definitely most pairings. no real limits!

if any of this interests, like this and i‘ll message you! i mainly write through discord.

like or dm

[f-liiiz]

“Narcissus and Goldmund” Editorial StyleZeitgeist Magazine Volume 1 Photography: Jeff P. Elstone Styling: Holly Susan Gray and Thao Nguyen

[roleplayfinder]

✨✨ hey there! 18+ writers only please. i'm looking for someone who'd be willing to write canon female characters! mainly, i'm looking for someone to write / plot or headcanon around some canon characters with, with some of my favorites specified below.

i’ve got more than a few characters i’d looove to write opposite, of course —— these are just a few:

dc

talia al ghul, donna troy, cheshire / jade nguyen, artemis crock (young justice), black canary, zatanna, yara flor, lois lane, huntress / helena bertinelli, carol ferris, jessica cruz, selina kyle, wonder woman, ravager / rose wilson, starfire / koriand’r, lilith clay, dawn granger (titans tv), mera, punchline, poison ivy, hawkgirl, lady shiva, supergirl, arrowverse girls (sara lance, laurel lance, thea queen, iris west, dinah drake, mia smoak), etc.

marvel

elektra, emma frost, jean grey, psylocke, rogue, susan storm, kate bishop, felicia hardy, wanda maximoff, carol danvers, mary jane watson, gwen stacy, hope van dyne, claire temple, agatha harkness, etc

a song of ice and fire (game of thrones / house of the dragon)

cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, margaery tyrell, melisandre, alicent hightower, rhaenyra targaryen

star wars

rey or leia

video games

ashe or kiriko (overwatch) / tifa, aerith, or jessie (final fantasy 7) / ellie williams (the last of us, part 2)

other

gwen tennyson (ben 10 alien force) / daphne blake (scooby-doo) / heather, gwen, courtney (total drama) / misc disney girls (from sitcoms or movies) / betty cooper (riverdale) / yennefer (the witcher show), etc.

these are just a few of the characters i’m looking for tbh, or the main ones at least. there’s quite a lot that i’d love, tbh.

as for who i'd play, i'm fine with most anyone, be it canons or crossovers or whatever. it depends on the pairing or plot, we can talk about it!

i'm fine with most themes and plots, and definitely most pairings. no real limits!

if any of this interests, like this and i‘ll message you! i mainly write through discord.

.

[blackfemmecharacterdependency]

BFCD Masterlist || Black Femme x Asian Character Relationships

This is a list of the ships with at least one Black female character x at least one Asian person or performer (Instances in which the characters aren't human will count as the person portraying the character's race).

As of the 4 Year Anniversary of blackfemmecharacterdependency April 30th, 2024, I am not going to be active. I decided to simply post what I had. The list is incomplete for the foreseeable future, but everyone is welcome to add on to it. Especially because I had several ships planned that I didn't get a chance to add before I had to stop maintaining the blog.

General Tags:

Black + Asian (This is for People with Black and Asian in them. They aren't necessarily ship representation, but sort of are because they are a product of such relationships and may be used for FC's if you have a character of similar makeup)

Black x Asian (This is for ships) | Black women with Asian men | Black women with Asian women | Black Woman with a Bigender Asian | Black Woman with Nonbinary Asian

Exceptions include if there is a nonbinary performer who plays the role of a female character, or vice versa, on the Black end. If there is an EXPLICITLY AFAB MALE, please do not suggest or expect them to appear.

List will include people from and with backgrounds from the countries on the map, but I don't intend to put any from Russia's portions, unless a special circumstance appears.

It was a little bit difficult for me to figure out how to curate the list (there are more of these relationships than I realized. So, for now, its mostly separated by regions of Asia, with the left portions on one list and the right portions on another. Not a perfect breakdown but everything to the left of China (west) and South is going to be the first part, and China to the east will be the second.

*

4400: Keisha Taylor x Soraya TV

Anything's Possible: Kelsa x Khal Movie

Big Brother: Taylor Hale & Joseph Abdin Reality TV/Real Life

Jonesy: Susan x Nisha Comic Book Series

Mythic Quest: Dana x Rachel TV

The Haunting of Bly Manor: Hannah Grose x Owen Sharma Mini-Series

Lucifer: Mazikeen x Eve TV/Comics

The Princess and the Frog: Tiana x Naveen Cartoons/Misc

Ragnarok, The Animated Series:Judia x Iruga Alam (Idk enough about these characters to know anything. I will put them on this end, because it sounds like this is where they go)

Sleepless: Pyppenia x Cyrenic Graphic Novel

Tut: Suhad x Tutankhamun Miniseries

*

Anime

Basquash!: Miyuki Ayukawa x Dan JD (I will be so honest with y'all. Inthe years of finding content, none of the times that I have ever found some, I have never seen an inkling of a pairing from that show and so just don't expect to see them here just because I included the names from suggestions)

Bleach: Yoruichi x Soi Fong

Borotu: Karui x Choji Akimichi (Once again, had no clue. Actually, I didn't know there was a Black women even In this series, which gives me pause to seek out content. Them fandoms where you never see the negress usually 1000% cannot be trusted. Long story short: Don't expect content.)

Hunter x Hunter: Canary x Amane | Revolutionary Girl Utena: Anthy x Utena

Books

Can't Escape Love: Regina Hobbs x Gustave Nguyen Book - Alyssa Cole

Let's Talk About Love: Alice x Takumi Book - Claire Kann

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Hazel Levesque x Frank Zhang Book Series | The Sun is Also a Star Natasha Kingsley x Daniel Bae Book/Movie

And just a fun tidbit for y'all. This assignment has my computer thinking I need suggestions. I haven't read any of these, but came across them, so here you are.

Cartoons

Amphibia: Jess x Ally | Dragon Age Absolution: Miriam x Sapphira | The Dragon Prince: Janai x Amaya | Inside Job: Gigi x Andre (Adult) | Invincible: Amber Bennett x Mark Grayson (Adult) | Miraculous Ladybug: Ayla x Marinnette | The Owl House: Skara x Willow | The Proud Family: Penny Proud x Kwok

Comic Books

Batgirl: Rebirth: Frankie Charles x Malaya | DC Bombshells: Nell Little x Alysia Yeoh | Goldie Vance: Marigold "Goldie" Vance x Diane Kimura | X-Men: Ororo Munroe x Yukio

Movies

Boogie: Eleanor x Boogie | Bottoms: Josie x Isabel | Cinderella: Cinderella x Christopher | Lightyear: Alisha x Kiko Hawthorne | Ninja Assassin: Mika Coretti x Raiko | Romeo Must Die: Trish O'Day & Han Sing

TV/Streaming Series

The Baby-SItters Club: Ashley Wyeth x Janine Kishi | Black Lightning: Anissa Pierce x Grace Choi (Comics/TV) | Chicago Med: April Sexton x Ethan Choi | Dark Matter: Nyx x Two | Fate: The Winx Saga: Aisha x Grey | Gen V: Marie Moreau x Jordan Li | Heartstopper: Elle Argent x Tao Xu Webcomic/Streaming Series | Hunters: Roxy Jones x Joe Mizushima | Into the Badlands: Veil x Sunny | Killjoys: Aneela Kin Rit x Delle Seyah Kendra | Motherland: Fort Salem: Abigail Bellweatherx Adil of Tarim | Neon: Mia x Felix | New Amsterdam: Helen Sharpe x Cassian Shin | Helen Sharpe x Akash Panthaki | Nine Perfect Strangers: Delilah x Yao Book/Miniseries |

Orange is the New Black: Poussey x Soso | Power Rangers: Aisha x Adam | Aisha x Rocky x Adam aka Nesha's First Throuple | Tanya Sloan x Adam Park Kids TV | Riverdale: Josie McCoy x Reggie Mantle | Josie McCoy x Sweet Pea | Shadowhunters: Maia Roberts x Jordan Kyle Book/TV | Star Trek TOS: Uhura x Sulu TV/Movies | Star Wars: Jannah x Rose | Ketsu x Sabine | Pamich x Jessika Cartoons/Comics/Movies | The Umbrella Academy: Jill x Ben Hargreeves | Wheel of Time: Nynaeve al'Meara x 'Lan Mandragoran Book/Streaming Series

Webcomics

Dom & Mor: Morgan x Dominique | He's Harmless, I Swear: Tammy x Tomoya | If You'll Have Me: Momo Gardner x Priscilla Giang Webcomic/Graphic Novel | LMLY: Sofia x Leon Webcomics

Video Games

Mortal Kombat: Jacqui Briggs x Takeda Takahashi

*

To Reiterate: The list is incomplete for the foreseeable future

[findroleplay]

✨✨ hey there! 18+ writers only please. i'm looking for someone who'd be willing to write canon female characters! mainly, i'm looking for someone to write / plot or headcanon around some canon characters with, with some of my favorites specified below.

i’ve got more than a few characters i’d looove to write opposite, of course —— these are just a few:

dc

talia al ghul, donna troy, cheshire / jade nguyen, artemis crock (young justice), black canary, zatanna, yara flor, lois lane, huntress / helena bertinelli, carol ferris, jessica cruz, selina kyle, wonder woman, ravager / rose wilson, starfire / koriand’r, lilith clay, dawn granger (titans tv), mera, punchline, poison ivy, hawkgirl, lady shiva, supergirl, arrowverse girls (sara lance, laurel lance, thea queen, iris west, dinah drake, mia smoak), etc.

marvel

elektra, emma frost, jean grey, psylocke, rogue, susan storm, kate bishop, felicia hardy, wanda maximoff, carol danvers, mary jane watson, gwen stacy, hope van dyne, claire temple, agatha harkness, etc

a song of ice and fire (game of thrones / house of the dragon)

cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, margaery tyrell, melisandre, alicent hightower, rhaenyra targaryen

star wars

rey or leia

video games

ashe or kiriko (overwatch) / tifa, aerith, or jessie (final fantasy 7) / ellie williams (the last of us, part 2)

other

gwen tennyson (ben 10 alien force) / daphne blake (scooby-doo) / heather, gwen, courtney (total drama) / misc disney girls (from sitcoms or movies) / betty cooper (riverdale) / yennefer (the witcher show), etc.

these are just a few of the characters i’m looking for tbh, or the main ones at least. there’s quite a lot that i’d love, tbh.

as for who i'd play, i'm fine with most anyone, be it canons or crossovers or whatever. it depends on the pairing or plot, we can talk about it!

i'm fine with most themes and plots, and definitely most pairings. no real limits!

if any of this interests, like this and i‘ll message you! i mainly write through discord.

-

[findyourrp]

✨✨ hey there! 18+ writers only please. i'm looking for someone who'd be willing to write canon female characters! mainly, i'm looking for someone to write / plot or headcanon around some canon characters with, with some of my favorites specified below.

i’ve got more than a few characters i’d looove to write opposite, of course —— these are just a few:

dc

talia al ghul, donna troy, cheshire / jade nguyen, artemis crock (young justice), black canary, zatanna, yara flor, lois lane, huntress / helena bertinelli, carol ferris, jessica cruz, selina kyle, wonder woman, ravager / rose wilson, starfire / koriand’r, lilith clay, dawn granger (titans tv), mera, punchline, poison ivy, hawkgirl, lady shiva, supergirl, arrowverse girls (sara lance, laurel lance, thea queen, iris west, dinah drake, mia smoak), etc.

marvel

elektra, emma frost, jean grey, psylocke, rogue, susan storm, kate bishop, felicia hardy, wanda maximoff, carol danvers (mcu), mary jane watson, gwen stacy / spider-gwen, hope van dyne (mcu), etc

other

ashe or kiriko (overwatch) / tifa, aerith, or jessie (final fantasy 7) / rey or leia (star wars) / cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, margaery tyrell, melisandre, alicent hightower, rhaenyra targaryen (game of thrones / house of the dragon) / gwen tennyson (ben 10 alien force) / daphne blake / some disney girls (mainly from sitcoms or movies) / betty cooper (riverdale) / ellie williams (tlou2), yennefer of vengerberg (the witcher show), etc.

these are just a few of the characters i’m looking for tbh, or the main ones at least. there’s quite a lot that i’d love, tbh.

as for who i'd play, i'm fine with most anyone, be it canons or crossovers or whatever. it depends on the pairing or plot, we can talk about it!

i'm fine with most themes and plots as well, and definitely most pairings. no real limits!

if any of this interests, like this and i‘ll message you! i mainly write through discord.

.

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Who is the Sexiest Fictional Podcast Character?

After a Round 2 which saw 28,069 votes on 32 polls, we are on to Round 3 of the tournament! This time we are finally bringing in characters from Welcome to Night Vale.

Round 1 Masterpost

Round 2 Masterpost

Round 3:

Scripted Bracket

Isabel Lovelace (Wolf 359) vs The Witch Queen A.K.A. Daughter Dooley (Old Gods of Appalachia)

Sir Caroline (The Penumbra Podcast: Second Citadel) vs Alé (The Penumbra Podcast: Second Citadel)

Peter Nureyev (The Penumbra Podcast: Juno Steel) vs Antigone Funn (Wooden Overcoats)

Mabel Martin (Mabel) vs Oleta (Within The Wires: Season 1)

Everyone from the Strange Case of Starship Iris vs Static Man (Archive 81)

Mina Murray (Re: Dracula) vs Georgie Crusoe (Wooden Overcoats)

Yaretzi (Hello From The Hallowoods) vs Hera (Wolf 359)

Tim Stoker (The Magnus Archives) vs Renée Minkowski (Wolf 359)

Unscripted Bracket

Glenn Close (Dungeons & Daddies) vs Taako (The Adventure Zone: Balance)

Lup (The Adventure Zone: Balance) vs Chine (Friends at the Table: Sangfielle)

Gable (Campaign: Skyjacks) and Nicky Close (Dungeons & Daddies) vs Fourteen Fifteen (Friends at the Table: Twilight Mirage)

Killian Fangbattle (The Adventure Zone: Balance) vs Suvirin “Suvi” Kedberiket (Worlds Beyond Number: The Wizard, The Witch, and the Wild One)

Tender Sky (Friends at the Table: Twilight Mirage) vs Moonshine Cybin (Not Another D&D Podcast: Bahumia)

Amber Gris (The Adventure Zone: Ethersea) vs Ibex (Friends at the Table: COUNTER/Weight)

Ver'million “Millie” Blue (Friends at the Table: PARTIZAN) vs Kravitz (The Adventure Zone: Balance)

Adelaide Tristé (Friends at the Table: Seasons of Hieron) vs Hella Varal (Friends at the Table: Seasons of Hieron)

Night Vale Bracket:

Cecil Gershwin Palmer vs Steve Carlsberg

Erika vs Francis Donaldson

Deb, a sentient patch of haze vs John Peters (you know, the farmer?)

The Glow Cloud (Sr.) vs Josh Crayton

Dana Cardinal vs Susan Wilman

Earl Harlan vs Dr. Sarah Sulton

City Council vs Amelia Anna Alfaro

Hiram McDaniels vs Joseph Fink

Dr. Carlos Dave Robles the Scientist vs Lee Marvin

Huntokar vs Nazr al-Mujaheed

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home vs Eunomia the General

Michelle Nguyen vs Fey

Kevin vs The Man in the Tan Jacket

Maureen Johnson vs Kareem Nazari

Station Management vs Leonard Burton

Old Woman Josie/Josefina Ortiz vs Simone Rigadeau

[canonrpfinder]

✨✨ hey there! 18+ writers only please. i'm looking for someone who'd be willing to write canon female characters! mainly, i'm looking for someone to write / plot or headcanon around some canon characters with, with some of my favorites specified below.

i’ve got more than a few characters i’d looove to write opposite, of course —— these are just a few:

dc

talia al ghul, donna troy, cheshire / jade nguyen, artemis crock (young justice), black canary, zatanna, yara flor, lois lane, huntress / helena bertinelli, carol ferris, jessica cruz, selina kyle, wonder woman, ravager / rose wilson, starfire / koriand’r, lilith clay, dawn granger (titans tv), mera, punchline, poison ivy, hawkgirl, lady shiva, supergirl, arrowverse girls (sara lance, laurel lance, thea queen, iris west, dinah drake, mia smoak), etc.

marvel

elektra, emma frost, jean grey, psylocke, rogue, susan storm, kate bishop, felicia hardy, wanda maximoff, carol danvers, mary jane watson, gwen stacy, hope van dyne, claire temple, agatha harkness, etc

a song of ice and fire (game of thrones / house of the dragon)

cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, margaery tyrell, melisandre, alicent hightower, rhaenyra targaryen

star wars

rey or leia

video games

ashe or kiriko (overwatch) / tifa, aerith, or jessie (final fantasy 7) / ellie williams (the last of us, part 2)

other

gwen tennyson (ben 10 alien force) / daphne blake (scooby-doo) / heather, gwen, courtney (total drama) / misc disney girls (from sitcoms or movies) / betty cooper (riverdale) / yennefer (the witcher show), etc.

these are just a few of the characters i’m looking for tbh, or the main ones at least. there’s quite a lot that i’d love, tbh.

as for who i'd play, i'm fine with most anyone, be it canons or crossovers or whatever. it depends on the pairing or plot, we can talk about it!

i'm fine with most themes and plots, and definitely most pairings. no real limits!

if any of this interests, like this and i‘ll message you! i mainly write through discord.

✒

[prpfz]

✨✨ hey there! 18+ writers only please. i'm looking for someone who'd be willing to write canon female characters! mainly, i'm looking for someone to write / plot or headcanon around some canon characters with, with some of my favorites specified below.

i’ve got more than a few characters i’d looove to write opposite, of course —— these are just a few:

dc

talia al ghul, donna troy, cheshire / jade nguyen, artemis crock (young justice), black canary, zatanna, yara flor, lois lane, huntress / helena bertinelli, carol ferris, jessica cruz, selina kyle, wonder woman, ravager / rose wilson, starfire / koriand’r, lilith clay, dawn granger (titans tv), mera, punchline, poison ivy, hawkgirl, lady shiva, supergirl, arrowverse girls (sara lance, laurel lance, thea queen, iris west, dinah drake, mia smoak), etc.

marvel

elektra, emma frost, jean grey, psylocke, rogue, susan storm, kate bishop, felicia hardy, wanda maximoff, carol danvers, mary jane watson, gwen stacy / spider-gwen, hope van dyne, etc

a song of ice and fire (game of thrones / house of the dragon)

cersei lannister, daenerys targaryen, margaery tyrell, melisandre, alicent hightower, rhaenyra targaryen

star wars

rey or leia

video games

ashe or kiriko (overwatch) / tifa, aerith, or jessie (final fantasy 7) / ellie williams (the last of us, part 2)

other

gwen tennyson (ben 10 alien force) / daphne blake (scooby-doo) / some misc disney girls (mainly from sitcoms or movies) / betty cooper (riverdale) / yennefer of vengerberg (the witcher show), etc.

these are just a few of the characters i’m looking for tbh, or the main ones at least. there’s quite a lot that i’d love, tbh.

as for who i'd play, i'm fine with most anyone, be it canons or crossovers or whatever. it depends on the pairing or plot, we can talk about it!

i'm fine with most themes and plots as well, and definitely most pairings. no real limits!

if any of this interests, like this and i‘ll message you! i mainly write through discord.

give a like and anon will get back to you

[maddie-grove]

2024 Reading Roundup: General Fiction

I've decided to write a roundup of all the books I read by genre last year (plus a separate post for rereads) before sharing my top twenty. These are the general fiction (not YA or romance) novels I read last year, in order of publication date:

The Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb (1953): In the bleakest days of the Great Depression, the Reverend Harry Powell roams the poverty-ravaged Ohio River Valley, consumed by a twisted religious fervor. Following a lead from a condemned man, he courts young widow Willa Harper and charms an entire small town...except for Willa's ten-year-old son John, who fears him intensely and has guessed at his ulterior motives. This is a tense, beautifully written book, but honestly I think seeing the more-famous 1955 movie first spoiled it for me. The movie is very faithful to the book and has the added benefit of featuring gorgeous visuals and electrifying performances.

The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage (1967): In 1920s Montana, awkward, gentle-natured rancher George Burbank marries delicate widow Rose Gordon. It's a fine match, but George's brother Phil, a complicated man who rarely bathes or holds back his cruel remarks, despises both Rose and her sensitive teenage son Peter. It turns out, though, that Peter is pretty complicated himself. This is also a book where I saw and liked the movie first, but this time I liked the story even more in novel form. I really enjoyed getting into the characters' heads, and the ending hits even harder when you read it.

The Siege of Trencher's Farm by Gordon Williams (1969): American professor George Magruder and his English wife Louise are living unhappily in a small Cornwall town, partly because their marriage is strained and partly because they don't fit in with the clannish locals. When the escape of a child murderer from a nearby prison coincides with a little girl disappearing from a Christmas party, the couple finds themselves dealing with much more immediate threats: home invasion and mob violence! Sam Peckinpah based his controversial movie Straw Dogs on this novel, but I've never seen Straw Dogs so that's not important right now. I have no idea how seriously I'm supposed to take the gender politics of this story--at different points, it feels like Williams is endorsing the subservience of women or mocking those who find that idea attractive--and honestly that ambiguity enhanced my experience. The exciting, gruesome action sequences were also excellent.

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin (1972): Joanna Eberhart is ready for some culture shock when she moves from New York City to the suburban Stepford, Connecticut with her husband and children, but she's not prepared for single-mindedly devoted most of the women of Stepford are to their homes. She makes friends with women who still have their own hobbies and interests, but, as their ranks thin, she begins to suspect something more sinister than ordinary conformity. Based on its reputation, I was expecting the novel to be sharply written and offer insight into the backlash against second-wave feminism, but I wasn't expecting it to be so genuinely terrifying. It delivered on all counts.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (1983): Arthur Kipps, a young solicitor, travels to coastal northeastern England to settle the affairs of a remote estate, but finds himself trailed by a gaunt, black-clad figure with malevolent eyes. This gothic horror novel has some top-notch spooky shit going on (lots of fog, a house that's only reachable at low tide) and an absolutely devastating payoff.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (2015): An unnamed North Vietnamese spy in the South Vietnamese army moves to Los Angeles with his former general and many other refugees following the Fall of Saigon. With flexible morals, a broad mind, and a generous heart, he tries to balance his ideals and his personal desires. This book doesn't have a ton of momentum until the ending chapters, but it was vibrant and often very funny whenever I picked it up.

Slade House by David Mitchell (2015): From the 1970s to the 2010s, a mysterious house becomes the final resting place of several lost souls: a lonely young boy, a washed-up cop, an insecure college student, and others. I'm a sucker for stories about a house/monster/artifact/whatever that uses your deepest insecurities and desires to kill/consume you; it's such a great way to study a character. Unfortunately, like many stories of this type, the deal with the Scary Thing (in this case, the house and its inhabitants) is less interesting than the deal with its victims. It's so cheesy. It doesn't really detract from the rest of the story, though.

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune (2020): In a world where magical beings exist and the government systematically oppresses them, middle-aged social worker Linus Baker is sent to investigate a remote orphanage for unusual children, run by the eccentric Arthur Parnassus. I should say upfront that this isn't really my kind of book; I have a limited capacity for magical-school/orphanage stories even when they're for kids, and the adult version interests me even less. It's a sweet novel, but it bashed me over the head with whimsy and drowned me in therapy-speak. I was exhausted by the end. Also, Klune sets up the government as this sinister, all-powerful force, but as an antagonist it feels less like Big Brother from 1984 and more like the douchey bosses from Office Space.

Embassy Wife by Katie Crouch (2021): After her husband announces that he's gotten a Fulbright grant to study genocide in Namibia, Silicon-Valley-based breadwinner Amanda agrees to move with him and their nine-year-old daughter Meg to Windhoek, where she soon finds herself at loose ends. Ambassador's wife Persephone, lively and frequently intoxicated, strikes up a friendship with her. Meanwhile, Meg becomes friends with the daughter of a Namibian minister, whose beautiful wife has a secret history with Amanda's husband. This novel is kind of an odd duck. The beginning foreshadows all kinds of danger and dark secrets, but it's ultimately a soapy beach read. It did keep me turning the pages, at any rate.

The Turnout by Megan Abbott (2021): Dara runs a ballet school, inherited from her mother, with her fragile sister Marie and her retiring husband Charlie. Just as Nutcracker season is beginning, their lives are disrupted, first by a fire in the attic and then by Derek, a crude, insinuating contractor hired to fix the damage. Derek has his eye on both the family's ramshackle Victorian house and their secrets, but the extent of the danger he presents is unclear. I liked this book well enough; however, it's not Abbott's best. The lurid reveal is lurid in a pretty predictable way.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (2021): It's December 1985 in small-town Ireland, and Bill Furlong, despite a hard economy and a somewhat rough childhood, has managed to build a decent life with his wife and five daughters. An encounter with an abused teenage girl from the nearby Magdalene Laundry, however, has him questioning his values. Tender and contemplative, this deserves to be a new Christmas classic.

Tracy Flick Can't Win by Tom Perrotta (2022): The ambitious, lonely teenage heroine of Election is now a forty-something vice-principal at a suburban New Jersey high school, expecting to become principal once her boss retires. The school board has more ambitious ideas, though, and once again she finds herself competing with a less qualified but more popular man. Times have changed since the novel was published in 1998, so it's no surprise that the sequel is gentler towards Tracy than the original (which at least raises the possibility that Tracy's ambition presents some legitimate threat, even though I think it ultimately answers that question in the negative). This approach could feel toothless, but it doesn't, because Tracy has lived a whole life since the events of the first novel and come out mature yet totally recognizable. Perrotta's best decision is making her a competent, reasonable, compassionate person...who's still kind of a mess. It works really well.

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff (2023): Circa 1610, a servant girl escapes from the starving, disease-ridden Jamestown Colony into the Virginian wilderness, where she struggles against man and nature to survive. I did not enjoy this book so much. The style was overwrought, the author didn't seem to know the difference between Anglicans and Calvinists, and the message about colonialism was muddled.

Old Crimes by Jill McCorkle (2024): In the opening story of this collection, Lynn, a first-generation college student in the nineties, notices the cracks in her relationship with her upper-middle-class boyfriend when they go to stay in a dubious inn. For him, it's a novelty that would shock his uptight family's sensibilities; for her, it's an uncomfortable reminder of a past she almost didn't even think of escaping. At her best, McCorkle is one of the finest short story writers ever, and this is one of her best collections that I've read. She packs so much meaning into stories that seem simple and gravitas into stories that are funny.