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barry-j-blupjeans · 2 years

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@taznovembercelebration - Adventure

Lucretia was… exhausted. The last twenty-four hours had been all sorts of hell. Exactly twenty-four hours ago, she had been ducked under a bar as glasses broke and fists were thrown overhead. Someone had been laughing. Lup, maybe? Magnus, definitely. Every time she popped back up to see what was going on, she catch a glimpse of him, watching in short bursts as his expression changed from angry, to annoyed, and then straight into delight. She supposed that having a security officer who enjoyed fighting was better than having one who ran away, but the glee in Magnus's face when he got punched directly into the eye was maybe something she should be concerned about.

Davenport had eventually found her and Merle and dragged them outside. Taako was impatiently waiting at the street corner. Lup was in between the door of the bar and where Taako stood, a splatter of blood across her arm. Davenport took a full two steps into the bar again before Magnus came barreling out and shouting, "time to go!! Time to go!!" A collection of men followed him out, but Lucretia had to admit, his joy had been a little infectious. She hadn't had that much fun running since she was a kid.

Then, she had gone home and went directly to bed, expecting to fall asleep immediately. Instead, she stayed up half the night with anxiety. She had to logic herself out of it because of course anything bad won't happen, of course you've brought enough journals, of course you don't need to double check all your bags to make sure you brought everything you needed, it's going to be fine.

Spoiler alert: It was not fine.

Her morning had been perfect. Maybe that should have made her suspicious, but she hadn't really had the time to dwell on it. She arrived at the Institute ten minutes early, only to already be preceded by Davenport (not too unusual) and Barry (who looked like he hadn't slept a wink). Magnus came next, with a nasty black eye that he seemed pretty proud of, followed by Taako and Lup, who arrived seven minutes after they were supposed to have been there. Said seven minutes was nothing in comparison to Merle's thirty, but seeing as Davenport had specifically worked in time for Merle's awful time management, they weren't too off schedule.

Then, a pre-launch press, smaller than the one they had staged yesterday. All the ground control people came in groups, easing into their places. Davenport gave them a pep talk that was much more "don't you dare do anything stupid in front of the Director" than "let's try our best". Needless to say, when the Director of the Institute dropped in for a quick word, Taako "accidentally" flipped him off, Lup dabbed, Merle made a very work inappropriate joke that Magnus laughed so hard at he started coughing. And Lucretia dropped her pen, because of course she did.

The launch itself had gone fine. They had gotten into the air no problem, and exit into the planar system had been going smoothly until…

Well, until the Thing appeared.

Lucretia wasn't a brave person. She didn't have to be. Her job was to write what was happening, not do anything about it. So the moment the Thing started its descent, she had frozen in place. She had always loved stories about the end of the world. She had done a whole study on tradgies during school and the wording they used to really make it stick. She had used those skills before, mostly in memoirs or biographies, but never in her own lived experiences. No one wanted to read the story of Lucretia. They wanted something that filled them with emotion and Lucretia's life- well, it was bland. It had been bland.

She always loved stories about the end of the world. But none of them ever came from an outside perspective. The language she had learned to master in school skipped and stuttered over the important parts. Never had they truly prepared her for watching the entire world she knew and loved get consumed before her very eyes. Around her, the rest of the crew was frantic. She recalled, later, in the journal she had broken in earlier this morning, Magnus pleading with Davenport's to turn back, to go back down. She recounted Taako and Lup standing at the door to the deck, Lup gripping the side of Taako's jacket so tight her knuckles were going white. Merle, distant, looped in prayer. Barry going back and forth from the captain's room to the engine room, stubbornly refusing to look outside.

Davenport had Lup lock the doors, partly to keep them safe, but mostly to keep Magnus from rushing out. Taako joined Barry down in the engine room and Merle pulled Magnus along to the back of the ship to make sure nothing broke bad from back there. Lup had wrapped an arm around her briefly and squeezed. She didn't say anything and she was gone as soon as she had come, but it kickstarted Lucretia's brain back into gear.

Twenty-four hours since the bar. Ten since she had last been home. Seven since she had last stepped foot on grass, when she and Barry cut through the lawn to keep up with Davenport's speedwalking. Six and a half since the last contact with someone from the Institute. Now, Magnus had fallen to sleep on the tiny couch in the living quarters. Taako was deep in the kitchen, making something Lucretia couldn't identify by smell. Lup was going back and forth between him, Davenport in the captain's quarters attempting to make contact with home base, and Barry in the lab. Merle had tasked himself with putting all the furniture back in place. Right now, he was taking a break at the table Lucretia was sitting at, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

And she was writing. She wanted to scream. Or to cry, maybe. Or a little bit of both. But she had to write. First, it had been about the Thing itself, and the strange new world they had landed into, but she found herself spiraling a little bit. If the world was- if they couldn't go back, she had to write down everything she knew before she forgot it. She wrote about the older wings of the Insitute and their crumbling brick walls. She wrote about how it reminded her of the high school she had sped through back home, and the public pool next to that school where her dad would take her and her brother on hot summer days. She wrote about the beautiful lilac sky at sunset and how, when the suns rose, they almost overlapped each other. This world only had one sun. Lucretia wrote down their calendar systems and their time measurements. She wrote about where she went for her fifth birthday and the square where her mother bought tap shoes that kept her up for years at night and-

"Luce," Merle said. "You doin' okay?"

Lucretia paused.

"How am I supposed to answer that?" she said. "I'm- Merle, we just watched the world get destroyed. No, I'm not- I've not had a very good day, Merle." Another pause. "How are you?"

"Oh, y'know, same old, same old," he said. Lucretia laughed, but it felt more like a sob. Merle patted her arm and then held onto it when she started crying properly. She sunk deeper into her seat, pushing her journal away so she wouldn't get it wet. After a moment, Merle's chair squeaked as he got up from it and moved himself into the seat next to her, hugging her properly. This only made her cry harder. She wasn't trying to be loud- Magnus didn't need to wake up to this- but it must not have been a pretty sight, because the door behind them opened and then shut immediately again. No one came into the room. She tried to slow herself down.

She was so tired.

"You ever read any good adventure books?" Merle asked after a few more minutes. She shook her head, reduced to sniffles. Even if she could think of any, they'd never be able to read them again. Oh gods, all that wasted literature. "Well, I've read a few. Not a ton, mind you, but they always follow this basic little pattern, so if you've read one, you've read them all. But it always goes through the same introduction, and then this terrible thing happens-"

"We're not in a novel, Merle," Lucretia said, tired, tired, so tired. She was envious of how easily Magnus had fallen asleep. "It's- we're real people. That- that Thing, whatever it was-"

"Lemme finish," Merle cut in. "The Hero's Journey. Y'know, the big loop that they always go through on these types of things-"

"We're not- I'm not a hero," Lucretia said. "I'm a writer."

"Who says there's a difference?" Merle asked. "I'm not tryin' to tell you to be something your not. My point is that there's this set pattern 'cus it's accurate. We're all gonna go through somethin' similar to that journey, even if we don't really wanna. There's gonna be bad things that happen, 'cus obviously, it's not gonna be smooth sailing from here. But you gotta have faith it'll turn out okay. Alright? We're gonna be okay."

"You don't know that," Lucretia whispered, no matter how much she wanted to believe.

"No," Merle said. "I don't. But I've got faith in Pan and I've got faith in this crew. If I'm gonna be stuck on some shitty, vitamin D deficient world-" Lucretia chuckled again, voice still a little wet. "Then I'm glad it's with y'all. Just know that I'm here for you, if you wanna talk. Gotta get your sidekicks and stuff to be a hero, right? Though, uh, you're right, you don't exactly look the part. But I don't wanna be a hero either, so I guess both of us are stuck with Magnus or-" Merle's gaze slid over to Magnus. He snorted in his sleep. "Dav would maybe be better."

"I was thinking Lup," Lucretia said.

"Ooh, Lup's a good option," Merle said. "Though, it depends on what you qualify as hero, 'cus I'm pretty sure she's the one who took my wallet last night. Actually, maybe none of us are heroes. You might be right, Luce, we're pretty screwed."

"You're awful," Lucretia said, rubbing her eyes with her hands. Despite herself, this had helped. Somehow. She cleared her throat and pulled her journal back towards her. After a second of deliberating, she turned to the next clear page and said, "Where was your favorite place to hang out back home, Merle?"

#taz nc #taz november celebration #merle highchurch #lucretia #taz #taz balance #mine #ise cube writing #this is the last one!!! i had fun doing this this year it was great :D

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archduchessofnowhere · 2 years

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Hello. I've recently begun to learn about Sisi. Are there any biographies you would recommend? In English would be preferable. Thanks.

Hello anon! The two must read biographies about Elisabeth available in English are Egon Corti’s Elizabeth, Empress of Austria and Briggitte Hamann’s The Reluctant Empress.

Corti’s bio was Elisabeth’s first bio that used primary sources, and he also interviewed people that had met her. To this day Corti’s work is the backbone of any book about the empress. The biography itself, however, isn’t necessarily perfect - it was published in 1934 and it’s a bit outdated now. Some of the narratives of the book - such as Sisi’s happy and free childhood in Bavaria, or archduchess Sophie being manipulative and mean towards her daughter-in-law - have been either discredited or at least put under scrutiny. Also, possibly because Corti worked with Elisabeth’s descendants to put this book together, he doesn’t go too in-depth in more “touchy” subjects, like her mental health, nor does he mentions the fact that Franz Josef cheated on his wife more than once, for example. But he did made an overall nuanced portrait of Elisabeth, and his historiographical work is so good that the book absolutely deserves to be a classic. It may be hard to find a physical copy since it’s an old book and there hasn’t been any new edition in English since the first one, but there are some copies in the archive.org and I think it’s also available in kindle.

Meanwhile, Hamann’s book came out in 1982 and since then it's been established as another classic book about the empress. It is also a deeply researched book, drawing from the sources that Corti used but also from new material that had been discovered since. Therefore, this bio fills in the “blanks”, and gives a wholler picture of Elisabeth’s life. HOWEVER, and I write it in caps because this is very important to keep in mind, Hamann seems to dislike her subject, because she is VERY hostile towards Elisabeth during the entire book (to the point of annoyance if I may add). I think that Hamann wanted to “take down” the romantic Sissi myth that had been installed since the 50s, so she focuses in her worst aspects in order to do that. But in the process she comes down with a very harsh take on Elisabeth, one that doesn’t seem to feel compassion towards her even in her worse moments. All that being said, I still think it’s a very good book, and I do recommend it a lot, even if I don’t agree with all of it.

I would say the third “big” biography about Elisabeth is Joan Haslip’s The Lonely Empress, which actually came out in the middle of these two books (in the sixties, tho I don’t remember in which exact year). I actually was reading it since it’s finally on the archive but I put it on-hold because I’ve been busy lately. I can't give my whole judgment because of it, but from what I’ve read I can say that it’s not a bad biography, but it has two major problems: first, Haslip doesn’t cite ANYTHING, which is very frustrating because second, she does this thing in which she speculates about what a person felt or thought but writes it down as fact. So it’s almost impossible to tell when she’s making things up for narrative purposes, or when she’s actually citing a source. And it’s even more annoying when you check the bibliography and you see that she did had access to primary sources!! But you can't tell when she used them!!! I’ll give my full impressions when I actually get around to finish it, but up until I read my opinion is: not a bad book to begin since it’s very accesible (I do like Haslip’s writing, even if it’s too “prose-y” for a history book) but it shouldn’t be your only source when learning about Elisabeth.

Elisabeth’s historiography is kinda outdated in English; since Hamann’s book there’s been a lot of new works about her by German and Hungarian scholars, and also a lot of primary sources had been published in recent years (Valerie’s journal, letters and journals from Elisabeth’s ladies-in-waiting); all of them remain untranslated. There’s been a Sisi-mania renaissance these past year thanks to the new series and movies, so I hope we may see long-due translations soon! Let The Empress topping Netflix’s charts worldwide be worth something.

#empress elisabeth of austria #asks

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mixedinterpretations · 8 months

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gus amado //

name: Augustus "Gus" Amado age / d.o.b.: 43, November 22, 1980 gender, pronouns & sexuality: Cis man, he/him, Bisexual hometown: New York City affiliation: Civilian, former law-enforcement (FBI) job position: ASL Interpreter, ASL Professor at NYU education: Criminal Justice BS from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, night classes for ASL, English & Literature at Columbia relationship status: Single children: None positive traits: (5) Approachable, Supportive, Warm, Empathetic, Dedicated negative traits: (5) Forgetful, Distrustful, Petty, Picky, Obsessive

Please check all trigger warnings before reading the full bio, posted under the read more!

—BIOGRAPHY

TW // Death, Kidnapping/Hostage Situations, Guns

Gus grew up an absolute momma’s boy. He followed his mother around the house, he cooked with her in the kitchen, and he was spoiled rotten. Maybe his parents weren’t rich, but they worked hard in a small deli and sandwich shop in the Bronx. Gus would carry out orders for customers from as young as 8 years old and helped slice meat and vegetables as he got older. He always loved reading mystery novels and he’d translate them to his mother in Spanish. It was from a young age he knew he wanted to solve problems. He just wasn’t sure what that meant.

Studying Criminal Justice just seemed like the right thing to do. Gus had a naive view of the world when he got into college, and it continued as he learned about the criminal justice system. His college experience at John Jay was relatively uneventful - an occasional party, an occasional boyfriend or girlfriend, and traveling home on weekends to help at his parents' deli. Deciding to take on extra courses on forensic sciences, Gus worked very hard and dedicated any of his spare time to his studies - though his parents found this frustrating. It formed a bit of a rift between him and his father for a while - Gus was desperate to show his worth, meanwhile it felt like his parents just missed having an extra body in the shop.

When Gus finally clinched a job as a special agent, he couldn't believe it. He was unassuming and a little bit green - and that made him perfect for the work they wanted him to do. He was given a partner pretty early on - Graham, a Deaf man who was another ‘unassuming’ agent. The naive optimism that Gus had for his new job shattered as he saw how little many of his supervisors cared about the hurdles Graham had to go through to do the job- no courses to even teach others ASL to make sure Graham could communicate with them clearly. However, Gus learned ASL for him, and they worked perfectly together. It was an odd job- something he’d never thought he would do. Like he was in some CSI show. And he loved the high stakes, the adrenaline. He and Graham were perfectly in sync as FBI agents. And they did it for years. They formed a partnership that went beyond work- Gus could’ve done it forever. Soon enough they were dating, living in the same apartment, with Graham's weird little chihuahua Chelle there waiting when they got home.

Until a case went wrong. He's still unsure if the information they were given was wrong or just ill-advised, but a drugs bust had far more criminals waiting than expected. The two agents were apprehended and held at gunpoint for over 48 hours. At the end of 2 days of hell, Graham was shot in front of Gus. He doesn’t talk about it much any more- it’s too much for him to handle. He’s pushed a lot of it out of his mind- except when it comes roaring back from certain triggering noises, repressed memories. All Gus normally says is that he was in a very high-stakes job. And one of those stakes ended up being his partner. His partner, romantically and otherwise, of almost 6 years.

Gus spent a lot of time healing. He went to physical therapy to heal from various injuries. He had head trauma, scars. He still has PTSD. He went to a therapist. Very early on after Graham died, Gus found that their apartment was too much for him to bear. He moved himself and Chelle out and into a new place - smaller, colder. But at least it didn't remind him of Graham.

Eventually he went back to school. Night classes to brush up on his ASL, and other courses to learn about teaching and instructing. Soon he got his current position - teaching ASL at NYU. Meanwhile, he continues doing freelance ASL interpreting services for whoever comes calling. He doesn't ask questions - is just happy for the money and experience.

— wanted connections / plots

-Law enforcement he's worked with in the past -Former friends / family of Graham who stay in touch -Gus's family (has a few brothers & sisters) -Friends! Gus has been in NYC his whole life! -Exes (any gender, just have to have lived in NYC at the same time) -Dalliances, FwBs, bad decisions, hookups, romances -Criminals he might help with interpreting services? -NYU professors, students, anyone who might run into him -Politicians who need interpreting services? -ANYONE who needs interpreting services!! -Gang members he has come across in old cases 👀

#wb.intro #gusbio

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sixbucks · 1 year

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A Complete List of the 2023 LAMBDA Literary Awards Winners and Finalists

Congratulations to this years "Lammy" Award winners and finalists! In line with Lambda Literary's mission to advocate for LGBTQ writers, the awards are a way to amplify some of the best writing by queer authors today. More than 1,350 literary works were submitted this year across 25 categories of LGBTQ+ literature, so these books faced some steep competition.

Kick off your own Pride Month Reading Challenge by stocking up on these winning and finalist books! Use promotional code PRIDE23 at check-out to get 20% off these books throughout the month of June.

Bisexual Nonfiction

The Winner: Appropriate Behavior by Maria San Filippo

Finalists:

See why the title essay of this book went viral on the Paris Review website back in 2019.

"The book brings that same frank, funny gaze to bear on a succession of other doomed romances, mining them for complicated truths about how the love stories we inherit, consume and tell come to shape our experience and expectations. Think of it as rehab for road-weary romantics." —The Guardian

Carrying It Forward: Essays from Kistahpinanihk by John Brady McDonald (not carried by Tertulia)

Never Simple: A Memoir by Liz Scheier

Open: An Uncensored Memoir of Love, Liberation, and Non-Monogamy by Rachel Krantz

Lesbian Fiction

The Winner: Gods of Want by K-Ming Chang

Finalists:

Locus Magazine called this finalist for the 2022 National Book Award an "extraordinary literate and structurally inventive novel about female sexuality, cruelty, desire, and trauma that echoes the work of Lovecraft and Melville. A book this good, this devastating, should factor on all the award lists..."

Big Girl: A Novel by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan

Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley

Our Wives Under the Sea: A Novel by Julia Armfield

Gay Fiction

The Winner: The Foghorn Echoes by Danny Ramadan

Finalists:

Author Andrew Sean Greer called this book "Full of joy and righteous anger, sex and straight talk, brilliant storytelling and humor... A spectacularly researched Dickensian tale with vibrant characters and dozens of famous cameos, it is precisely the book we've needed for a long time."

Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala

God’s Children Are Little Broken Things by Arinze Ifeakandu

Hugs and Cuddles by João Gilberto Noll

Lesbian Memoir/Biography

The Winner: Lost & Found: A Memoir by Kathryn Schulz

This thriller/sci-fi mash-up was named a best book of the year by NPR.

"In the end, The Paradox Hotel succeeds as both a mystery and as a story involving time travel. Do you want head-spinning theories on the flow of time and what it might do to people and places? You’ll find both in abundance here. But you’ll also find a resourceful, haunted protagonist pushing herself to the limit to uncover the truth behind an impossible case—one that eventually leads her to a conclusion that satisfies both of the genres from which this novel emerged." —Tor.com

Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo

The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong

Bisexual Fiction

The Winner: Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste

Finalists:

Meet Us by the Roaring Sea by Akil Kumarasamy

Mother Ocean Father Nation by Nishant Batsha

Roses, In the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman

Stories No One Hopes Are about Them by A.J. Bermudez

Transgender Fiction

The Winner: The Call-Out by Cat Fitzpatrick

Finalists:

All the Hometowns You Can’t Stay Away From by Izzy Wasserstein

Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta by James Hannaham

Manywhere by Morgan Thomas

Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane

LGTBQ+ Young Adult

The Winner: The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

Finalists:

Burn Down, Rise Up by Vincent Tirado

Funny Gyal: My Fight Against Homophobia in Jamaica by Angeline Jackson with Susan McClelland

Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by Jen Ferguson

LGTBQ+ Middle Grade

The Winner: Nikhil Out Loud by Maulik Pancholy

Finalists:

Answers In the Pages by David Levithan

Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff

Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One by Maggie Horne

The Civil War of Amos Abernathy by Michael Leali

LGTBQ+ Children's Book

The Winner: Mighty Red Riding Hood by Wallace West

Finalists:

A Song for the Unsung: Bayard Rustin by Carol Boston Weatherford and Rob Sanders

Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson

Mama and Mommy and Me in the Middle by Nina LaCour

The Sublime Ms. Stacks by Robb Pearlman

Transgender Nonfiction

The Winner: The Third Person by Emma Grove

Finalists:

Before We Were Trans: A New History of Gender by Kit Heyam

Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist by Cecilia Gentili

Feral City: On Finding Liberation in Lockdown New York by Jeremiah Moss

The Terrible We: Thinking with Trans Maladjustment by Cameron Awkward-Rich

LGTBQ+ Nonfiction

The Winner: The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin by Hafizah Augustus Geter

Finalists:

And the Category Is…: Inside New York’s Vogue, House, and Ballroom Community by Ricky Tucker

How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

The Women’s House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison by Hugh Ryan

Virology: Essays for the Living, the Dead, and the Small Things in Between by Joseph Osmundson

Lesbian Poetry

The Winner: As She Appears by Shelley Wong

Finalists:

Beast at Every Threshold by Natalie Wee

Concentrate by Courtney Faye Taylor

Prelude by Brynne Rebele-Henry

Yearn by Rage Hezekiah

Gay Poetry

The Winner: Some Integrity by Padraig Regan

Finalists:

Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones

Brother Sleep by Aldo Amparán

Pleasure by Angelo Nikolopoulos

Super Model Minority by Chris Tse

Bisexual Poetry

The Winner: Real Phonies and Genuine Fakes by Nicky Beer

Finalists:

50 Things Kate Bush Taught Me About the Multiverse by Karyna McGlynn

Dereliction by Gabrielle Octavia Rucker

Indecent Hours by James Fujinami Moore

Meat Lovers by Rebecca Hawkes

Transgender Poetry

The Winner: MissSettl by Kamden Ishmael Hilliard

Finalists:

A Dead Name That Learned How to Live by Golden

A Queen in Bucks County by Kay Gabriel

All the Flowers Kneeling by Paul Tran

Emanations by Prathna Lor

LGTBQ+ Anthology

The Winner: OutWrite: The Speeches That Shaped LGBTQ Literary Culture by Julie R. Enszer and Elena Gross

Finalists:

Queer Nature: A Poetry Anthology edited by Michael Walsh

This Arab is Queer: An Anthology by LGBTQ+ Arab Writers by Elias Jahshan

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource by and for Transgender Communities Second Edition by Laura Erickson-Schroth

Xenocultivars: Stories of Queer Growth by Isabela Oliveira and Jed Sabin

Gay Memoir/Biography

The Winner: High-Risk Homosexual by Edgar Gomez

Finalists:

All Down Darkness Wide: A Memoir by Seán Hewitt

An Angel in Sodom by Jim Elledge

Boy with the Bullhorn: A Memoir and History of ACT UP New York by Ron Goldberg

I’m Not Broken by Jesse Leon

LGTBQ+ Mystery

The Winner: Dirt Creek: A Novel by Hayley Scrivenor

Finalists:

A Death in Berlin by David C Dawson

And There He Kept Her by Joshua Moehling

Dead Letters from Paradise by Ann McMan

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

LGTBQ+ Comics

The Winner: Mamo by Sas Milledge

Finalists:

A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings: A Graphic Memoir by Will Betke-Brunswick

Gay Giant by Gabriel Ebensperger

Other Ever Afters by Melanie Gillman

The Greatest Thing by Sarah Winifred Searle

Lesbian Romance

The Winner: The Rules of Forever by Nan Campbell

Finalists:

Hard Pressed by Aurora Rey

If I Don’t Ask by E. J. Noyes

Queerly Beloved by Susie Dumond

Southbound and Down by K.B. Draper

Gay Romance

The Winner: I’m So Not Over You by Kosoko Jackson

Finalists:

Forever After by Marie Sinclair (not carried by Tertulia)

Forever, Con Amor by A.M. Johnson

Just One Night by Felice Stevens

Two Tribes by Fearne Hill

LGTBQ+ Romance and Erotica

The Winner: Kiss Her Once For Me: A Novel by Alison Cochrun

Finalists:

A Lady’s Finder by Edie Cay

Loose Lips: A Gay Sea Odyssey by Joseph Brennan

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

The Romance Recipe by Ruby Barrett

LGTBQ+ Drama

The Winner: Iphigenia and the Furies (On Taurian Land) & Antigone: 方 by Ho Ka Kei (Jeff Ho)

Finalists:

Duecentomila by kai fig taddei

Rock ‘n’ Roll Heretic by Sikivu Hutchinson

The Show on the Roof Book by Tom Ford, Music and Lyrics by Alex Syiek (not carried by Tertulia)

Wolf Play by Hansol Jung, Samuel French

LGTBQ+ Studies

The Winner: Keeping It Unreal: Black Queer Fantasy and Superhero Comics by Darieck Scott

Finalists:

Lesbian Death: Desire and Danger between Feminist and Queer by Mairead Sullivan

Sissy Insurgencies: A Racial Anatomy of Unfit Manliness by Marlon B. Ross

Surface Relations: Queer Forms of Asian American Inscrutability by Vivian L. Huang

There’s a Disco Ball Between Us: A Theory of Black Gay Life by Jafari S. Allen

#lambda awards #literary awards #lgbtqia #🏳️‍🌈

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asher-finch · 1 year

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— INTRODUCING: asher finch.

felix mallard & he/him / cisman ‷ watch out , asher finch has crash-landed into roswell !! they look twenty-six years old and celebrate their birthday on the twenty-second of april. they are from roswell, new mexico, reside in tripp's trailer park and are currently working as a clerk at galactica gift shop and bartender at the wild pony. one thing you should know about them is that he actually can lick his own elbow and has worked hard on that skill.‷

The Basics.

Full Name: Asher Finch Face Claim: Felix Mallard Pronouns and Gender: cisman (he/him) Birthday and Age: April 22nd, 1996 (26) Zodiac: taurus ☉ cancer ☽ sagittarius ➶ Hometown: Roswell, NM How long have they been living there? All his life. Sexuality: fluid Neighborhood: Tripp's Trailer Park Occupation: Clerk at Galactica Gift Shop & Bartender at the Wild Pony Family: Edward "Eddy" Finch (father), Isabella "Bella" Finch (mother)

The Personality.

Asher is the definition of a slacker. He's a small town boy through and through who still hangs around the same places and hideouts as he did when he was a kid. He's someone who never really had any greater ambitions other than getting some deadbeat job so he could have enough money to buy booze and weed for his friends and him and just have a good time. He barely made it through high school, not because he's not smart enough but simply because he hated the system he was put in and never bothered to study properly. However, he does like to read, to skate, to just hang out and doesn't mind the fact that every now and then he has to work - aka do the bare minimum to not get fired. Asher often pretends he doesn't really care much about anything yet, deep down, he cares about the people close to him but has a hard time showing them or letting them know without turning it into a joke.

The Biography.

trigger warnings: mentions of child neglect, alcohol and drug use

born and raised in roswell, new mexico, for generations, the finches weren't exactly known as the most stable or white picket fence kind of family

eddy and bella had come from rather humble beginnings themselves, sweethearts who'd met in kindergarten and got engaged through buying each other ring pops while getting high together but ended up with a kid they didn't have the resources to care for way too early into their young life

being raised by two adults who were still kids essentially, paved the way for asher who, while loved to the moon and back, had never really known what it meant to grow up and take responsibility

he was a latchkey kid, left to his own devices more often than not while his parents stayed out late at a local bar but nonetheless, he felt like he had everything he needed, not knowing what he was missing

but the young pair tried their best to raise their son, not always succeeding but doing what they could and while asher always had a loving parent and a roof over his head, he lacked one thing - guidance

he never believed in rolemodels and he's still under the impression that he never needed any to begin with but following into the long gone finches' footsteps, he found himself in a life with little to no rules but a rather hedonistic approach

school was mainly a way to occupy himself, a reason to stay out and let his old folks sleep well into noon but frankly, he was never really good at it, mostly because he got bored and sidetracked easily

he'd rather skip school with friends and hang out in empty parking lots way past his curfew (but who checked really?), learning new tricks on his skateboard and smoking behind abandoned houses

now, years later, he works at the local gift shop, mostly because he gets to hang out there and talk shit about tourists

he by no means works hard enough to run himself into the ground but just enough to not get fired which to him is more than enough

he now lives in a small trailer near his parents' that he fixed up with a little help from his friends and is a plant boi™️ (do they die because he gets sidetracked and forgets to water them? absolutely but he's trying!!)

to most, he looks a little mean and will roll his eyes at most people to mark his territory but he's really just very chill and usually vibing either on his own or with friends

asher is and aways has been an outdoorsy type of guy and loves every kind of activity you can do in nature as in lay around in meadows playing card games or skating/biking around town

like a bunch of other kids around town, he doesn't really know what he wants to do in life but he's working on it

he's interested in a bunch of things but also has the attitude that things are fine the way they are and he makes enough money to live comfortably (for him) so it's all good and he'll likely just continue as it was since it has never broke badly for him

The Connections.

childhood/high school friends

neighbors/fellow trailer park residents

fellow latchkey kids that he hung out with either after or during school hours (oops)

coworkers

drinking/smoking buddies

skate buddies

anything and everything really

#roswellintro #( intro. )#( about. )#child neglect tw #alcohol tw #drugs tw

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kramlabs · 1 year

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Most people address stress in one of two ways. Either you build up your resistance to stress, so that it doesn’t hurt you so much, or you play triage, developing tools, tricks, and strategies for countering stress and dealing with it when it occurs. This assumes that stress is a given. I tend to agree. Stressors arise; it’s what they do. The most effective way to minimize the impact of stress on our health and wellness is to engage both perspectives—to establish baseline health practices and life management that build resilience and to equip oneself with tools to fight stress when it strikes.

Before anything, get the basics down. Good sleep, good food, regular exercise, and steady exposure to nature are all prerequisites for healthy relationships to stress. They’re necessary, but rarely sufficient.

What, for instance, can we do to pause and hit reset when under duress, when the furnace just conked out, the oldest child barfed at breakfast, and a looming work project is suddenly due today? And what can we do so those crises either don’t happen as often or hit us quite as hard?

Seek Meaning, Not Happiness

Happiness is a real thing, but it’s fleeting. You can’t grab it for long—it’ll just flit away. It’s part of the journey. If your goal is to get back in shape, happiness happens along the way—when you hit a squat PR, when you plop down on the couch with a good book and a bowl of meat and sweet potatoes after a tough sprint workout. You don’t hit a specific point of fitness, attain happiness, and remain there in a state of bliss. Happiness emerges from the pursuit of meaning. Think ongoing instead of endpoint.

What does this have to do with stress? Chasing something that’s impossible to catch is inherently stressful, if not defeating. You’ll be wondering why “you’re not happy.” Find meaning, find purpose, and that existential stress will melt away. You’ll know what to do and, most importantly, why to do it.

It seems to work for residents in Tamil Nadu, where having a well-defined purpose to life reduces psychosocial stress.

Stay Uninformed

Being informed about the world at large is overrated. And impossible. I’m not advocating putting your head in the sand, but there’s only so much a person can effectively absorb (let alone process and act on). The 24/7 news cycle means the news (bad or good) never stops. It’s always plowing ahead, and if you want to stay apprised, you can’t ever stop checking the updates. Being informed is a full-time job. What good does it do to know the nuances of every mishap, outrage, and tragedy that plays out in the world? A politician’s every social media post? Every dismal statistic? Every horrifying image of war and calamity?

That sounds cold and callous. But it’s just reality: We’re not built to worry about billions of people, or even the tens and hundreds of thousands of strangers living nearby. And we stress (and often suffer) as a result.

In a recent survey of people who reported feeling stressed out on a regular basis, one of the most common triggers for their stress was consuming the news.

If this is anathema to you and you honestly enjoy reading about current events, pick up some history books. Instead of obsessing over the 24-hour news cycle, read up on the history of Syria, the Sudan, and the American Civil War. Read a biography of Lincoln. Study Venezuelan history. The lesson may be more than informative. It may give your nerves a break.

Rethink Stress

The stress response isn’t trying to kill you. It’s not trying to make you miserable and unable to function. The stress response is preparing you to do battle, to act, to perform. Those nerves? The flutter in your stomach? That’s your nervous system impressing upon you the monumental nature of the task at hand. It wants you to step up, and it’s increasing the heart rate to promote better blood flow so your tissues can perform.

Understand that and the stress becomes an ally, not a hindrance. One recent study suggests this, finding that although high amounts of stress increase the risk of dying, it does so only in individuals who perceive stress to be harmful. In people who don’t see stress as a health threat, stress does not appear to increase mortality.

Take a Relaxing Lunch

Lunch is rarely lunch anymore. At lunchtime in offices around the world, people scuttle off to procure/heat their food, rush back to the desk, and wolf it down while continuing to work. What if you did things differently?

According to a new study, taking an actual lunch break outdoors that includes a short walk or a 15-minute relaxation exercise session reduces workplace stress, improves fatigue, and increases well-being. Consider it a wise buffer for every work day.

Stop Taking Everything for Granted

We ignore the predictable. We don’t appreciate the dependable. On paper, things are great these days. The lights work, we have hot water, the streets are mostly safe. We can communicate instantly with people halfway across the world. Access to all the world’s knowledge rests in our pockets. Everything is amazing. Yet, we don’t notice it.

Instead, we focus on everything that’s going wrong. It’s understandable. That’s how we’re built—to detect novelty. But it makes the world a very stressful place.

Force yourself to take in the good. You can call this showing gratitude. Or being thankful. Or maybe just opening your eyes and taking stock of your life as objectively as possible. Life isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s great in many respects. Start acknowledging that!

Live a Life That Embodies Your Full Personality (as well as Potential)

I’ve written before about the value of knowing yourself and the sabotage inherent to comparison. Whether it’s following your passion, your introversion/extroversion, your personal values, or other identity-based facets, living who you are fully and authentically matters in the grand scheme. Feeling like you have to “stuff” or shrink your individuality throughout your day may be more than just a drag on joy—but a genuine threat to health.

What matters is what’s natural to you—in your work, your relationships, your daily routine. Be honest with yourself about what you really need from life, or risk fragmentation. There’s nothing more stressful than a civil war inside one’s identity each day.

You have to dig down deep, sift through the layers of conditioning, and build a life that’s congruent with what matters to you. Discover what that is. Then go be that.

Drop Everything and Get out into Nature

We need to get out of the habit of white-knuckling life and calling it discipline. If the proverbial stress typhoon has touched down—the kids are screaming, the pressure of a deadline is mounting, your brain is churning with indecision and confusion—drop everything, grab what/whom you need, and get the hell out of there. Go to the nearest green/blue space: a park, a forest, the beach, the desert, the meadow.

You can take your work with you. Bring your laptop, turn a rock or tree stump into a standup workstation, and finish the work. If it’s dinnertime, have a picnic; let the kids run around and tire themselves out. Just go!

Work It out on Paper (or Keyboard)

A lot of stress is ridiculous and unfounded. We often don’t even know why we’re stressed out. If that’s the case—if your stress takes the form of a swirling amorphous cloud of racing thoughts you can’t parse—sit down with a pad of paper or other writing tool and figure out what’s vexing you. Ask yourself: “Why the hell are you so stressed out?” Get specific. Once you discover the culprit or culprits, determine why those stressors are affecting you.

Talking yourself through the timeline can help you discover if it’s worth stressing over. It may just melt away with exposure.

Introduce an Acute Stressor

Step outside into the bracing cold. Splash cold water on your face or hop in the cold shower. Do as many bodyweight squats and pushups as you can manage. Drop and give me 20 burpees.

These acts shock you into focusing on the present moment. They take you out of your mind and away from whatever swill might be currently occupying it. You can’t ignore cold water on your skin.

The stress may still be there after the shock, but having that break can give you a foothold back in reality.

Take an Anti-Stress Supplement or Herb

I honestly created Adaptogenic Calm for those times I just needed a fast-acting damper on the rising stress that was getting to me. I wanted an easy to swallow capsule of all the best stuff out there, so I made it. It’s got L-theanine, magnolia bark, phosphatadylserine, rhodiola rosea, and beta sitosterol. The L-theanine reduces anxiety and attenuates the rise in blood pressure in adults subjected to psychological and physical stress. The magnolia bark enhances the activity of soothing GABA receptors in the brain. The phosphatadylserine works on both mental and physical stress, improving mood and blunting cortisol after physical exercise. The rhodiola rosea lowers cortisol, increases mental performance, and lowers fatigue in stress-related fatigue. And when it’s incorporated into cellular membranes, beta sitosterol protects against oxidative stress.

It’s certainly not the only option. You can find any of the constituent ingredients as separate supplements, or you can check out the various pieces I’ve done on other anti-stress supplements and herbs. My point? Keep something on hand you can immediately administer.

#mark sisson #fix circadian things first #more better mitochondria #philosophy

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wikifoxnews · 2 years

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Who was Austin Lee Edwards ( Ex-Virginia state trooper shot dead after kidnapping teen ) Wiki, Bio, Age, Crime, Arrest, Incident Details, Investigations and More Facts

Austin Lee Edwards Biography Austin Lee Edwards Wiki

A former Virginia state trooper allegedly kidnapped a California teen who was fishing online after killing her family, police say.

Authorities say Austin Lee Edwards, 28, traveled more than 2,500 miles across the country to Riverside to meet the teenager on Friday. Edwards then allegedly killed the girl's grandparents and mother, burned down their house and fled with the victim. San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputies located Edwards and fatally shot him in a drive-by shooting later that day, law enforcement said. The suspect in a triple homicide who died in a shootout with police was a former Virginia State Trooper assigned to patrol Henrico County. Police believe he drove across the country to meet a teenage girl before killing her family.https://t.co/j0Qm1RySMc — WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) November 28, 2022 The teenage victim found with Edwards was unharmed and taken into custody by the Riverside County Department of Social Services. Edwards, of North Chesterfield, Va., met the girl online and obtained her personal information by posing as someone else in a practice commonly known as "catfishing", the Riverside Police Department said. in a press release. How long the two communicated with each other is unclear.

Incident Details

The shocking incident began to unfold just after 11am on Friday when Riverside Police received a welfare check call about a young woman who 'looked distraught' as she was riding in a red Kia Soul in the 11200 block of Price Court. When officers responded, dispatchers were alerted to smoke and a possible fire at a few houses from which police had been called for social screening. Riverside firefighters discovered three adults lying outside the entrance and took them outside, where first responders "determined they were the victims of an apparent homicide," police said. Detectives later determined that the young woman described in the first emergency call lived in the house where the three people were found dead, police said.

Victim Identified

Bodies found in the burnt-out Riverside home have been identified as the grandparents and mother of the abducted teenager: Mark Winek, 69, his wife Sharie Winek, 65, and their 38-year-old daughter Brooke Winek . Police only revealed the cause of his death on Monday, but they believe Edwards drove across the country, parked his car in a neighbor's driveway, drove to the teenager's home and killed her family before meeting the girl. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but appears to have been "deliberately started", police said. It is not known whether the grandparents and mother were killed before the fire started. Riverside authorities distributed a description of Edwards' car to law enforcement, and hours later police located the car containing Edwards and the teen in Kelso, San Bernardino County. Edwards fired and was killed by deputies who returned fire, police said. Edwards was hired by the Virginia State Police and entered the Police Academy on July 6, 2021. He graduated as a private on January 21, 2022 and was assigned to Henrico County within the agency's Richmond division until taking over on October 28. Edwards also worked for the Washington County Sheriff's Department in Virginia, California authorities said. Riverside Police Commissioner Larry Gonzalez called the case "a terrifying new reminder of online predators preying on our children." At a Saturday vigil, friends and neighbors described the Wineks as a caring, loving family with a deep commitment to their community. "You couldn't ask for a better friend than Mark," Ron Smith, Mark Winek's friend of 30 years, told Mercury News. "There will be a hole in my heart that will be hard to fill." Read the full article

#ARSON #AUSTINLEEEDWARDS #CALIFORNIA #CATFISH #MURDERS #POLICESHOOTINGS #STATETROOPERS

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newnewz · 2 years

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A biography that may change your mind about J. Edgar Hoover

On Oct. 7, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson’s longtime aide Walter Jenkins walked into the YMCA near the White House after a party at the Newsweek magazine office and had sex in the bathroom with a homeless Army veteran. The vice squad arrested Jenkins, booked him and released him. A week later, the story made headlines on the eve of the presidential election that pitted Johnson against Republican Barry Goldwater. By then, a near-suicidal Jenkins had checked into George Washington University Hospital and the Republicans were “punching hard,” writes Beverly Gage in “G-Man,” her masterful account of the life and controversial career of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. The Goldwater campaign demanded to know if Jenkins’s conduct had compromised national security. Forced to act, Johnson ordered Hoover, his old friend and onetime neighbor, to investigate the scandal. Hoover was annoyed. This was politics, and for decades he had tried to insulate the FBI from partisan politics. But he did what he was told to do by his president.

It turned out that Jenkins, the father of six children, had been arrested in the same bathroom five years earlier. Johnson was astonished that Jenkins could have hidden his proclivities. Hoover was not. He thought such temptations were commonplace. Four days into the investigation he told Johnson that Jenkins had been under enormous stress and required medical attention. The FBI chief had already sent a bouquet of flowers to Jenkins’s hospital room. Attached was a sympathy card wishing him a speedy recovery. “With less than two weeks to go before the election,” Gage writes, “Hoover issued a report absolving Jenkins of any national security violations,” and on Election Day, Johnson rolled to victory in one of the nation’s biggest presidential landslides.

In Gage’s biography, Hoover emerges as a strangely tortured man who wielded power within the Justice Department for an astonishing 48 years. His response to Jenkins revealed a softer side and, Gage explains, raised an “innuendo that Hoover might have more in common with Jenkins than he wished to acknowledge.” In a memo, Hoover wrote that he liked Jenkins and felt sorry for him. “It is a pitiful case,” he observed, “and I think it is time for people to follow the admonition of the Bible about persons throwing the first stone and that none are without sin.”

Hoover’s story illustrates the unique power of biography to enter the life of another human being. The genre can provoke a rare response: It can persuade one to change one’s mind. This magical leap can happen when a good biographer is able to seduce the reader into understanding another soul. “G-Man” is Gage’s first biography, and she turns out to be a marvelous biographer.

After reading Gage, I have changed my mind about Hoover. He is not the caricature villain I thought I knew when I came of age in the turbulent 1960s. Hoover was a man of profound contradictions. While he had enough empathy to send flowers to Jenkins, he also orchestrated the FBI’s notorious COINTELPRO intelligence operations against civil rights leaders and antiwar activists, wiretapped Martin Luther King Jr. and many other private citizens, and enabled the rise of a deeply racist conservative movement that is still poisoning the American body politic. Gage provides proof that Hoover was no rogue elephant, acting entirely on his own. Instead, we learn that Hoover invariably did what he did with the full knowledge of the men he served in the White House and Congress. It was President Franklin Roosevelt who first authorized Hoover to use wiretaps to collect domestic political intelligence. And Hoover regularly briefed the White House and Congress on COINTELPRO.

No loose cannon, Hoover was actually the consummate cautious bureaucrat, the keeper of the files — really more of an uptight, puritanical librarian. Indeed, his first job out of college and law school was at the Library of Congress, where his mentor Herbert Putnam taught him the power and magic of the library’s catalogue of 50,000 index cards. According to Gage, Hoover used his skills as a librarian to become a master politician, managing to ingratiate himself through eight presidential administrations.Read more

#EdgarHoover #FBIdirector #biography

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vicecityhq · 2 years

Photo

██████████████]99% LOADING...SUSPECT INTO THE APD DATABASE...

WITNESS(ES) SAY THEY REMIND THEM OF: Tailored three piece suits, a hot wok slicked with oil, smokey jazz bars . With a slight resemblance to SEN MITSUJI of/the ACTOR/MODEL.

CLICK BELOW TO VIEW ENTIRE FILE.

FULL FILE:

Last Name, First Name: Okada, Junji ALIAS: Enra Realm of birth(if earth, nationality): Earth / Osaka, Japan Age: 34 Gender: Cis male Preferred Pronouns: He/him Species: Necromancer Occupation: Bookkeeper for the Nightbloods Sexual Orientation: Bisexual Any Associated/Owned Businesses: Equity shareholder of St Agnes Company Ltd., proprietor of three jazz clubs in London (The CopyCat, The B&M, The Devil’s Part)

VISUAL FILE: (please match the listed visual descriptions on the species page)

Skin Color: Tan Eye color: Brown with red flecks Scars: Small scar on scalp, long vertical scar on left calf Piercings: Lobe piercings on both ears Tattoos: Small black script reading For The Departed beneath his left collarbone Hair color: Black Abnormalities: Symbol of death branded behind his right ear Horns/ wings/ etc: Transformed form: [ you can find these in your muses species section here.]

RELIGIOUS BELIEF: Polytheistic

SINS: lust / gluttony / greed / sloth / envy / wrath / pride

VIRTUES: chastity / temperance / charity / diligence / kindness / patience / humility

KNOWN LANGUAGES: Japanese, English, Korean Mandarin, French

SECRETS: He had the opportunity to resurrect his dead lover but chose not to.

SAVVIES: Cooking, mathematics, speed-reading, chess, languages

Powers & Abilities:Aura and soul absorption, Conjuration, summoning, and reanimation, Undead, spirt, and soul manipulation, Demon Creation, Corpse conversion. Death magic

Traits: + Diplomatic, - Insensitive

BACKGROUND CHECK:

Date of Birth: April 6, 1988

Date of Death: [ if applying for an undead character ]

Crime Record: [ Relationship with authority, laws broken, and crimes committed. In what Realm did you break the rules? ]

Background/Biography:

Junji Okada was born in Osaka, Japan, to a Japanese father and an Australian mother. His parents were Haruki Okada, a necromancer and esteemed academic, and Grace St Agnes, an Australian socialite, civil rights activist, and member of the prominent St Agnes family. Junji's father gave him the power to utilize magic involving the dead and taught him the ways of a necromancer.

Junji was sent to top boarding schools in Australia and Sweden, graduating with honors. He later attended the University of Oxford and earned a degree in economics and comparative social policy.

In 2016, Junji decided to leave England and move to South Korea, where he got a job working for the Shinhan Financial Group. He eventually left for a bookkeeping job with the notorious Agdoeg gang, the Nightbloods.

INTERVIEW QUESTION (para sample): “Just run us through what happened that night”. - Officer

It did not benefit Junji to be forthcoming with the officer. This exchange was a waste of both of their time - a Shakespearean play-act made worse by the fact that only one of them was aware they were performing.

Junji crossed his long legs under the table, his angular face as clear and open as a reflecting pool.

A deputy had brought him a white paper cup of what he presumed must be coffee but looked more akin to the black bile that oozed from a diseased corpse. If this meeting did not prove too big a nuisance, Junji would have to send the station a few bags of Tanzania Peaberry grounds, his brew of choice. He'd probably send them regardless. It was a crime against humanity to consume such putrid caffeinated sludge, something he wouldn't wish upon his nemeses.

"What your young deputy saw that night was likely my assistant, Solomon. I understand his appearance is quite disturbing, but I assure you he is harmless." Relatively. "I promise you that he nor any of my associates had anything to do with this recent rash of homicides. If you would like, I can provide security camera footage and financial statements to affirm their alibis." Junji glanced at the Rolex on his wrist. "I'm sorry that I cannot be of much help, officer,” he said, not meaning it. “But I must request that we continue this conversation at a later date. I have a prior engagement." He failed to mention that this engagement was with one of their murder victims.

#vcaccepted #vcnightblood #rp #rpg #oc rp #oc rpg #gang rpg #gang rp #mafia rp #mafia rpg #supernatural rp #supernatural rpg #literate rp #literate rpg

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bluearrowed · 4 years

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Name: Aang Nationality: Air Nomad Age: 15

“When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change.”

Aang thought that the world’s lowest point was Ozai declaring himself Phoenix King and trying to set the world on fire. Everything else was supposed to be smooth sailing after that. But he is horrified that instead of an era of harmony, peace, and love, the world is in utter chaos due to petty power-squabbles among and within the nations. They may have come together against the crazy man who tried to kill three-fourth of the world, but without this common goal to unite them, the world stands divided once again. They all turn to Aang, expecting him to pick a side, and grow impatient and surly when he instead offers compromises where everyone must make sacrifices. And now that the world knows that the Avatar can take away bending abilities from evil people, there is an endless line of people demanding that their past tormenters be punished in this manner. Trying to keep balance in the world has never been harder.

In Character -- Basic

Name: Aang

Faceclaim: Darren Chen

In Character -- In Depth

Personality:

Aang is ultimately shaped by his air nomad identity – even more so now he’s the last of his people. He feels that it’s his duty, as the last air nomad, to live their beliefs out fully. This has a huge impact on every aspect of his life – his fighting style, which is more defensive than offensive, his refusal to eat meat, and his overwhelming desire to find a peaceful solution to conflict.

Aang’s ideologies can be summed up in his quote to Katara: let your anger out and then let it go. Aang’s ability to forgive, even in the face of suffering an unimaginable loss, is what defines him. Even after all that the Fire Nation took from him – his culture and his people – and despite the threat they posed to the world, Aang was not able, or willing, to kill Ozai. His unwillingness to murder was not a weakness, but an incredible strength, and it is what defines him as the Avatar – his desire to find another path, a less-trodden path, a new way of doing things that means he doesn’t have to compromise his beliefs.

Though he is wiser than his years, and though he’s now mastered the four elements, Aang still has his flaws. He might have worked through his initial guilt about abandoning his people when they needed him, but it will never really go away. He bears it with a quiet stoicism, because he knows that it’s his burden to carry. Conversely to that, he might be the Avatar, but he still prefers playing games to practising his bending, and he does shirk his practising in favour of inventing new games, and hanging out with his friends. He isn’t a slacker by any stretch of the imagination, but most bending comes quite easily to him, and that’s given him a rather lax attitude when it comes to training.

Because he missed out on so much of his childhood, having his role as the Avatar act as a barrier between him and his friends at the Southern Air Temple a century ago, Aang definitely wants to live out his childhood as much as he can, now especially since he doesn’t have the threat of the possibly deadly encounter with Ozai hanging over him.

One of the strangest things about Aang’s life is that he’s viewed as a wise mediator – which he is – but mostly, he’s just a kid. His air nomad beliefs and practises seem extremely peaceful and harmonious to modern sensibilities, because the air nomads were wiped out so long ago, and the fact that he’s the last of his people only adds to Aang’s mystique in the eyes of the public. But, in his own eyes, he’s just a kid, trying to do his best with the role that was thrust onto him when he was too young.

History

15 B.G.

Born a decade and a half before the genocide of his people, Aang was raised by monks. He travelled the four nations, and lived the unburdened, happy, childhood of an air nomad, playing with his friends in the Southern Air Temple, and learning bending from his surrogate father, Gyatso, the greatest airbender of his time. Aang was an airbending prodigy, surpassing his teachers, and earned his airbending tattoos at the age of 12. He even invented a new airbending move -- the air scooter.

But this was a world teetering on the brink of a century-long war, and Aang’s happy childhood came to a halt when the Council of Elders told him that he was the Avatar, and that it was his destiny to master all four elements, and stop the looming war. The rift this created between Aang and the other young air nomads was enormous, and the Council of Elders insisted that he be taken away, to continue his Avatar training at the Eastern Air Temple.

Afraid at the notion of being forced to leave his home and his family, Aang made a decision that would shape the next hundred years. He ran away from the temple in the middle of a storm, leaving Gyatso -- his father and mentor -- a note. He would never see Gyatso, or any of the other airbenders, again.

Caught in the storm, Aang and Appa -- his spirit animal, a sky bison -- went down in the middle of the raging sea, and Aang entered the Avatar State for the first time in his life. He unconsciously harnessed the power of all of his past lives, and saved himself from drowning, sealing himself and Appa inside a sphere of ice. And there he remained for a hundred years, while the war raged on, and his people, the Air Nomads, were wiped out.

100 A.G.

A century later was only a moment for Aang, and the next thing he knew, he was waking up in the arms of a girl from the Southern Water Tribe. And that is where he met Katara and Sokka, and slowly learned of how much time had passed.

He had been gone for a hundred years, and the world was a very different place. Gone was the unity between the nations, the balance, and in its place was a war-stricken place, mostly conquered by the Fire Nation, with the two Water Tribes at the top and base of the world, and the great Earth Kingdom strongholds of Ba Sing Se and Omashu still standing strong, only having lasted this long by sealing themselves away inside their walls. And no one had seen an Air Nomad for a hundred years. This was not a world of balance and peace, with the nations working in harmony. It was a world divided.

But it was Aang’s job, as the Avatar, to restore balance, and stop the third generation tyrant, Fire Lord Ozai, from continuing his reign of destruction. It was always the Avatar’s duty to maintain the balance, to be the bridge between the spirit realm and the mortal world. This knowledge weighed heavily on Aang’s shoulders. He was just a kid, and he wanted to stay that way. He never asked to be the Avatar -- he didn’t want to be.

When he learned what the Fire Nation had done to his people, when he saw the ruins of his home -- which had been so full of life and love and fun only a few days ago, in Aang’s eyes -- he triggered the Avatar State for only the second time in his life. Lost to rage and pain, Aang was only brought back by Katara. And then he realised, as he fell into her arms, crying for everything that he’d lost, that he had a new family now. Sokka and Katara were his family, and he still had Appa and Momo, his new flying lemur pet. The three of them were all that remained of the Air Nomad civilisation, and they had to stick together.

Winter and Spring, 100 A.G.

And so began their journey across the world. And so, too, began his journey towards become a fully realised Avatar. Aang learned waterbending from Katara, and, when they discovered her in the Earth Kingdom of Gaoling, earthbending from Toph. He feared firebending, because of its destructive power, and vowed to never firebend again after he injured Kara.

And, always on their tail, there was Zuko, Fire Lord Ozai’s son, following them, hunting them across the world. It became impossible to remember every time Zuko had attacked them. Aang had only been awake for a single day when he met Zuko, but, even early on in their journey, he knew that Zuko would be a problem.

Barely a year after his return to the world, and word had spread far and wide that the Avatar had come back, that the cycle hadn’t been broken after all. For the first time in a century, and for the first time in many people’s living memory, there was a reason to hope again. In the middle of a seemingly endless war, Aang was a symbol of the restoration of balance and freedom. Even though he never asked for it, and a part of him just wanted to be a kid. As time went on, and as he mastered the elements, Aang knew he had to face his destiny and fight the Fire Lord.

Ever since waking up a hundred years into a war, Aang carried with him guilt and shame that he hadn’t been there to protect his people from genocide, that he hadn’t been there when the Fire Nation began conquering, and tipping the balance of nature. It weighed him down like lead inside his stomach, mixing with the pressure of his destiny, and the knowledge that only he could defeat Ozai and restore balance.

But, in order to master the Avatar State, and unlock the power and knowledge of the previous Avatars, Aang needed to let go of his guilt and shame. This was the teaching of Guru Pathik, the spiritual brother to the Air Nomads. Aang had to unlock his chakras, and let the energy flow through himself. He had to let go of earthly attachments, which meant letting go of Katara. And, at first, he resisted. How could he let go of Katara? He’d come to love her, over the months they’d travelled together. She had healed some of the agony he felt over losing his people, healing him on the inside, the way she could heal on the outside. But he knew he had no choice. He had to master the Avatar State if he wanted to defeat Ozai.

It was then, once he let go of worldly attachments, and mastered the Avatar State, that he was struck by Princess Azula’s lightning, and, for a few minutes, he was... gone. Gone from the world, from this place of existence. It was only because of Iroh, and Katara’s water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole, that Aang was saved. And still, he stayed unconscious for weeks, recovering from his injures.

Summer, 100 A.G.

And so, the world thought the Avatar was dead. Again. The world thought the Avatar had failed. Again. When Aang awoke, weeks after he’d been shot down, his world had changed again. Now, they were aboard a Fire Nation ship, and Aang had to hide his identity -- leave his hair long, and stay stowed out of sight. He was their secret weapon in the war. The Fire Lord thought he was dead, and it was best for everyone if things stayed that way. Aang struggled -- he wanted to show the world that he hadn’t failed, that there was still a reason to hope -- but he realised that he had to stay hidden.

Hiding had its perks. Covering his blue tattoos with hair and a headband, Aang was able to attend a Fire Nation school, and he felt like normal kid for the first time in ages. But, of course, it couldn’t last. A solar eclipse was coming, a day that history would remember as the Day of Black Sun. A day when the firebenders would be without their bending for the first time, a day when it was possible to overthrow them.

But, when Aang went with Sokka and Toph to face the Fire Lord, it wasn’t Ozai he was met with. It was Azula. She distracted them long enough for the eclipse to pass, and for her firebending to return. And they knew they had to retreat. The Fire Nation knew that Aang was alive, but it didn’t feel like a victory, the way Aang had hoped. He had lost his chance to face Ozai early, his chance to face the Fire Lord without his firebending. In that way, they would have been the same. Because Aang still hadn’t mastered firebending.

At the Southern Air Temple, Zuko -- who had chased them, and tried to capture Aang countless times -- appeared. He had been on his own journey, parallel to Aang’s, learning his own destiny. Aang knew he couldn’t trust Zuko, at first. He’d said, once, that he’d hoped they could’ve been friends, if Zuko had lived a hundred years ago. But now, faced with the teenager who’d hunted him so relentlessly, Aang knew that he couldn’t just forgive what Zuko had done, no matter how badly he needed a firebending teacher.

But destiny is a funny thing, and Zuko eventually proved himself to the team. And, together, he and Aang went to the Sun Warriors Temple, and met the original source of firebending, the dragons. And Aang learned that firebending isn’t just destruction and damage. It is warmth and life and energy. It had been corrupted over the last century, but fire itself wasn’t an evil element.

Armed with the four elements, but still not able to master the Avatar State, the day of Sozin’s Comet was fast approaching. And there was still one more hurdle Aang had to overcome. How could he take another human’s life, even Ozai’s? How could he murder someone, when it went against everything he believed in? Conflicted, he walked into the ocean, and sat alone, on the back of a giant lion turtle. And there, riding on that strange and ancient creature, he came face to face with his past selves, moving further and further back, and deeper inside himself, until he cycled back through an entire Avatar Cycle and met Avatar Yangchen, the last Air Nomad Avatar before Aang. And they all gave him advice -- be decisive, let justice prevail, actively shape your destiny, you must be selfless and do what the world needs. But, though their advice was different, the sentiment was the same. Aang had to kill Ozai, and put his duty as the Avatar above his personal morals.

But then, he spoke to the giant lion turtle. And he realised there was another way.

So, Aang stood and waited for Ozai. He stood his ground, and fought the Fire Lord -- now the self-named Phoenix King -- and he didn’t let go of his beliefs. When Ozai threw Aang against a rock, and hit his locked seventh chakra, accidentally unlocking it, Aang entered the Avatar State again, harnessing all of the power and knowledge of all of his past lives. Fire Lord Ozai, he said with over a hundred voices, You and your forefathers have devastated the balance of this world, and now you shall pay the ultimate price.

But the ultimate price didn’t have to be Ozai’s life. Despite what Aang’s past lives had told him, despite what his friends said, despite what the world thought he had to do, Aang found another way. A third path, not surrender or murder, but removal. He took away Ozai’s bending, so the Fire Lord could never hurt anyone again. And that was the ultimate price, and it was a strength. Aang didn’t become a killer. He didn’t sacrifice what was important to him.

Plots moving forward:

In the wake of removing Ozai's bending abilities, Aang has had an influx of people coming to him, wanting him to do the same to their enemies. What they don't understand, and what Aang is trying to impress upon everyone, is that taking away someone's bending should be the last resort. It would be really interesting to explore's Aang's thoughts on what he did to Ozai, and how he deals with the pressure of the public's expectation for him to take sides in their inter-nation arguments.

Carrying on from that, it would be great to explore the fallout of the war, and Aang's role as the mediator of the nations in a new time of strife and divisiveness. He can't believe that he just saved the world from Ozai, and there's still more to do. Having a little break would be nice!

I also want to see how Aang's close relationships play out, in the wake of the war. How is he going to help Zuko rehabilitate the Fire Nation's image, now Zuko's the new Fire Lord? How can he and Zuko even begin to repair the unbelievable damage the Fire Nation have caused? Also, exploring his friendships with Sokka and Toph would be fascinating -- will they want to go home to their families, or stay with him? How much of all of their friendships were forged because of the necessity of war, of having a quest, and an end goal in mind? How will those friendships change, now they don't have a journey to go on, but Aang still has his duties as the Avatar to attend to? And all of those questions apply to his new relationship with Katara as well. How will they navigate the strange and awkward shift from "friends" to "more than friends"?

Besides members of the Gaang, how will Aang help the Fire Nation people heal, and those wronged by the Fire Nation, who are probably still clamouring for justice? Exploring how he deals with the very righteous rage of people and families who were hurt by the Fire Nation, and how he tries to hear their pain while also trying to keep the peace between the nations, would be really interesting. How is he viewed by some people in the Fire Nation, and how is he viewed by others? What do they expect of the Avatar, now Ozai has been dethroned? What does Aang expect from himself, now his mission is less goal-orientated, with a specific task and time limit, and more long-term and mediatory?

#[graphic and everything above the read more credited 100% to admin k!]#[check under the read more for the full biography]#[also it's 2am here]#[but i stayed up for this!]#about aang

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fromcenotaphy · 4 years

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fic rec list - for hbo spn vibes

So with all the hbo spn content I’ve been writing/reblogging I’ve gotten a couple of questions about fic recs (or fics I’ve written) that are evocative of the *sighs dreamily* hbo spn vibe. While I haven’t encountered anything that 100% screams hbo spn (or I assure you, I would be rereading it and weeping right now instead of posting this) — I have trawled through my ao3 bookmarks for fics that I think have the hbo spn aura (your mileage may obviously vary as to whether you agree) which we are all so desperately craving right now. Incomplete starter pack below!

Short and sweet:

Negative Space by Las - It’s not hbo spn without some PURGATORY FIC. This one is Dean/Cas but with a Benny POV! *gestures wildly* It’s about the pining.

Fata morgana by orange_crushed ( @robotmango on tumblr) - Dean/Cas, post-season 9. This fic is a GIFT. Bela POV? MoC Dean as the King of Hell? Endless midwestern Americana wasteland landscapes? Check check CHECK.

domingo en fuego by sahwen (@sahwen on tumblr) - Season 11 one-shot, Sam POV, delicious h/c, Sam in full I’m unclean headspace, Dean/Cas and Sam/Cas undertones.

Double by crowroad - Short and eerie and gorgeous. Max and Alicia the witch twins. No plot just VIBES.

gentle flesh by Askance - Sam-centric, features soulless!Sam. Soft and brutal and the ending hits you like a punch in the gut (mind the tags).

Made Manifest by schmerzerling (@schmerzerling on tumblr) - Dean/Cas, pre-slash, lead-up to season 4. This fic features trans Dean and the concept is just...gorgeously done.

A lot of the works by foolscapper (@foolscapper on tumblr), here’s just one:

The Epilogue in a Very Long Biography by foolscapper - Endverse, Sam-centric, post-apocalyptic landscapes, Lucifer trauma. Utterly gut-wrenching. Gen, part of a series of shorts that are all incredible.

The wrong game with the wrong chips by A_Diamond (@adiamond on tumblr) - Endverse fic, pining Endverse!Cas in full bitter glory. Ohhh this fic is dark and angsty and dirty and breaks my gd heart. (There’s no happy resolution, so don’t read if you want something cozy.)

flare gun by foolondahill17 ( @foolondahill17 on tumblr) - Pre-series. Teenage Dean being sixteen and fierce and afraid and heartbreaking. John Winchester’s A+ parenting (*sarcasm*).

Longer:

That Black Dog Ache by SaltyWords (@winchester-reload on tumblr) - Dean/Cas, Season 11 casefic, minor TFW vibes, a gorgeously hot sex scene. Motel rooms, seedy bars, Cas in a leather jacket, Dean being self-hating and drunk and bi and head-over-heels in love.

It’s Not Easy Being Dean by strangeandcharm - Dean/Cas, explicit, has some very dark elements (mind the tags). Alternate season 5 featuring angelic brainwashing, Cas as a prostitute, Zachariah as a huge dick as usual. VINTAGE destiel fic.

Above & Below by murron - TFW with a side of Dean/Cas. Set in season 6, features TFW (with soulless!Sam) descending into Hell to retrieve Sam’s soul. The vibes are immaculate.

How the Wild Things Start by foolscapper - Another foolscapper rec! (@omnishamblegreg reminded me that it exists and I’m so pleased.) Sam-centric, canon-divergent post-season 9. Sam gets kidnapped and forced to cage-fight monsters. Goes deep into some dark Sam headspaces. Heartbreaking and bloody and beautiful.

So Goes the Song by aeli_kindara - Pre-series, Lee/Dean. Lee’s POV makes Dean all the more desolate and gorgeous. This fic is wide-open roads, dingy back-alley Americana, pre-series Dean at his most defiant and delicate.

Revivere by aeli_kindara - WITCH SAM WITCH SAM WITCH SAM. Season 15, Sam/Rowena, side of Dean/Cas, pagan vibes, Sam growing more powerful by the day and thriving.

carry on by foolondahill17 ( @foolondahill17 on tumblr) - Post-series curtainfic (canon-divergent from about halfway through s15). Dean/Cas and Sam/Eileen--dives deeply into Dean’s trauma and PTSD. Not really an hbo series vibe so much as an hbo post-series vibe. This author writes some of my favorite renderings of Dean’s trauma/PTSD/mental headspace.

A lot of the works by komodobits (@cuddlebabies on tumblr) and Askance:

So Says the Sword by komodobits - Dean/Cas, canon-divergent season 4/5. Cas is tasked with guarding the Michael Sword in a pocket Heaven dimension. Angsty and eerie and beautiful. TRUE FORM CASTIEL.

A Complete Kingdom by komodobits and Every Part of the Animal by komodobits and Askance - Dean/Cas, incredibly good, incredibly immersive, incredible ambience, and also incredibly dark. I don’t want to spoil them but please mind the tags and don’t read if you’re only looking for something happy.

Fics by me: (is it poor taste to rec my own work? blame it on sleep deprivation if so. Find me on ao3 as cenotaphy)

Wield the Knife - Dean/Cas, body horror. TFW casefic with Dean having to hurt Cas in order to save him.

Purify - Season 4, Sam detoxing in the panic room. The very first spn fic I wrote. *cue Paul Rudd look at us, who would’ve thought? not me meme*

Ite, Missa Est - Short Cas POV one-shot, post-season 11. Castiel standing alone in the Mojave Desert yelling at the sky—if that’s not hbo spn I don’t know what is.

exordium - Post season 12 finale. (I wrote this as a fix-it before season 13 started). Jack meets the Winchesters. Jack POV, utterly alien and saturated in synesthesia.

This is of course super subjective and is by no means a complete list—if anyone wants to rec additional works that fit with the hbo vibe, I would love to read more/see more added on!

I will also be continuing to post short imaginings under the hbo spn tag until my frail human fingers or frailer human soul simply give out under the strain of this incalculably chaotic month of november.

#spn #hbo spn #cenotaphy posts #fic recs #fanfiction #my writing #hbo spn fanfic #hbo sam #hbo dean #hbo castiel #fanfic #fanfiction rec list #hbo fanfic rec list #not all of these are necessarily GRITTY per se #but it's about the headspaces or the trauma or the desolation or the otherness too #the ambience #*gestures expansively* it's about the V I B E S #anyway i worked all afternoon on this you guys T_T #i live to serve the hbo spn tag now

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somerabbitholes · 4 years

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Indian Non-Fiction

A list of books on India, almost all of which are by Indian writers; most of them are about history in one way or other but they also involve politics, culture, and religion. (Doesn’t include writing in Indian languages because most of my non-English reading has been limited to fiction). I’ve also added links to online editions for ones I found.

History

Pre-, Postcolonial India (+ other assorted history)

Land of Seven Rivers by Sanjeev Sanyal - looks at Indian history through its geography; great if you want an introduction. it’s a small book but has very interesting insights; definitely would recommend. Also check his Ocean of Churn, which looks at Indian history in terms of the Indian Ocean

The Lost River: On the Trail of the Sarasvati by Michel Danino - looks into the research and evidence on the existence of the Sarasvati river and makes a case for its existence

Hooghly: The Global History of a River by Robert Ivermee - about Hooghly as a centre of a trans-Asiatic and trans-oceanic commercial network

Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization by Namit Arora - what it says, it’s new and was well-received; it paints a holistic picture to start you off

Modern South India by Rajmohan Gandhi - this one’s new, and I’ve only barely read it. It’s the history of south India from the coming of the Portuguese to modern times and it’s really important because we don’t study about this or even talk about this in mainstream conversations

India Moving by Chinmay Tumbe - on migration within India and how migrants and migrations has shaped history, politics, and policy

The Courtesan, the Mahatma, and the Italian Brahmin by Manu Pillai - a selection of stories (real ones) from Indian history; very engagingly written and very, very interesting stories. Also check other works by Pillai - The Ivory Throne and Rebel Sultans. He also writes a regular column for the Mint

Panipat by Vishwas Patil - (a translation from Marathi) a history of the Battle at Panipat in 1761, which basically created a vacuum for the East India Company to step in and grab power; really expansive and highly detailed

Rama and Ayodhya by Meenakshi Jain - on the Ramayana and its cultural spread across Indian since the ancient times; also about the Ayodhya movement

Decolonizing the Hindu Mind by Koenraad Elst - lays down the ideological and intellectual development of the broad umbrella Hindu revivalist movement; really good starting point to understand the rise and development of a significant chunk of Indian politics in post-independence years; really straightforward work, very clear in its objectives

1962: the War that Wasn’t by Shiv Kunal Verma - on the Sino-Indian conflict in 1962; haven’t read it yet, but it’s supposed to be one of the best ones on the conflict

1971: A Global History of the Creation of Bangladesh by Srinath Raghavan - on the creation of Bangladesh; places the history in a Cold War context and includes all stakeholders like the US, China and Russia; has multiple layers to its narrative.The Most Dangerous Place by Srinath Raghavan - on American foreign policy in South Asia right from the earliest times.

Cricket Country by Prashant Kidambi - about how cricket took hold in colonial India and the making of the first all-India cricket team; super excited about this book, I added it to my list too

A Corner of a Foreign Field by Ramchandra Guha - on the growth of cricket in India; takes into account race, caste, and religion in pre- and postcolonial times; looks at how the sport was adapted in local cultures and how it became an expression of resistance

Himalaya: A Human History by Ed Douglas - basically what it says; very thorough and very fresh; about more than India because it takes Himalaya as a unit and so it’s really transnational in its approach

Colonial India

Plassey by Sudeep Chakravarti - a very detailed study of the Battle of Plassey which kicked off the colonial project in India

India’s War: World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia by Srinath Raghavan - on India’s involvement and contribution in World War II

An Era of Darkness by Shashi Tharoor - about the economic impact of the British Empire in India; highly elaborate and detailed work on the economic drain in India during colonisation

Goa Inquisition by A. K. Priolkar - about the Portuguese colonisation of Goa and the subsequent evangelical campaign by the Portuguese crown and the Roman church; very, very, thorough and great if you (like me) know nothing about the whole thing

Hicky’s Bengal Gazette by James Otis - on the development and running of India’s first English newspaper; a fun read because honestly the story of the paper is very dramatic and full of political/colonial gossip; also tells you a lot about the early ideas of free press in colonial India

Sati: Evangelicals, Baptist Missionaries, and the Changing Colonial Discourse by Meenakshi Jain - about the discourse on sati and the need for reform; reviews the idea of the abolition of sati being a progressive act

Castes of Mind by Nicholas Dirks - about the intersection of caste, race, and colonial knowledge and policy

Politics, Sociology, Commentaries

The Indian Trilogy by V. S. Naipaul - a semi-autobiographical work on the kind of civilisation Naipaul sees India to be; very, very honest; paints a picture of postcolonial India over the years. the trilogy includes An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization, and India: A Million Mutinies Now. I’ve only read the first one; but I’ve heard and read great things about them all

Republic of Caste by Anand Teltumbde - about caste in post-Independence India; looks at political and policy-related developments and their impact on caste dynamics; sort of subaltern history; it is a little difficult to understand if you don’t already have some amount of knowledge on Indian politics; also a very academic work so not exactly easy to read - I’ve only read parts of it myself

Annihilation of Caste by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar - technically a speech that was never delivered because it was thought to be too explosive; argues that caste is rooted in oppression and for the complete destruction of the caste system; an excellent work, although you do need to know about caste in its religious and political terms. Really just read all of his writing (it’s an entire 14 volume set), they’re excellent and far ahead of their time

The Idea of India by Sunil Khilnani - an analysis of sorts of what pre-colonial and colonial society and the freedom struggle mean for the republic and the kind of nation-building that has happened.

A New India of India: Individual Rights in a Civilisational State by Harsh Madhusudan, Rajeev Mantri - rethinks the “idea of India”; traces cultural and historical legacy in making of modern politics, and explores how individual rights are reconciled with the state’s goals; great thing is that it takes a fresh look at things; perfect to be read after The Idea of India

10 Judgements that Changed India by Zia Mody - recounts ten most important legal cases and court rulings in India; good starting point at understanding how the law works and its development

Republic of Religion by Abhinav Chandrachud - about secularism and religion in India in light of colonial rule, and its implications in postcolonial India

India Unbound by Gurcharan Das - it’s a history from the Independence to 2000 that focuses largely on the political economy and unpacks the kind of growth we’ve seen; it mixes the personal with the political/economic progress and it’s really easy to get into; best when read with his India Grows at Night

People

Kanshiram by Badri Narayan - a biography of Kanshi Ram, who pretty much laid the foundation of modern Dalit political movement in post-independence India; looks into how the movement developed under Kanshi Ram; a useful insight into both the man as well as early Dalit politics in India

Savarkar by Vikram Sampath - first part of a two-part biography (second part isn’t out yet) on V. D. Savarkar, one of India’s first revolutionary freedom fighter; looks at an insane variety of sources and highly detailed; a must read.

History Men by T. C. A. Raghavan - about the friendship of three of colonial India’s first native historians (Sir Jadunath Sarkar, G. S. Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh) and how they collaborated and supported each other in writing Indian history using scientific methods; also looks at their contributions to Indian history in general

Rammohun Roy by Amiya P. Sen - a biography of colonial India’s first social and religious reformers who reinterpreted Hinduism for modern times; very well-written, great for understanding how early reform worked out

Daughters of the Sun by Ira Mukhoty - about women in the Mughal dynasty. note that it only looks at women connected to and part of the royal household, but an interesting read nonetheless. Her other work, Heroines: Powerful Indian Women in Myth and History is a wonderful book on women in history right from the ancient times; also analyses and explains the changing perceptions of women

R. N. Kao: Gentleman Spymaster by Nitin Gokhale - really, really, really interesting book on R. N. Kao and the development of India’s espionage machinery

Art

Indian Art by Partha Mitter - a history, he’s one of the best on Indian art, very useful

The Dance of Shiva by Ananda Coomaraswamy - a collection of essays on Indian artistic tradition in aesthetic and philosophical terms

The Spirit of Indian Painting by B. N. Goswamy - specifically about painting; explores different themes in different regionals tyles; also check other books by Goswamy, he’s kind of a big deal in art history

Indian Painting: the Lesser Known Traditions by Anna Dallapiccola - pretty much what it says; takes into account a ton of styles and traditions that are lumped together ‘folk art’

Cities, Travel etc

The Great Indian Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux - four-month journey from London to India by trains only; explores themes like colonialism, American imperialism, poverty. One of my favourites

The Epic City by Kushanava Chaudhary - memoir on Kolkata as the author explores and re-discovers the city when he comes back to it after staying in the US for most of his life; a lovely book, delves in the history of Kolkata a little in relation to how the city still feels it, how its people are still negotiating with it, and the kind of future the author sees for Kolkata

Bombay, Meri Jaan by Jerry Pinto & Naresh Fernandes - a collection of essays on Mumbai by a wide collection of people from Naipaul to Khushwant Singh to Manto and Salman Rushdie, compiled by Jerry Pinto; one of my favourites on the city

No Full Stops in India by Mark Tully - writings from when Tully was a journalist in India; commentaries on things he witnesses, also includes a fair amount of personal involvement; explores poverty, postcolonial development, religion and culture in post-independence India

Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash - a history of Mumbai city; looks at colonisation, industrial development, the regional politics, architecture and art, as well as the underworld/mafia

Banaras by Diana L. Eck - on Varanasi (Banaras), probably India’s holiest city; tells its history from its conception to now; blends religion, mythology, politics, and history. Also check Eck’s India: A Sacred Geography

The City of Djinns by William Dalrymple - semi-autobiography about living in Delhi; looks at the legacies of independence and partition while thinking about its past

The Book of Indian Journeys by Dom Moraes - it’s an anthology of essays and excerpts from works of a bunch of writers on travelling in India, it’s a favourite when I’m travelling

This is not exhaustive and I will keep updating when I find the time. I’ve tried to keep it diverse (and organised) in its content; hope you find something you like :)

#india #booklr #bookblr #bookstagram #book recommendations #book #reading #history #history major #historyblr #indian history #good reads #book list #academia #asia #south asia #desi academia #book recs

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duckprintspress · 2 years

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"And Seek (Not) to Alter Me" Story Teasers: Adrian Harley and Sanjita Jain

Presenting And Seek (Not) to Alter Me: Queer Fanworks Inspired by William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing"

Duck Prints Press has launched our second Kickstarter, running now through April 14th, 2022 - And Seek (Not) to Alter Me, a gorgeous collection featuring the work of 16 authors and 16 artists in a full-color, A4 size soft cover size-style book!

Today, we're highlighting 2 more of our authors...

Author Spotlight: Adrian Harley

Biography: Adrian Harley is an almost-lifelong North Carolinian and a fantasy fiction aficionado who didn’t start delving deep into fandom until adulthood. They are an editor of research by day and an aspiring novelist, also by day. They go to bed early. They have short stories forthcoming in OFIC Magazine and future Duck Prints Press anthologies. They live with their husband and a perfectly reasonable number of cats.

Link: Twitter

Story Title: Some Sparks That Are Like Wit

Tags: coming out, found family, modern setting, trans character

Teaser:

He lost count of the articles he read on transmasculinity. He joined a Reddit group. He checked out books from the library. He spent so long on name websites that diaper and baby store ads stalked him throughout the internet. Early in the haze of this process, he picked the name Ben, but he still went to four different name sites just to be sure. Just to be sure! He’d never been indecisive in his life! No, he picked a stance or food or outfit or bar and stuck with it. And if people made fun of him or looked down on him for it, he made a joke out of the whole enterprise but, crucially, did not budge a fraction of an inch. That was his way.

With all the pep talks he was giving himself about decisiveness, he should have known that he’d end up coming out by accident.

Author Spotlight: Sanjita Jain

Biography: Hi! I’m Sanjita (she/they). I’ve been a writer since I was 12 years old, which is when I started reading fanfiction and almost immediately felt compelled to write some, too. I started in the Percy Jackson fandom, then moved through various medias until my stories started becoming so AU they were practically my own. While I’ve never published original fiction before, I’ve been publishing fanfiction steadily over the last decade across various usernames, and have published articles under my given name for multiple genres: interview, research, and more. I’ve also begun songwriting, and recently had one of my songs incorporated into a video game!

My fiction writing tends towards introspective, character-driven short stories, often laden with metaphor and double meanings. I love flowery imagery and poetic prose, and making characters suffer in the name of growth. More than that, I love using fiction as a way to connect with others: both through the text and through the process of writing. I’ve been running a fandom server for the past two years to build community and support other fanfic writers. I’ve also run two to three prompt months per year, and I’m excited to take on the beta and co-head mod role for a current zine!

When I’m not writing, I’m studying (for grad school, for a future medical school, for research work). Any time after that goes into reading as much as possible, or recently, graphic design, as I start creating graphics to enhance the quality of my events. I love talking to people who want to talk to me, and I will sleep anytime I’m presented with a soft surface to lay on (and sometimes even without). I can’t wait to share my work with you, thank you for taking the time to read it!

Links: Archive of Our Own | Tumblr (fandomsilhouette) | Tumblr (nottesilhouette)

Story Title: find ourselves unstuck

Tags: character growth, modern setting, panic attacks, self-destructive behavior

Teaser:

“That’s fucking different. I could’ve made better choices; you had no other choices to make. This was my fault.”

You can’t take my mistakes away.

But Hero can take herself away. She flees, retreating to a rooftop where the air is thin enough to breathe past the terror in her chest, and somehow this surrender feels like a victory.

***

Learn more about this project by checking out our Kickstarter! Running now through April 14th, 2022!

#duck prints press #our titles #and seek not to alter me

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dcbutinamrev · 3 years

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hiii!! I'm asking a bunch of amrev tumblers this- but do you have any favorite or recommendations of American revolution themed movies or series or anything?

The only related show I can think of at the top of my mind that is Amrev related is Turn: Washington's Spies on Netflix, though unfourtantely Netflix is being stupid and taking it down pretty soon but I still think you can find the full show online and watch it from there, but it wouldn't be the same. But that's the only period drama type show I have ever watched related to the Amrev. But I'd really recommend that show. I'm not sure about the movie side, I mean I don't watch a lot of TV to be honest. Besides the musical, Hamilton which I also recommend if you're just starting out but don't think all of the musical is accurate, or take it too seriously. The songs are a bop, yes, but there were also a lot of historical inaccuriaces that just drove me crazy haha. But if you're just starting out, I'd recommend the musical first and then move on to TURN, which is what I did. But I do have a lot of Amrev book recs that I have read under the cut.

1. Duty and Inclination by Rebecca DuPont. Honestly, it's a full novel of Laurens' and Hamilton's romantic relationship throughout the war and I honestly love it so much. I've read it twice and am strongly considering reading it a third time. It's just so well written and somewhat historically accurate in the time line and I just. JJSJSJS It's my comfort book, so I'd also recommend that. If you are interested in it, you have to purchase it off of Amazon. It isn't at a library or a book shop say Barns & Nobel, I checked. But it's worth the $20.

2. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. I'm currently reading that one. A lot of people have different opinions of it, but that book is what inspired Lin to make Hamilton and that book goes into full detail about Hamilton's personal and public life.

3. My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray, which I have read. It tells the story of Eliza through her eyes and it is well written and just...who doesn't love historical fiction

4. I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott. Similar to My Dear Hamilton, but personally I think Eliza's and Hamilton's relationship at the beginning was a little bit rushed. But overall also really well written.

5. The War of Two: Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, and the Duel that Stunned the Nation by John Sedgwick. Also a great Amrev book rec, I just love how it alternates between Hamilton and Burr, like it isn't just a biography of Hamilton but also Burr. (I got that one for Christmas last year :) )

6. I also recommend George Washington's Indespensible Men by Arthur S. Lefkowitz which not only tells about Washington but also goes in depth of his aide-de-camp. I don't have that one nor have I read it but I've heard it's really well written and really good.

But that's all I could think of at the moment. If I have any more, I will reblog this and add to it, but anyone can give more suggestions if they have any!

#asks #ask liz #anon #book recs #show recs #amrev

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catgrump · 3 years

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Hiiii!!!! Would you be able to maybe write 👉👈 "tell me about yourself" for Sonia and Gundham? Maybe something that happens while the killing game is happening?

(Looks at my pile of requests)

(Sees Sondham)

Yeah fine lol

Y’all keep asking for my favorite ships while I’m anxiously waiting to release my new prompt list lmao stop that /hj

So uh this is actually College AU SORRY I had a much stronger idea for that

Ibuki is also here as Gundham’s sister cuz Gundham & Ibuki siblings make me go brrrrr

🌻🌻🌻

“You truly believe these photographs truly encompass my being?” Gundham asked, furrowing his brow at his phone’s screen

“Absotutely posalutely!” His sister Ibuki declared, clinging her chipped nail polish hands onto his shoulders, “Especially the one of you with the Devas; people are gonna go NUTS over that.”

“Hm,” Gundham pondered Ibuki’s choice in photos, but he has no experience with this sort of thing, so he trusts her judgement, “Now I am required to write a biography?”

“Yeah! Tell people about yourself so you can attract people who’d like you,” Ibuki explained, peering over his shoulder

“Do you have any suggestions?” He asked, his thumbs frozen in place, hovering above the screen

“Maybe like... hmmm,” Ibuki hummed as she thought, but then realized something, “Well hold on. Ibuki doesn’t know what you’re looking for here, my guy.”

“What I’m looking for?” Gundham needed clarification

“Well in Ibuki’s experience, bios for people who just want to hook up are REALLY different than bios of people who are looking for something more.”

“Ah, I see. I believe I would prefer a more substantial relationship.”

“Okay, so you should say in the bio you’re looking for that kind of commitment,” Ibuki chirped

Gundham started typing:

I seek a mortal brave enough to attempt to become my dark consort

“Oooh fun!” Ibuki encouraged him

“Do I need to declare any more?”

“Yeah yeah tell people what kind of stuff you like!”

He typed some more:

My Four Dark Devas of Destruction (featured in the third photograph) shall determine whether or not you are a worthy partner. Our courtship will not continue if they judge you unfavorably. This is not personal.

“Uh huh uh huh uh huh,” Ibuki enthusiastically nodded her head in approval

“I should specify that I have no preference for gender, I presume?”

“Yeah definitely!”

Bisexual

“If there’s nothing else you can think of, I think this is a good place to start,” Ibuki clapped her hands together in excitement

“Fantastic.”

“Now comes the fun part,” Ibuki leaned on her brother, resting her head on his shoulder as they got comfortable on his couch, “Swiping! Sometimes Ibuki just lays in bed for HOURS swiping for no reason.”

“Left is for those I do not wish to court, correct?”

“Yeah yeah and right is for people you’re interested in!”

Gundham and Ibuki spent a couple minutes reading profiles and swiping left on countless people who were obviously not good enough for Gundham— at least, that’s how Ibuki put it.

And then... they found her.

“Wait wait wait stop!!” Gundham’s eyes widened as his thumb froze over the phone, ceasing the swiping auto-pilot as Ibuki got his attention, “Look at HER!”

On screen was a photo of a beautiful blonde girl with piercing blue eyes, a dark plum lipstick adorning her pale face, backdropped by a wall of preserved flowers and sheer black curtains

Her profile read:

Sonia, 21

(She/Her, Bi) Come perform sacrifices under the full moon with me

Just kidding ... unless...

Gundham scrolled through the rest of her photos. She’s too good to be true. There’s a photo of her looking up from a book in a coffee shop with an adorable smile. There’s a selfie where a rose quartz pendant shines between her collarbones. She has high quality photos of her posing with friends in a field of wheat. She’s gorgeous.

“Gundham, if you don’t swipe right I don’t know who you are anymore,” Ibuki told him

So he did just that.

And his heart quickened its beat when the screen suddenly changed.

It’s a match!

“Oh my gawd, Gundham YES you gotta send her a message!” Ibuki giddily encouraged him

“What would I tell her?”

“That she’s really pretty and you want to get to know her or something!”

His phone vibrated in his palm. She messaged first.

“You are the most interesting person I have seen on tinder... probably ever! Tell me about yourself!”

“Good gods; what do I say?”

“Dude literally just talk about yourself.”

“You do not understand how difficult that is, Ibuki.”

“Okay, then ask her what she wants to know,” Ibuki suggested

“I thank you for your kind words. What do you wish to know?”

“Tell me about your Four Dark Devas of Destruction 🖤 They seem like perfect companions”

“Okay; she’s passing Ibuki’s tests so far,” Ibuki muttered, not even trying to hide that she was reading over his shoulder

“Yes, my Devas are simply bound to the bodies of what foolish mortals call ‘hamsters’, as their true forms can not be contained on this plane. They are loyal minions, and you are correct, worthy companions.”

And then he quickly added

“You appear to be as intelligent as you are beautiful. I admire it.”

Gundham felt his face heat up and his sister smacked his shoulder and gasped. “Look at you! Smooth as ice!”

“I am simply making an observation,” he attempted to defend himself

His phone vibrated again, and he quickly checked to see Sonia’s newest message

“Aw thank you 🖤 I know we have not been communicating for very long, but I sense the same about you. I can feel it in my guts!”

“Oh, she’s divine,” he whispered, clutching his hand to his mouth in awe

“Gundham, you’ve had tinder for less than a day and Ibuki thinks you’ve met the girl of your dreams. It’s like a tinder speedrun!” Ibuki laughed and then gasped, “Give her your number! Do it do it do it do it do it!”

And then his phone vibrated once more.

“I do not normally move this quickly to communicate off tinder, but I receive messages faster this way, and I must learn more about you: the fascinating and handsome man with his own minions 🖤”

She gave him her phone number.

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#danganronpa #danganronpa fanfiction #super danganronpa 2 #gundham tanaka #sonia x gundham #danganronpa gundham #sdr2 gundham #sonia nevermind #sdr2 sonia #danganronpa sonia #gundham x sonia #sondham #sondam #danganronpa fic #danganronpa fanfic #sdr2 #sdr2 fanfic #ibuki mioda

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