#( c: Walden )

[was-it-really-worth-it]

Game 268 - Walden by GameInnovationLab

I picked up this game through the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality. I chose to donate 10 dollars, and I found about 153 games in the bundle that I was actually interested in. So, the consideration for this game will be if it was worth the 7 cents (rounded up) that I paid for it and the hours that I played it for. The bundle has since ended, but I still encourage you to make a donation to the organizations listed here.

What did I think it was at first? Not gonna lie, I was a little apprehensive about this one. I've tried to read Walden and I didn't love it, but that was years ago...

Ooh look, the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities!

How was the character creator? You don't really get to make one - you're just Thoreau. You do get to decide how you spend your time, but you don't have any ability to alter the plot or make significant choices.

How was the game? It's basically like playing the book!

The game does a really solid job of crafting the environment of the American wilderness. The audio track feels like being out in the woods! I especially enjoyed the touch of the hoooh hoo hoo hoo birdsong that I ALWAYS used to hear when playing outside.

The woods themselves are gorgeous as well. Part of the game is learning your way around the woods and being able to meet your needs.

As you play, you meet figures from Thoreau's life and reconstruct key scenes from the book like being thrown in jail for not paying your taxes.

What did I not love? As lovely as the enivronment is, the pacing here is very very slow. I'm guessing it's trying to match the meditative nature of the book, but it's just not what I'm into as a player. Even in farming games like Stardew Valley, I want to feel challenged as I race the clock to maximize my days on the farm. Not as much of that here. There is quite a bit of reading to do though!

At 2 hours and 7 cents, was it really worth it? I would really like to use this in an academic context. It's well-crafted and does a good job translating the American wilderness and the themes/tone of the novel. It just doesn't really meet my needs for what I want a game to be.

[inlumenhq]

Alecto Macnair, 27, Slytherin alum, Florence Pugh fc, TAKEN.

Birthday: June 3 Gender & Pronouns: Cis-female, she/her Occupation: Owner of Banshee’s Breath Pub in knockturn alley Sided with: the DE’s, marked

personality

Positive Traits: Adventurous, energetic, loyal, observant, colorful Negative Traits: Boisterous, erratic, fiery, impulsive, pugnacious

past

Alecto wasn’t a planned or wanted child. They were a surprise addition to the heir that the Carrow’s needed. This would have frustrated Alecto more if Amycus hadn’t technically been the older child, and would have always been the heir. In actual fact, the whole situation enabled Alecto to live a rather chaotic, and enjoyable life. Of course, Alecto’s mother tried to tame them, seeing Alecto as a way of marrying into a respectable family and knowing the qualities that would prove successful. But Alecto was untamable. Their mother had practically given up by the time the twins got to Hogwarts. They had quite an unruly and chaotic reputation, and that was not going to change. 

Alecto didn’t immediately look for a job after graduating, managing to manipulate their father into buying an empty storefront in Kncokturn Alley. Alecto may not have been great with magic but they were able to manipulate people into dedicating their time to them. The storefront has been paid off, just waiting for Alecto to decide what to do with it.

present

The last thing on Alecto’s mind had been finding a spouse. But Walden Macnair was someone that they had just clicked with. As a pair, they have made a lethal combination within the Dark Lord’s' forces. Whilst Alecto had initially taken the mark just for the chaos it would enable them to have, they quickly found themselves falling in place alongside Walden and Bellatrix in pairings to do the Dark Lord biddings. For a person that had been born unwanted, it feels good to be up there on the top.

connections

Walden Macnair - The marriage was a setup that no one in the pureblood community would have expected to balance out. Walden has proven to be a doting spouse and hides an intensity that can match Alecto’s. They make a great pair and have proven to be one of the stronger forces in the Dark Lord’s cause.

Bellatrix Lestrange - Bellatrix has taken Alecto under their wing, determined to mold the younger death eater into their prodigy. The pair is pretty lethal, balancing out each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

Artemisia Selwyn - Despite not being in the same year or house at Hogwarts, Alecto and Artemisia have been best friends since they were little. They were as inseparable as the Carrow twins were. Of course, that has all changed now. Alecto has pulled away a little, not because they truly want to but because it’s expected that they will. The Dark Lord used Artemisia as a warning and Alecto cannot pity them for that reason.

Bios and posts that reference Alecto Macnair can be found by clicking this sentence.

suggested fc’s

Anya Taylor Joy, Eleanor Tomlinson, Florence Pugh

[sillypenguinwitch]

isaac's books in heartstopper s2

episode 1:

Tillie Walden: I Love This Part

Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé: Ace of Spades

episode 2:

Nina LaCour: We Are Okay

Oscar Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest

episode 3:

Ocean Vuong: Night Sky with Exit Wounds (the one he is carrying under his arm, I'm assuming that's his and not for the display?)

has read: Ritch C. Savin-Williams: Bi: Bisexual, Pansexual, Fluid, and Nonbinary Youth

Emily Henry: Book Lovers

episode 4:

Victor Hugo: Les Misérables

Antoine De Saint-Exupéry: The Little Prince

Kate Chopin: The Awakening

Nina LaCour: We Are Okay (again)

episode 5:

Albert Camus: The Outsider

episode 6:

Martin Handford: Where's Wally? The Great Picture Hunt

Meredith Russo: Birthday

Jules Verne: Around the World in Eighty Days

Sara Pennypacker: Pax Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, Sophie Mas: How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are ? ? ? Damian Dibben: The Color Storm Alice Oseman: Loveless Susan Stokes-Chapman: Pandora Katy Hessel: The Story of Art Without Men ? Evelyn Waugh: Rossetti Arthur Conan Doyle: The Hound of the Baskervilles A.O. Scott: Better Living Through Criticism ?: Then We Came to an End (?) Ruth Millington: Muse Dr. Jaqui Lewis: Fierce Love Charlotte Van Den Broek: Bold Ventures - Thirteen Tales of Architectural Tragedy ?

Richard Siken: Crush

episode 7:

Garrard Conley: Boy Erased

George Matthew Johnson: All Boys Aren't Blue

Samra Habib: We Have Always Been Here

episode 8:

Akemi Dawn Bowman: Summer Bird Blue

Angela Chen: Ace

bonus:

Truham school library pride display (seen in ep. 3 and 8):

top to bottom, left to right: Angela Chen: Ace Andrew Holleran: The Kingdom of Sand Mary Jean Chan and Andrew McMillan: 100 Queer Poems Scott Stuart: My Shadow Is Pink Lotte Jeffs: My Magic Family Tucker Shaw: When You Call My Name Ritch C. Savin-Williams: Bi - Pansexual, Fluid, Nonbinary and Fluid Youth Alok Vaid-Menon: Beyond the Gender Binary George M. Johnson: All Boys Aren’t Blue Mason Deaver: I Wish You All the Best Alex Gino: George Melissa

on top of shelves (left to right): Kevin Van Whye: Nate Plus One Xixi Tian: This Place is Still Beautiful Becky Albertalli: Leah on the Offbeat Mya-Rose Craig: Birdgirl Bernardine Evaristo: Girl, Woman, Other Connie Glynn: Princess Ever After Saundra Mitchell: The Prom

Charlie's choice at Shakespeare and Co (ep. 6): Allan Hollinghurst: The Swimming Pool Library

That's it for now.

Sorry about the ones i couldn't identify and sorry if i missed any! Might try and do some of the ones in Isaac's room later but that'll take a minute

[duckprintspress]

Celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week with these 21 Book Recommendations!

This week, April 24 – April 30th, is Lesbian Visibility Week! To initiate our celebrations, we asked Duck Prints Press contributors what their favorite books including lesbian characters were, and we got a huge outpouring of suggestions, 39 books in total! We’ve got so many recs that we’ve decided to split them into two posts. Join us today for Part 1 of “Our Favorite Lesbian Books,” featuring recommendations by @hairasuntouchedaspartoftheamazon, @hullosweetpea, @alecjmarsh, @annabethlynch, @shadaras, @tryslora, and @dei2dei.

-

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

Ship It by Britta Lundin

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

Always Human by Ari North

D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins

An Accident of Stars by Fox Meadows

Empress of Forever by Max Gladstone

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

The Unbroken by C. L. Clark

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir

Patience & Esther: An Edwardian Romance by Sarah Winifred Searle

This is What it Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

Home Field Advantage by Dahlia Adler

Nothing Burns as Bright as You by Ashley Woodfolk

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

You can learn more about these books by visiting our full post on Wordpress, which also includes the summaries!

Did you know that this post has a Part 2? CHECK IT OUT for 20 MORE lesbian book recs!

Why not celebrate lesbian visibility week by finding your new favorite book? Check out our recommendations!

Who We Are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fan creators publishing their original works. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Want to always hear the latest? Sign up for our monthly newsletter! Want to support the Press, read about us behind-the-scenes, learn what’s coming down the pipeline, get exclusive teasers, and claim free stories? Back us on Patreon monthly!

[aprosin]

*toss oc x canon pipebomb on you*

references & credits:

💥💥💥💥

]source: pinterest, can't find actual creator :c]

Wallace D. Darling - - > @.lizaisdrawing Beach Town Wally - - > @.PastelBerryPie Reboot Wally - - > @.bloodrediscream [Rainbow Factory Wally] Walden Darling - - > @.your_internet_mom

[yandere-dark-cupid]

I don't know if you do Yandere alphabet, so if you don't just ignore this. But if you do can you do some of RF or Hunter Wally please.

Bun Anon 🍞~

Ok. Coming right up. Also decided to do RF because my boy's birthday just recently passed. So here you go 💕

Warning⚠!⚠: This fic includes unhealthy relationship dynamics, mentions of death, mentions of inhumane experiments, and a yandere. If you are uncomfortable with those concepts, just move along and ignore it.

P.S.A 📢: Do not glamorize nor romantize yanderes!!! It is ok to fantasize about them, but putting them on a pedestal is the last thing you would want to do since they're so harmful. They are walking red flags for a reason.

Yandere RF Wally ABCs...

A- is for... Affection: How does he go about affection and how intense does it get?

Walden isn't an affectionate person by any means. Kind of the opposite. But I can see that he probably wouldn't mind being on the receiving end of it unless he's busy. Then he'll be annoyed. But hey, at least he isn't the type to force you to be affectionate with him and vice versa.

B- is for... Blood: How much blood is he willing to spill for you?

He doesn't mind it and is willing to spill as much blood as he needs to get the desired results. So here is your healthy reminder. Walden works in a murder facility. Hell, he even runs it. So seeing blood and getting involved with it won't phase him. He's desensitized by it. But on another note, there is a likely chance that he might put the offender to good use. Perhaps by turning them into palatable colors or a stepping stone the further the field of science….

C- is for... Cruelty: How does he treat you once they're in his grasp and does he mock you about the predicament you're in?

Look. Walden is many things, but an asshole isn't one of them. Intentionally speaking that is. So he wouldn't make fun of your.. circumstances. He's at least one of the more aware Wallys. So he knows what he's doing is very wrong and he isn't ignorant on the fact that you are not happy in the slightest about being trapped by him and with him. And he doesn't want to make you feel any worse than what you're already feeling by adding lemons to open wounds by mocking you. As for you being in his hold, he'll be firmer with you. But other than that you won't be treated any different than when you were free.

D- is for... Darling: Other than kidnapping, what else would he do against your will other than the former?

Nothing else really, since Walden already has you. Which is already enough. He isn't forceful of you when it comes to personal boundaries. He at least respects you on that front.

E- is for... Exposed: How much will he show his heart to you, how vulnerable will he get with you?

It is no secret to anyone who knows about Walden that this man has a family road trip full of baggage. With that baggage comes very tall and sturdy walls that box his heart. So to say the very least, he's not going to open up to you. It takes time for Walden to let down those walls. Even if you are within his grasp by force, his heart is still boxed up just by lesser but still very strong walls. But don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to break down those walls because as far as him abducting you goes all you will have is time to burn on your hands.

F- is for... Fight: What will he do if you fought back against him?

Walden won't be amused to put it lightly. He'll be irated. Since he doesn't tolerate disobedience in the slightest, especially the rebellious type. But he'll give you some lead way since again he's very much aware that what he's doing is messed up and you are with it your right to fight back. But once he's tired and reaches a certain point, that's when punishments come into play....

G- is for... Game: Is this a game to him? Does he enjoy watching you try and escape him?

No. I've already discussed in previous points that Walden doesn't fuck around, especially after a certain point when his tolerance has run thin. So you trying to escape does not bring him any pleasure. Besides, it's not like you can escape him anyway. Your chances of escape are very low since he has all your needed necessities under lock and key and the Factory is built like a fortress. So really it isn't fun for either of you.

H- is for... Hell: What was you worst moment with him?

The first major punishment you've received from him. Like I said before, once Walden is tired enough and he has no more grace to give he's going to stomp out that defiance right out of you. However, I'm not going to go into too much detail about how he did it since that is reserved for a later point and a potential later fic. Just know one word. Green.

I- is for... Ideals: What future does he want for the both of you.

Walden wants to be your spouse and you his once you're well adjusted and is more willing to sign a marriage certificate. Children are a gray area, especially with his past experiences of being a parent. But he hopes that one day it's as much of a possibility that won't fail just like the last ones. But for now, he's satisfied with having you with him. Besides, he knows that those ideals are very far-fetched in the future.

J- is for... Jealousy: Does he get jealous easily? If so how does he cope?

Listen. Walden isn't a jealous man. A controlling one yes. But a jealous one, no. He knows that he has a lot of traits that many people can appreciate and like. He's handsome, wealthy, and quite brilliant. The only way I can see him getting jealous is by being confronted by someone who is your type while he isn't, that's when he gets jealous. How he deals with that jealousy is usually the default answer. Which isolates you from that person if he hasn't taken you or if that doesn't work force the person that got him jealous in the first place into the large pile of bodies that rots underneath the Factory's working cogs.

K- is for... Kisses: How would he act around you?

Walden won't act to different from how he acted before the abduction. This only difference is that he's oddly more strict with you now that you're under his thumb care. Yet oddly enough, if you haven't been taken by him yet is still under his control he's somewhat more open and almost expressive with you. It's kinda strange and confusing.

L- is for... Love letters: How did he approach you? How did he go about wooing you?

The likely chance is that he met you when you were one of his workers since that's the default answer. But Walden was always cold and professional with you, that was until you began to melt his walls. Which caused him to warm up to you a bit more and cruise off a smoother and slightly more casual dynamic together. As far as wooing go. Once most of that professionalism is chucked into the grinder, he begins to show his interest in subtle ways. In only ways, he knew that you would understand. Like slipping you things he knows you'll enjoy, checking up on you a bit more than usual, etc.

M- is for... Mask: Is his true colors different from the one he shows to others?

Kind of, but not really in a way. His colors are just a bit brighter with you since he's more open with you. This very slightly contrasts with his dullness. But at the end of the day, he's still the cold but blunt Walden with you, he's just brighter with you because he's warmer to you.

N- is for... Naughty: What punishment would he dish out to you when you're acting out of line?

It depends on what offense you've committed. If it's something minor, then the penalty will be minor. Then again I did say that Walden will give you some leniency for a time. So even then he won't punish you often during that time. However, I also said before, that Walden won't take defiance well once he hits the wall. So after a certain point, he combats your defiance with more serious punishments other than taking away the things that keep you occupied. That punishment is, Biochemical warfare to be exact. Since he's a scientist and he's in charge of a secret government facility, finding something nasty to not only keep you more compliant but also knock you back into line won't be to hard. But on the fly chance you did something you can't come back from; like escaping and managing to avoid him for a long time, this can lead to a BAD ENDING all around.

O- if for.. Oppression: How many rights would he take from you?

Your financial freedom and will also dictate your social interacts, once you've earned your socializing privilege when you gain enough of his trust. Other than those two, nothing else.

P- is for... Patience: How much lead way does he give you.

More than what you'd expect from him given his short temper. But that's only for a limited amount of time. Because after the adjustment period, Walden's patience will be reduced by half from when he's taken you. That's if you've been defiant with him that is.

Q- is for... Quit: If you die, leave, or successfully escaped; What is he to do if that happens?

When Walden gets you, do understand he is hanging by a last strand. So if he were to lose you by any means, he's going to snap. And depending on if you are indeed still around and are not boxed up underground when Walden gets to you it won't be nice.

R- is for... Regret: Does he feel remorse for what he's done and would he ever set you free?

I would say yes, but then I thought about it… Yeah, no he's not sorry for what he's done. This Wally has already lost so much, so the minute the opportunity of him being selfish for change he'll take it. Because he's never felt feelings like this before of such magnitude; even with the little past experiences he's had, and once it fully sets in and he likes it… He's decided that he's not going to lose it. So even though he's very aware that what he's doing is messed up, he's gotten to the point were he doesn't care therefore he isn't sorry about what he did. As for setting you free, I've already established that he doesn't want to lose you at all. That includes from his grasp too. But what he would do however is once he trusts you and you're well adjusted in your new life, he'll give you some of your mobility back. But you'll still be on a leash though.

S- Is for... Stigma: What brought about this side from him? Was it his childhood, curiosity, or?

Walden's childhood did play a key part in his development as Yandere, as most of his traumatic and sad past has. But I'm going to say the leading causes of this were his damaged psyche and his track record of losing people he held near and dear to him.

T- is for... Tears: How would he feel about you screaming, crying, and/ or isolating yourself from him?

I don't think Walden would comfort you if you shout and weep about your predicament. He understands that what he's done isn't right in the slightest and is a pretty messed up thing to do. Walden also understands that he isn't the best person when it comes to comforting someone, and that's in a general sense once you take his yandere-ness out of the equation. On top of that, he's very much aware that he's the last person you would want to see during this time never mind seek comfort from. Even as a stoic person and he ultimately isn't remorseful for what he did, that doesn't stop him from feeling some level of sadness upon seeing you very upset. He also can't deny that a subconscious part of himself does not like the thought of causing you any distress and loathes it. So he does the best thing he can do. Leave you to your own devices ( albeit, still under his sharp eye though.. ) to process everything by yourself. Also as far as isolation goes, he wouldn't do anything about it. Sure he'll be annoyed and agitated by this choice sometimes, but he's not going to do anything. Since he knows that you'll come around eventually. Especially when it comes down to your needs being met.

U- is for... Unique: What makes him different from the standard Yandere?

Not much to be honest. The only thing I can think about is that there is a higher chance that Walden won't kidnap you because he has control over most of your assets. By that point he won't see the need to keep you under lock and key. So as long as he has a lot of control over you where you won't get froggy and leap away from him, than he won't fully commit to the kidnapping bit.

V- is for... Vice: What weaknesses you can use to your advantage to escape him?

Walden has very few weaknesses you can exploit to get away from. Especially since he's very powerful. The one weakness I can see you can use to get away from him is a child(ren). But that could work only if you coin it against him first and you know exactly how to do it.

W- is for... Wits end: Would he ever hurt you?

Besides, when it comes down to some of his forms of discipline, Walden won't intentionally. But the only exception to this is when he snaps and falls a BAD ( well really worse ) path, and then his intentions will shift to hurting you.

X- is for... Xoanon: Does he revere you, does he worship the ground you walk on? To what length would he go to win you over?

Walden isn't one of the Wallys that would worship you. But if there is any accomplishment(s) you are proud of, he'll celebrate it with you. Also, there are no lengths he wouldn't go to have you. It's no different from what he does for his job to get whatever results he wants. The only difference is the reasonings behind them. So if he has to pay for a certain thing that you always wanted he will gift it to you; no matter how expensive it is, he will do just that. He has to get rid of a pesky co-worker that won't just leave you be, then they will be given the sudden demotion to test subject. Really the lengths he would go to for you aren't super far off from what he typically does for work, it's just more personal if that makes sense.

Y- is for... Yearning: How long would he ache for you before he snaps?

A fairly long time. Since it would take a while for you to get close to Walden and it would take even longer for him to fall in love with you. I'll give it.. 4 years to be generous.

Z-is for... Zenith: Would he break you?

No. Well, kind of? He would.. crack you if that makes sense. Enough to keep you compliant yet still somewhat yourself.

First post since my return back from shadow realm and it's about my husband 🙂. Other than that I'm pretty proud of it. I am doing Yandere Alphabet now if you're wondering, so feel free to request that if you want. Also, do any of y'all have any anime recommendations because I just cleared out my list, so feel free to send that in my ask box if you have any. But other that that, I hope y'all are having a wonderful day. Until next time My little tainted Angels, see you soon 💜❤💜 ~

[sleeplesssmoll]

Heyyyyy it’s me bleh how are you:>? It’s been a while……

Lmao let’s play “which character is this based of the really out of context descriptions” ft reverse 1999

a trauma filled snazzy looking lady kisser

Italian dressing without the Italian

The person who gave her driver liquified weed

Poison Ivy but if she was blonde

He floats, he wrote but he’s not heavy enough to rock a boat

If jack sparrow and ed Sheeran had a kid

Yandere simulator protagonist if it was good

I support women’s wrongs

The autistic creature

Proceeds to die trying to defend and fails

Judge Judy but judgier

A literal greek goddess

Spunky boxer girl

My mom but also my mom’s mom and her moms moms mom

Goodnight don’t let the bed bugs bite

a trauma filled snazzy looking lady kisser: the beloved TK! The pookie! The- continues to be feral about Vertin because look at her

Italian dressing without the Italian: this is the funniest way I’ve seen Sonetto described but it fits

The person who gave her driver liquified weed: the ball of energy, Sotheby! Although, I'd say it was more like liquified crack since the guy was full of an obscene amount of energy afterwards

Poison Ivy but if she was blonde: Druvis who is also mama bear

He floats, he wrote but he’s not heavy enough to rock a boat: The distinguished Mr. Apple

If jack sparrow and ed Sheeran had a kid: rock pirate Regulus

Yandere simulator protagonist if it was good: ok, you could use this for Jessica or Isolde but I’ll go with Isolde since Jess is learning right from wrong while Isolde is…Isolde. Love her though! 

I support women’s wrongs: This could fit a few but I’ll go with the Bloody mafia boss and  Dual wielding champion of The Walden, Schneider!

The autistic creature: 37 (but also Jess)

Proceeds to die trying to defend and fails: Hoffman?

Judge Judy but judgie: Dikke, the legend.

A literal greek goddess: …6 is MY Greek goddess. I don’t have him but he’s way too pretty! 

Spunky boxer girl: Spatula.

My mom but also my mom’s mom and her moms moms mom: There are many “mothers” in Reverse. Madam Z, Ms. Moissan, TF, Ms. NewBabel (although she treats Vertin more like a little Critter)... But I want to say Eternity since she’s been around long enough to mother everyone. A knight is the grandpa version of this description.

And I'm doing well! Tomorrow is my last day before break and I'll have more time to fester in my brain rot! I did great on my finals and stuff too c:

[winterssnowblossom]

Soooo I'm doing a Thing. I want to draw a bunch of different Wally AU's. They have been posted on my Twitter, now I gotta post it here lol. This is only for fanart purposes and to help me draw the male body better

Walden Darling aka RF Wally (C) Dodozoi Tiktok

Rocker Wally (C) D_W1nteR Twitter

Evil Wally (C) Krunnnnnch Twitter/Tiktok

Royalty Wally (C) @neonross

Ouji Wally (C) theater_ner.len Tiktok

School Counselor Wally (C) Gurano

Hidden Rainbow Wally (C) BlueRaven666 Twitter/Tiktok

Silent Music Wally (C) Spookie_LynArts Twitter

Angel92 Wally (C) SINI Twitter

Tattoo Wally (C) hullangking Twitter

Senpai Wally (C) Katsuki_Iris

[ben-learns-smth]

international day against queer hostility reading list recs

based on books I've read and books that are on my (physical) tbr. focused on nonfiction bc there were only like 6 non-queer fiction reads in the past 4 years and that's too long for a post. please add more, if you have more recs!

ENGLISH (different translations available for some)

None of the Above by Travis Alabanza

essays on being nonbinary. somewhat literary yet often down to earth writing style.

genderqueer by maia kobabe

graphic novel tracing the author's journey of self discovery regarding their genderqueer identity

ACE: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen

well researched essays based on interviews with and extensive research of different experiences of people on the asexual spectrum. it also includes a chapter on aromantic experiences

Rethinking Gender by Louie Läuger

if you're new to the idea of gender as a social construct/issues the trans and genderqueer community faces this is where to start! an introduction and guide to gender as a social construct, making space for different genderqueer identities and all of it with lovely illustrations that help guide understanding. offers prompts to question your own relation to gender (as in a social concept & as in your own gender identity)

To Be Seen. Queer Lives 1900-1950 by Karolina Kühn & Mirjam Zadoff

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

Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding by Maia Kobabe

fiction recs based on my more recent reads & (physical) tbr

elatsoe by darcie little badger (aroace mc but it's not about elatsoe being aroace; 10/10 friendship rep)

breakaway series by e.l. massey (lots of deconstructing internalised queer hostility)

common bonds by roanna sylver, c.t. callahan, b.r. sanders & claudie aresneault (short stories about experiences of aromantic ppl)

all the things they said we couldn't have by t.c. oakes-monger (trans joy stories)

on a sunbeam by tillie walden (queers in space, cute lesbians & nonbinary people)

GERMAN (translations possibly available)

[un]sichtbar gemacht by katharina kroschel & annika baumgart

well researched essays on aromantic and asexual expieriences, history and facts. great place to start when new to the topic!

all die brennenden fragen by henri maximilian jakobs

all the (inappropriate) questions cisgender people tend to ask genderqueer and trans people answered from the perspective of a sarcastic trans man

gender-kram by louie läuger

german (and original) version of "rethinking gender", see above for a description. very helpful introduction, but also good for those who think they know everything (or themselves)

eine frau ist eine frau ist eine frau by phoenix kühnert

autobiographical essays on being a trans woman. sometimes emotional, sometimes snarky or sarcastic

ich bin linus: wie ich der mann wurde der ich immer schon war by linus giese

autobiographical essays on being a trans man. vulnerable, emotional and informative writing

freunde lieben by ole liebl

To Be Seen. Queer Lives 1900-1950 by Karolina Kühn & Mirjam Zadoff

fiction recs based on my more recent reads & (physical) tbr

wasteland by christian vogt & judith c. vogt (first german novel to use multiple sets of neutral pronouns and using a gender neutral/inclusive language, batshit ya/na dystopian sci fi fantasy but FUN)

paradiesische zustände by henri maximilian jakobs (a trans man reflects on his journey of self discovery. there's a lot of fries mentioned)

blutbuch by kim de l'horizon (literary work about a genderqueer persons reflection on their identity and family history)

[kojoty]

I don't, actually, want to discredit people for utilizing the very literal 'laundry list' as an indictment against Thoreau. While I disagree with the way it's utilized, I can't fault people for reading history and realizing the fundamental fact that our Historical Greats-- specifically men-- are often only possible because of the achievements of the hidden women and forced labor thereof to grant them the freedom to be 'revolutionaries.' It is a real factor that we must contend with when lifting up historical voices of liberation-- if you crow and profess to liberation, who's liberty are you infringing upon to make this possible? For most historical figures, I think it is vastly important to talk about it, discuss it, bring up the spectre of labor that creates this.

But Thoreau is an odd one.

One of the most radical voices of his generation, one of the most obvious follow-throughs of his philosophies (going to prison for tax avoidance to prevent himself supporting, monetarily, an unjust pro-slavery war is the easiest point of reference for the way he 'followed through' on his philosophies, and very materially created the concept of Civil Disobedience in political parlance), one of the most obviously outspoken anti-capitalist voices, abolitionists, etc, it does make me wonder-- Who does it benefit to air out the dirty laundry on Thoreau?

Rebecca Solnit says pointedly, "“There is one writer in all literature whose laundry arrangements have been excoriated again and again, and it is not Virginia Woolf, who almost certainly never did her own washing, or James Baldwin, or the rest of the global pantheon. Only Henry David Thoreau has been tried in the popular imagination and found wanting for his cleaning arrangements.”

And it's something I've found wanting whenever I discuss Thoreau-- I will try to discuss his philosophies, his experiments, his activism, and be met with the 'laundry' quandary, as a way to discredit him wholesale. Usually, this is from people who very clearly haven't read Thoreau, but even people who have, but are swept up in the many 'take downs' of Thoreau that have circulated online for the last fifteen years.

As the previous post I reblogged speculates on, there is a very real undertone of historical weaving to make that indicates depression, grief, etc. But more concerned am I that, yes, perhaps his mother did his laundry-- but is it not in the very nature of transcendentalism to utilize and currate community? The question isn't 'was Thoreau a male pig who utilized women's labor'-- something that most of us, as children of mothers, have invariably done to varying degrees of misogynistic normalization-- but rather, 'What are the ways we can support one another in an ideal, non-capitalistic society?' 'How do we care for those we love?' 'What is appropriate labor to perform for others, and what isn't?' 'Does a mother doing the laundry of a grieving son indict and diminish his very ethos?'

Does a mother doing the laundry of a son discount the writing of someone who, by many accounts-- and there are criticisms to make of Thoreau, like any person, and especially any person from his living situation and era of pre-Civil War America-- followed through more succinctly than many other radicals at the time? Does the philosophy of transcendalism fail because he leaned upon the people in his community to make his two year experiment work? Was he ever claiming to be so self-sufficient that he was lying? Was Walden, the I in Walden, Thoreau, or the persona of Thoreau as he wished his philosophy to be reached? Is it inherently vile to let someone do your laundry?

I don't know. Your mileage may vary. And certainly, the leaning on labor is a conversation to have. But the indicting the idea of anyone doing labor for another person ever is a failure of ideology, in my opinion. To make community, we perform labor. To see the beauty of the earth, we must take solace in the love and gifts from others. That said, I think Thoreau could have stood to do his goddamn laundry. But hey, I've been there.

[almondmilkenjoyer]

Products I recommend(with c@ls):

Mission zero net carb tortillas(25)

Miracle noodles(10)

Walden Farms caramel syrup(0)

Cary’s sugar free maple syrup(5)

Fiber one brownies and chewy bars(70) there is also a version of these sold at aldi!

Oregon Chai sugar free chai latte concentrate(0) this one is only good iced it turns bitter if you heat it!

PB2 powdered peanut butter(60)

Swiss miss reduced calorie hot cocoa(35)

Gerber puffs(25) comes in many different flavors!

I’ll add to this list if i think of any more!

[haveyoureadthisqueerbook]

Tash Hearts Tolstoy, Kathryn Ormsbee, ace

Transmogrify! 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic, edited by g haron davis, trans and many other things

The Secret History, Donna Tart, mlm

Black Water Sister, Zen Cho, lesbian

Spell Bound F T Lukens, nb/m romance

In Deeper Waters, F T Lukens, mlm

So This is Ever After, F T Lukens, mlm

Hench, Natalie Zina Walschots, bi main character

Legends and Lattes, Travis Baldree, wlw

She Drives Me Crazy, Kelly Quindlen, wlw

The Atlas Six, Olivie Blake, idk everyone's bi

These Violent Delights, Micah Nemerever, mlm

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry, C M Waggoner, wlw

The Girls I've Been, Tess Sharpe, wlw

Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses, Kristen O'Neal, bi main character

Between Perfect and Real, Ray Stoeve, trans main character

Kemosha of the Caribbean, Alex Wheatle, wlw

Tarnished are the Stars, Rosiee Thor, aro and wlw rep

Golden Boys, Phil Stamper, mlm

Vespertine, Margaret Rogerson, aroace

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid, lesbian part-main-character (one of four)

The Henna Wars, Adiba Jaigirdar, wlw

I'm Afraid of Men, Vivek Shraya, trans author (autobiographical)

The Gilded Wolves trilogy, Roshani Chokshi, mlm and poly rep

That Inevitable Victorian Thing, E K Johnston, wlw and intersex rep

Girls of Paper and Fire, Natasha Ngan, wlw

Daja's Book, Tamora Pierce, wlw

If We Were Villains, M L Rio, mlm

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid, wlw

Ramona Blue, Julie Murphy, sapphic but questioning main character

The Fascinators, Andrew Eliopulos, mlm

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, bi main character

On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden, wlw

Wilder Girls, Rory Power, wlw

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit, Jaye Robin Brown, wlw

We Are Totally Normal, Naomi Kanakia, mlm and some unaddressed trans undertones

Like a Love Story, Abdi Nazemian, mlm

Pet, Akwaeke Emezi

The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass, Adan Jerreat-Poole, nb gay queer rep

Finding Home series, Hari Conner, mlm

The Sea in You, Jessi Sheron, wlw

Love Letters, Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, wlw

The Summer of Jordie Perez, Amy Spalding, wlw

I Was Born for This, Alice Oseman, trans, mlm, and unlabelled main characters

Radio Silence, Alice Oseman, demisexual and bi main characters

Ash, Malinda Lo, lesbians

Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield, trans and wlw main characters

Confessions of Frannie Langton, Sara Collins, wlw

A Taste of Gold and Iron, Alexandra Rowland, mlm

Even Though I Knew the End, C L Polk, wlw

Huntress, Malinda Lo, wlw

Hope that's better, sorry I missed the submissions form! I checked everything against your list so these are all new.

These are finally all queued! Thanks for your patience :)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Walden Pond Revisited by N C Wyeth

+

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see… — Thoreau

I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite - only a sense of existence.

Well, anything for variety. I am ready to try this for the next ten thousand years, and exhaust it. How sweet to think of! my extremities well charred, and my intellectual part too, so that there is no danger of worm or rot for a long while.

My breath is sweet to me. O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches.

No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.

Henry David Thoreau [poetic outlaws]

[justforbooks]

Lonely, as words go, is a bit of a loner. As the critic Christopher Ricks writes, it pleasingly has “only” one rhyme, and no real synonyms. After all, being alone and being lonely are quite different things. For all this, poets and writers, from Audre Lorde to Philip Larkin, have made much of loneliness, drawn to the challenge of bringing us close to an emotion whose very nature is to stay at a distance.

Some lonely renderings turn out to be a bit of a sham. Records show that when Wordsworth “wandered lonely as a cloud”, his sister Dorothy was strolling companionably beside him, and she liked the daffodils too. Thoreau’s standing as the poster-boy of solitude, living “alone” and “Spartan like” by Walden Pond, starts to unravel when one actually reads his book, which contains a hefty chapter on “Visitors”. (The fact that Thoreau’s mum probably helped out with his laundry has also – maybe unfairly – raised a few eyebrows.)

It is, of course, perfectly possible to feel lonely in the company of others. “Loneliness”, as Olivia Laing writes, “doesn’t necessarily require physical solitude, but rather an absence or paucity of connection”. Her Lonely City is a powerful account of the loneliness explored and expressed by writers ranging from Alfred Hitchcock to Billie Holiday, combined with Laing’s own experience as a “citizen of loneliness”: “I often wished”, she writes, “I could find a way of losing myself altogether until the intensity diminished”.

Loneliness may be a condition that’s tricky to categorise but it is also, in Laing’s words, “difficult to confess”. Indeed, loneliness’s favourite companion seems to be shame. One of the many beauties of Kent Haruf’s small-town love story, Our Souls At Night, is the way in which his heroine breaks this seeming taboo, surprising her neighbour with an unconventional proposal, not of marriage, but of a kind of lo-fi pyjama party. “I’m lonely”, Addie candidly states. “I think you might be too. I wonder if you would come and sleep in the night with me. And talk”.

For some, such as Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant, loneliness is a lived atmosphere, a kind of chronic condition. For others, it comes from a tectonic shift – a sudden loss or bereavement. As Juliet Rosenfeld writes in her memoir, The State of Disbelief, the painful force of her husband’s death made her feel as if she’d been captured by an unseen captor: “I learnt quickly that to protest would make no difference, and choice-less, I submitted to this saboteur with no prospect at all of release or freedom. I believed for a long time that I would never feel differently. I felt a painful absence and loneliness all of the time.”

“We read to know we are not alone”, as C S Lewis famously didn’t say (the line belongs to his on-screen persona in Shadowlands). So it is a sad irony that books which might best provide company nearly didn’t see the light of day. Radclyffe Hall’s Well of Loneliness was banned, after its first publication, for more than 30 years, accused of promoting “unnatural practices between women”. Because of that judgment, many readers missed an encounter with the beauty of the novel’s prose, its tender account of the heroine as she reflects on her childhood home. She dreams of “the scent of damp rushes growing by water; the kind, slightly milky odour of cattle; the smell of dried rose-leaves and orris-root and violets”, and knew “what it was to feel terribly lonely, like a soul that wakes up to find itself wandering, unwanted, between the spheres”.

This sense of loneliness as a kind of between-ness, an uncharted territory, is movingly captured in Sam Selvon’s 1956 novel, The Lonely Londoners. This Windrush chronicle charts the trials of those arriving at Waterloo from the West Indies, as they struggle to navigate the “unrealness” of London. Selvon’s hero, Moses Aloetta, becomes, over time, the reluctant guide to this latter-day Waste Land. Selvon leaves us with Moses’s lyrical and allusive understanding of the city’s “great aimlessness”. Standing on the banks of the Thames, he conjures a vision of a world in which we are all, in the end, alone together:

As if … on the surface, things don’t look so bad, but when you go down a little, you bounce up a kind of misery and pathos and a frightening – what? He don’t know the right word, but he have the right feeling in his heart. As if the boys laughing, but they only laughing because they ’fraid to cry.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[notasfilosoficas]

“Las cosas no cambian; cambiamos”

Henry David Thoreau

Fue un escritor, poeta y filósofo estadounidense nacido en Concord Massachusetts en julio de 1817, de tendencia trascendentalista y de origen puritano, considerado uno de los padres fundadores de la literatura estadounidense y conceptualizador de las prácticas de desobediencia civil.

Nació en el seno de una modesta familia de Nueva Inglaterra, su padre era un fabricante de lápices, y su abuelo materno dirigió cuando era estudiante una de las primeras protestas estudiantiles registradas en las colonias americanas.

Henry era el tercero de cuatro hermanos y su casa ha sido restaurada por una organización sin fines de lucro y está abierta al público.

Estudió en el Harvard College entre 1833 y 1887, vivió en Hollis Hall y tomó cursos de retórica, clásicos, filosofía, matemáticas y ciencias.

En 1835 tomó una licencia para impartir cátedra en la escuela de Canton Massachusetts renunciando al negarse a aplicar el castigo corporal, abriendo entonces junto con su hermano John la Concord Academy una escuela de gramática en Concord, en donde introdujeron una enseñanza aplicando varios conceptos progresistas, que incluían caminatas por la naturaleza y visitas a tiendas y negocios locales.

En 1842 el hermano de Henry muere al cortarse mientras se afeitaba, cerrando la academia.

Conoció a Ralph Waldo Emerson a través de un amigo mutuo, el cual tomó interés personal  incluso paternalista por Henry, presentando al joven Henry a un círculo de escritores y pensadores locales, incluidos el ministro estadounidense de la iglesia unitaria de Boston William Ellery Channing, a la periodista y activista por los derechos de la mujer Margaret Fuller y al famoso novelista y cuentista Nathaniel Hawthorne padre del que fuera un prolífico escritor Julian Hawthorne.

En 1845 se estableció en una pequeña cabaña construida por él mismo cerca de los pantanos de Walden con la idea de simplificar su vida y dedicar su tiempo a la escritura y a observar la naturaleza.

Thoreau se negó a pagar impuestos que le imponía el gobierno como protesta contra la esclavitud en las Américas razón por la cual fue puesto en prisión. Por este episodio fue que Thoreau escribió “Desobediencia civil”, escrito en 1849, en donde describe la doctrina de la resistencia pacífica que habría de influir más tarde en destacados activistas como Martin Luther King.

En 1854, viviendo en casa de Emerson, publicó “Walden o Vida en el bosque”, en donde narraba los 2 años y dos meses que había pasado en solitario en Walden Pond, teniendo como compañía exclusivamente a la naturaleza, utilizando el paso de las cuatro estaciones para simbolizar el desarrollo humano. Aunque tuvo pocos admiradores, los críticos posteriores han considerado esta obra como un clásico estadounidense, que explora la simplicidad natural, la belleza y la armonía, como modelo para las condiciones sociales y culturales justas.

En 1851, Thoreau se sintió cada día mas interesado por la naturaleza, los viajes de exploración y la botánica. Fue un admirador del naturalista William Bartram y del naturalista y científico Charles Darwin, lo que lo llevó al final de sus días a realizar escritos sobre historia natural y científicos sobre la regeneración de los bosques después del fuego o la destrucción humana.

Fue un entusiasta de los viajes y de los relatos sobre excursiones a tierras inexploradas, tales como David Livingston, Fernando de Magallanes, James Cook entre otros.

Al final de su vida contrajo tuberculosis en 1835 y en 1860 después de una excursión enfermó de bronquitis, pasando y corrigiendo sus trabajos inéditos. Sus amigos estaban fascinados por su tranquila aceptación a la muerte.

Cuando su tía Luisa le preguntó ya en sus últimas semanas de vida si estaba en paz con Dios, Thoreau respondió: “No sabía que nos hubiésemos peleado”. 

Thoreau murió en mayo de 1862 a la edad de 44 años, “Ahora viene una buena navegación”, como una de sus últimas palabras.

Thoreau es considerado como uno de los escritores estadounidenses mas importantes, tanto por la claridad moderna de su estilo en prosa como por sus opiniones sobre naturaleza y política.

Fuente: Wikipedia y biografiasyvidas.com

[low-cal-storage]

Just something I wanted to share that I made C:

Shirataki Noodles- 45

Chicken Bouillon Cube- 15

Walden Farm’s Alfredo Sauce- 0

Spinach- 6

Great Value Chicken Breast Strips- 100

Mushrooms- 23

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray- 10

Parmesan Cheese- 40

Total Calories: 239

Please be sure to drink water and eat enough today! You are loved!