#INTERACTIONS: MARY ANN SHELLEY.

[stars-and-clouds]

A List of my Favourite 'Gothic' Media

Last Updated: July 30th 2024

My preference to gothic aesthetic is mostly victorian goth. Hence, this is what the list will consist of with some outliers. This is not a list of every good gothic media out there, it’s just the ones I have consumed and truly make me feel like I’ve transported into that world.

This list is very selective and subjective. It doesn't always follow the textbook or culturally accepted meaning of 'goth'. It is mostly about the vibe, aesthetic, feelings and motifs that are associated with a beautiful, melancholic and mystical story.

Feel free to submit me ideas for the list, or add your own in reblogs/comments and I will keep updating this post as I consume more of said media =D

*The titles in italics are not exactly gothic but give the same melancholic, beautiful vibe that draws me to gothic media.

Movies:

Corpse Bride (2005)

Crimson Peak (2015)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

Dracula Untold (2014)

Haunted Mansion (2003)

Van Helsing (2004)

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Interview with the Vampire (1994)

Vampire Hunter D (anime movie) (1985)

The Others (2001)

Constantine (2005)

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Phantom of The Opera (both movie and play)

Series (Anime, TV shows, Cartoons):

Penny Dreadful (tv series)

Castlevania (netflix, cartoon/western anime)

Courage the Cowardly Dog (cartoon)

The Haunting of Hill House (netflix)

The Haunting of Bly Manor (netflix)

Supernatural (Not gothic per se, but it has the melancholy and secretive, monster world and lots of themes of loss and happiness.)

Carnival Row (more dark fantasy, than gothic but it's basically set in victorian London and I love it)

Books:

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

Frakenstien - Mary Shelley

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

Dracula - Bram Stoker

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - Anne Bronte

Penny Dreadful (serial fiction) - (Various)

Doesn’t really count but all the northern bits of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ make me feel that way too.

The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole

Fevre Dream - George R.R. Martin

Games:

Vampyr

Castlevania Series + Lords of Shadow

FFXIV- Heavensward (Expansion)

Albino Lullaby- Episode 1

The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine (Expansion)

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (any of their ttrpg campaigns or interactive/visual novels are also good)

Curse of Strahd (D&D)

Bloodborne (PS4)

Silent Hill 2

Following are Visual/Interactive Novels:

Any of the ‘Vampire the Masquerade’ Books (they’re sub par but I love the vibe) (IN)

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (VN)

The House in Fata Morgana (VN)

Music:

this section will be really long so i will properly update it later.

Oh Willow Waly from The Innocents

The Unqueit Grave Penny Dreadful Version

youtube playlist with my favourite gothic sounding music

Gothic Pinterest Board

[thenightling]

DO NOT BUY THIS EDITION OF FRANKENSTEIN! This is a sexist and ignorant dog whistle and as a fan of the actual Frankenstein novel, I am furious.

1. First there is the false implication that Percy Shelley co-wrote Frankenstein. He did not. In fact Mary Shelley revised the 1818 text in 1831. That's AFTER Percy's Death.

This sexism was brought to you by such "reliable" books as "The Man who wrote Frankenstein" which was written by a very sexist conspiracy theorist who once claimed that AIDS was spread through pills. That conspiracy theorist used dummy accounts to positively review his self-published books on Amazon (seriously, go check if you want) and his main reason for believing Mary Shelley didn't really write Frankenstein is his claim that she was "uneducated."

Percy wasn't a novelist. He was a poet. Mary Shelley actually wrote many novels after Frankenstein, it's just that none were as successful as Frankenstein. Just because she wrote her greatest novel while her husband was alive doesn't mean her husband secretly wrote it.

He also claimed a woman cannot have written a man's perspective so well and she wrote from the perspective of three men. Victor Frankenstein, The Creature, and Captain Walton.

By that same reasoning Stan Rice must have written Interview with The Vampire, not Anne. It's a sexist and classist equivalent of the classist conspiracy theories that Shakespeare couldn't have written Shakespeare because he was "Too poor and ill-educated" to have been that creative.

2. One big problem with novels like Frankenstein and Dracula being in the public domain is anyone can re-publish them any way they want, even with this sleezy and misleading presentation.

3. Frankenstein wasn't really a science fiction novel even though Google and this blurb claim it is. Frankenstein, the novel, never warned about the advancement of technology.

There's no hard science in the book. Victor wasn't studying biology. He was studying metaphysics and he never graduated.

(Metaphysics degrees aren't even currently recognized in the US. You can only get an honorary one from institutions like ULC).

Victor found the secret of life while reading the works of Agrippa and Paracelsus. A self-proclaimed sorcerer and alchemist.

The Creature is more like a Dungeons and Dragons Flesh Golem with a soul than what you see in most of the movies.

Its main morals and themes had nothing to do with "Playing God" or "the advancement of science." No. That overly exonerates Victor Frankenstein and those The Creature interacted with. Victor's main crime was rejecting his creation as soon as he came to life, which may have been a metaphor for what we today call Postpartum depression.

The themes were about parental responsibility, the futility of revenge, and the need to forgive.

If you have a shred of integrity or respect for women do NOT buy this edition of Frankenstein that falsely credits Percy Shelley and feels like it was being described by someone who only watched the 1931 movie. (The more accurate to the book film adaptation is the 2004 Hallmark mini-series version starring Luke Goss as The Creature.) If you want a good edition of Frankenstein, I strongly recommend the 1831 version republished with Bernie Wrightson's gorgeous illustrations accompanying it. That one is exceptional and respectful to Mary Shelley without falsely crediting Percy Shelley.

Here's the blurb that was attached to the awful edition:

"That’s right, the very first science fiction novel is also a work of transhumanism, though I’m not sure Mary Shelley would have used the term. After all, the monster wouldn’t even exist without technology. So even the earliest sci-fi novel was trying to warn us about the dangers technology poses to our humanity."

[thehorrortree]

Deadline: December 4th, 2023 Payment: Contributors Copy Theme: War Poems about Emerging & Future Tech Middle West Press LLC, an independent micro-publisher of military-themed and -adjacent literary projects, has issued a call for human-generated poems engaging with  “Giant Robot” technology themes. This is a "speculative poetry" market. What is a "Giant Robot" theme? For this project, the term "Giant Robots" can include examples of technologies in timelines both real and imagined, and of any size or (even formless) form. Living Ships. Loitering Drones. Taxi-cab AI. Robot Tanks. Virtual Soldiers. Space Explorers. Mecha-suits. In short, any vessel for exploring themes of human-electro-mechanical-cyber interaction, connection, and competition. The working title of this project is Giant Robot Poems: Poetry About Mecha-Human Science, Culture & War. Editors of the project write: Our intent with this project is to have fun, but also to illuminate, interrogate, and challenge (via the still-human domain of poetry!!!) the ways people think about emerging and future technologies such as robots and drones, Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybernetic enhancements, etc. We are looking for terrain-shifting, mind's-eye-bending, firmament-rending expressions of new and future realities. Be provocative. Be poignant. Be human. Even if you write like a Giant Robot. Ideally, many of the works submitted will engage such questions as: How does technology potentially change human behavior / culture / society? How does technology potentially change human behavior ethics / values? How does technology potentially change the ways humans fight / love / think / feel? Many examples of "Giant Robot-ness" exist in today's news and culture. As a starting point or prompt, our editors offer a list of examples and inspirations. In creating and crafting their own, original concepts and works, poets might consider various modes of commenting, observing, or even inhabiting technologies, mythologies, or stories depicted in these and other venues: Giant Robots in Modern News & Modern War. Examples & inspirations include: Tactical Drones & "Loyal Wingman" concepts Battlefield Robots & Security Drones & Dog-bots Exoskeletons / Powered Armor / Battlesuits / "Iron-Man" Suits Giant Robots in Literature. Examples & inspirations include: Keith Laumer's Bolos "Living Ships," such as those of Anne Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy; Fred Saberhagen's Berserkers; Anne McCaffrey's "Brain & Brawn Ships" Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries series Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers (1959) Frankenstein's monster from Mary Shelley's 1818 book; Golems and other fantastical constructed creatures Giant Robots in TV, Toys, Movies & Animation. Examples & inspirations include: "The Iron Giant" (Warner, 1999) "Giant Robo" a.k.a. "Johnny Sokko & His Flying Robot" (1967); "Gigantor" (1963) a.k.a. "Tetsujin 28-go" "Mobile Suit Gundum" (1979) Transformers Voltron; "Titan Maximum" Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots; "Real Steel" (DreamWorks, 2011) Giant Robots in Comics. Examples & inspirations include: Marvel Comics' mutant-hunting Sentinels Giant Robot Maintenance Crew (Cosmic Times, 2017); Mech Cadet Yu (Boom, 2017); Giant Robot Warriors (AiT/PlanetLar, 2004) Giga (Vault Comics, 2020); The Monuments (2023); 20th Century Men (Image, 2023): We Ride Titans (Vault, 2022) Giant Robots in Video & War Games. Examples & inspirations include: OGRE (Steve Jackson Games, 1977-present) BattleTech/MechCommander franchise (FASA) Iron Harvest (King Art, 2020) Titanfall 2 (Electronic Arts, 2016) Pizza Titan Ultra (2018) SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Deadline for submissions is Dec. 4, 2023. Notifications will be sent not later than Jan. 1, 2024. Target publication date for this project is April 2024. Submit from 1 to 3 poems in the same file (.DOC or .DOCX). Work generated using ChatGPT and similar computer-assisted word "AI" will NOT be accepted. Human-generated poems only, please.

New and original work is preferred. Please note in cover letter whether specific works have previously been published elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Please notify the editors via Submittable if one of more poems becomes unavailable during the consideration period. Publisher requests non-exclusive, worldwide, English-language print and e-book anthology rights. Contributors will receive one complimentary print or digital (where postal delivery is not available) contributor's copy. Submit work via the publisher's Submittable page here at this link. Via: Middle West Press.

[cellocodedclassicist]

“who am I?”

Not Jean Val Jean, surprisingly. In all seriousness, I am a classics interested, Frankenstein-obsessed, dark academic teen. You may call me Liesa or Ann, and refer to me by any non-neopronouns. I have no gender, I am personally above that (I jest. Somewhat.) I partake in many arts, including:

theatre (plays, musicals, academically.)

music (song-writing (lyrics, instrumental, e.t.c), piano, cello.)

literature (poetry writing, story writing, script writing.)

drawing/painting (sketching, comics, digital art, traditional art.)

I enjoy:

coffee

cafés

libraries

books

classics

poetry

FRANKENSTEIN

mary shelley (+associates)

history

the regency era

the 1920s

the 1980s

goth subculture

david bowie

the cure

dark academia

Do NOT interact list:

( you will be blocked, asap.)

anyone over the age of 18

transphobes/homophobes/paraphiles/proshippers/racists

anyone who dislikes my content

[luthienne]

Your blog's *chef's kiss* and I wish to ask do you have any quotes or what comes to mind when it comes to love mingled with grief/pain? Like losing someone at the stinging cost of the other? Or looking at a completed wonderful thing but knowing the pain and blood it stands on to be that way? Or when you look at someone realizing you now share hearts whether youd like it or not, that no bond in both your lives will ever come close to what both of you have(1)

how the love stiches both of you up, how achingly tender & vulnerable & warming it is and almost crying looking at where it is, how it is, what it became and what it grew from. Would love to hear if you got any that pops to your mind❤(2)

you are so kind! thank you, angel ♡ here and here are posts that reflect love mingled w grief/pain and tender/sweet love. here are a few more quotes that sort of encompass both for me:

“Not a day passes that I do not see ourselves, you and me, as we were when we met first. Every day of my life I see that.”

James Joyce, Exiles: A Play In Three Acts

“We can never go back. I know that now. We can go forward. We can find the love our hearts long for, but not until we let go grief about the love we lost long ago, when we were little and had no voice to speak the heart’s longing. All the years of my life I thought I was searching for love I found, retrospectively, to be years where I was simply trying to recover what had been lost, to return to the first home, to get back the rapture of first love. I was not really ready to love or be loved in the present. I was still mourning — clinging to the broken heart of girlhood, to broken connections. When that mourning ceased I was able to love again. I awakened from my trance state and was stunned to find the world I was living in, the world of the present, was no longer a world open to love. And I noticed that all around me I heard testimony that lovelessness had become the order of the day. I feel our nation’s turning away from love as intensely as I felt love’s abandonment in my girlhood. Turning away we risk moving into a wilderness of spirit so intense we may never find our way home again. I write of love to bear witness both to the danger in this movement, and to call for a return to love. Redeemed and restored, love returns us to the promise of everlasting life. When we love we can let our hearts speak.”

Bell Hooks, All About Love

“My heart is full not of guilt, or shame, or remorse, but of grief… Everything has become too terribly mixed up.”

Boris Pasternak, in a letter to Leonid Pasternak, from Letters Summer 1926: Pasternak, Tsvetaeva, Rilke

Jamie Anderson // Art piece by Ikenaga Yasunari (x)

“But if it’s love, by God, what is this thing? If good, why then the bitter mortal sting?”

Petrarch, from the ‘Canzoniere’ (tr. Mark Musa)

“bittersweet, undefeated creature – against you there is no defence”

Sappho, from Poems and Fragments (tr. Josephine Palmer)

“And if I should pick out the good in you – each shard of broken light, like glass from the wreck of such beauty, and look at that – or one golden afternoon when you hovered above me in rapture, oh half god – how would I bear to lift my hands, how would I bear to close my eyes and let you fall, and love be damned?”

Cecilia Woloch, “Lucifer, Full of Light,” Carpathia

Ada Limón, Bright Dead Things; “The Good Fight”

“...and if I cut myself, it was you I bled.”

Jeanette Winterson, Lighthousekeeping

“I don’t know what they are called, the spaces between seconds– but I think of you always in those intervals.”

Salvador Plascencia, The People of Paper

Henry Dumas, Knees of a Natural Man; “Valentines”

“No te nombro; pero estás en mí como la música en la garganta del ruiseñor aunque no esté cantando.

I never call your name, but you are in me like the song in the nightingale’s throat even when it’s not singing.”

Dulce María Loynaz, Absolute Solitude: Selected Poems; “Poema LVII” (tr. James O’Connor)

Marguerite Duras - India Song (1975)

“I am sad because I love you, because I love you so much, and because I am not a bee to buzz with you lightly. I am not a flower, not a tree, not a rain-hewn stone. I am not a storm or a cresting wave, not a thorn or a vine. I am not the sun stinging the water, not the moon on the snow. I am not a star in the dark. I am not the dew-wet wind, not the cloud-stained dawn. I am only a girl, a small, plain girl, a girl who must smear her lips in honey to be found sweet.”

Amal El-Mohtar, The Honey Month

“Whether it was the quality of light or the clarity of my feelings for you, I don’t know, but there was softness and no blurring. ‘This is not a lie,’ I said to myself. ‘It may not hold, but it is true.’”

Jeanette Winterson, Lighthousekeeping

“He takes her in his arms. He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you but he thinks this is a lie, so he says in the end you're dead, nothing can hurt you which seems to him a more promising beginning, more true.”

Louise Glück, from Averno; "A Myth of Devotion"

Anna Akhmatova, Final Meeting: Selected Poetry (tr. Andrey Kneller)

“Your dying is my dying. / In you I exist—to live or not.”

Euripedes, from Alkestis (tr. Anne Carson)

Richard Siken, “Scheherazade” 

“First love tempts / then puts out our eyes.”

Salma al-Khadra al-Jayyusi, from ‘Dearest love - III’ (ed. Charles Doria), Women of the Fertile Crescent: An Anthology of Modern Poetry by Arab Women (ed. Kamal Boullata)

Interactive :: House Saints by Hala Alyan

“We were the heartbreak of truth. / We were willing to break even more.”

Andrea Gibson, from The Madness Vase; “Close For Comfort”

“God, what are you doing to me? / What am I doing to myself?”

Adonis, from ‘Concerto for the Veiled Christ’, Selected Poems (tr. Khaled Mattawa)

“No. I was not afraid of him; but of myself. I seemed reborn in his unreflective eyes, reborn in unfamiliar shapes. I hardly recognized myself from his descriptions of me and yet, and yet – might there not be a grain of beastly truth in them?”

Angela Carter, from “The Bloody Chamber”

“It is true we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Keaton Henson, “Alright”

Velimir Khlebnikov, The Collected Poems & Writings of V. K. “My Darling,”

“But love is impossible and it goes on / despite the impossible. You’re the muscle / I cut from the bone and still the bone / remembers, still it wants (so much, it wants) / the flesh back, the real thing, / if only to rail against it, if only / to argue and fight, if only to miss / a solve-able absence.”

Ada Limón, Bright Dead Things; “In A Mexican Restaurant I Recall How Much You Upset Me”

The Letters of Frida Kahlo: Cartas Apasionadas, tr. by Martha Zamora

Letter to Diego Rivera, July 23rd, 1935

“I want to give you everything. This is called a sickness.”

Camille Rankine, from Possession

Rainer Maria Rilke, Book of Hours: Love Poems to God; ‘Lösch mir die Augen aus: ich kann dich sehen’, tr. Anita Barrows & Joanna Macy

“Love that incorporates, that devours the other person, that cuts the tendons of the will. Love as immolation of the self.”

Susan Sontag, from Reborn: “July, 1958”

[logo-comics]

Fortune Lover Superheroes DLC

Fun Fact: This was almost a Hero School DLC, but I wasn't sure if that was the intent, so I went with full-on superheroes.

Welcome to the City of Sorcier, Home to the Superhero Team The Guardians!

Meet Maria Campbell! Recently moved to Sorcier, she is secretly the detective superheroine, Miss Flashbang! What she lacks in superpowers, she more than makes up for in ingenuity, kindness, and more gadgets than you'd expect someone her height to be able to carry on their person!

Join her as she meets the local superheroes who make up The Guardians:

Flame Prince: Geordo Stuart - The leader of The Guardians, he wields control over flames, utilizing specialized gloves to generate the spark he needs with ease. Ruthless on the battlefield, is there more than meets the eye behind that flame-styled mask?

Iceheart: Alan Stuart - Geordo's twin brother and his partner before the founding of the Guardians, he can generate ice for various purposes using the water in the air. A cool professional, can any warmth be found in his heart?

The Duke: Keith Claes - Cocky, flirtatious, and somewhat arrogant, he has such control over the earth that he can create "dirt dolls" of any size from any form of stone or earth. Always looking for the next fling, can such a wild spirit be tamed?

Windbreaker: Nicol Ascart - A skilled master of the wind, he is not usually one to leap into action without prompting, and often acts as Everywhere's voice when interacting with others.

Sirius: Raphael Walt - Formerly the host of Miss Flashbang's archnemesis, the villainous ghost "Dark Mage," he has dedicated himself to protecting people from magical threats using a talisman he received from his mysterious benefactor "LS" ever since the foul villain was finally exorcised from the mortal realm. Can he be saved from the shadows of his past?

Lady Garden: Mary Hunt - A refined gentlewoman who can control plant life, she is the definition of grace and poise, even as she strikes down her foes with enchanted vines. Can she be taught to let loose?

Everywhere: Sophia Ascart - Formerly Winter Wind, she had to retire from fighting when she realized she lacked the durability for sustained combat, but refuses to let that stop her from helping save the day! The coordinator and researcher, she is the best at what she does and what she does is vital. Can anyone crack the code to her heart?

And, of course, what sort of superhero story is complete without villains, or in this case villainesses! Meet the four major players of the opposition:

The Villainess: Katarina Claes - The undisputed center of a criminal empire despite having no superpowers of her own, she might look odd in her medieval-styled dress, but it is vital to never mistake eccentricity for foolishness, as she single-handedly conquered all of the criminal organizations in Sorcier by the age of 7 and is always looking for a new hero to turn her attentions to.

Anne: Anne Shelley - Katarina's loyal servant, she is her undisputed right hand woman. Dressed in formal maid attire, if there is something that her employer asks of her, it will be done.

The Network: Sienna Nelson - Formerly the heroine Whisper, she was considered a twelfth stringer in the superhero community with her power to use the wind to have her voice project any distance at any volume. Where hero groups saw little value, Katarina saw potential and made her into her spymaster. Can her pure heart be mended?

The Modern Villainess: Noelia Flores - The only person who calls herself by her villainous title, Noelia views herself as a better Katarina due to having a modern aesthetic while failing to have Katarina's level of control or menace. Hiring thugs from out of town, she is a frequent opponent in the game's combat mechanic, in contrast to the other three.

And then, of course, there's our brand new content!

Combat and Stealth!

Investigation Mode!

New Romance Targets Among The Original Cast!

New Romance Flags!

Go Up, Up, And Away in Fortune Lover's Super Romance DLC!

Addendum: Admittedly, we should have expected for there to be an interest in romancing a supervillainess version of Katarina when there was the Sienna route available. You can find the Katarina Route patch on our website to download it for free!

[sendmyresignation]

hi again! top 5 (or 10 if u want) books u have read

hi!!! and this is the hardest ask I've ever gotten. hands down. being a bibliophile was like 85% of my personality pre-mcr spiral so this is going to be in no particular order. and a top 10. and under a read more....

1. Eon/Eona duology by Alison Goodman: this series I read in elementary school so, it's very much a favorite for nostalgic reasons- flaws and all. it's a dragon-centric fantasy series I have vivid memories of reading at the bottom of my sleeping bag by flashlight past curfew at french camp in fifth grade lol. but also, most importantly, this series was also the first I thing read that dealt in anyway with gender-fuckery. the man character is a girl who has to pretend to be a boy to access the world of dragon magic, since women are forbidden from the practice, and a large part of the book is about her repression of the self and how pretending to be someone she isn’t is mentally damaging for her. additionally, the main side character she interacts with is trans. like the representation is almost certainly bad (it's ten years old and written by a cis woman) if I looked back, but it was the only media that I read as a kid telling me pretending to be someone I'm not is dangerous for my mental well-being and that gender is complicated so. it's important to me. plus it kicks ass lol

2. Beloved by Toni Morrison: I read this in preparation for my african american lit class last semester (knowing full-well we were going to read Toni Morrison and wanting to get a head start) and.... it changed my life a little bit. This novel is beautifully written, hauntingly human, and a masterwork of a response to the way americans discuss the legacy of slavery. it's very much not a fun read, but there's a reason it's a classic and every american should read it

3. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: this book. this fucking book man. it's a lesbian sci-fi spy thriller but not really? it's difficult to explain other than it has the best enemies-to-lovers plot I've ever read and the prose is so purple I fell in love immediately. do yourself a favor and read this one, she’s short but packs a punch <3

4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: look. this book inspired me to write a 12 page paper in high school, when the writing requirement was 3 paragraphs and a half-baked thesis. this book brings out the worst in me, truly and that experience of tearing this book into pieces and putting the puzzle together was so life-alteringly... fun. i think that paper was the moment i figured out i wanted to do the “writing papers about books” thing as long as possible. plus it's whole thing as a gothic science fiction novel is so far up my alley... the creature as a character i heavily projected onto.... I love frankenstein so so much

5. The Seven Husband's of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: ok. hear me out. this book is so much more than it appears on the surface. truly a wonderful discussion of golden-era Hollywood, a beautiful mediation on love, and jussst pulpy enough to make the reading experience breeze by you. and yes, despite the title, it is queer! really this book is on my list for the scenes at the middle point of the novel that are just.... queer domesticity? i read this a few years ago so that was really rare for me to see that and it warmed my heart, even if it wasn't the center of the novel. this is a book i recommend highly. enjoy yourself, have fun, read this book

6. Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and It's Legacy by Heather Ann Thompson: I get to include one biography. as a treat. but this book is one of the most detailed and compassionate pieces of historical nonfiction I've ever read. partway through the research process, Thompson realized the material she was using as evidence was starting to 'go missing' and that survivors were starting to pass away so she went from writing a biography to writing the Definitive biography on the uprising and, as a result, it is dense and heart-breaking and rage-inducing. I don't think a single reading experience has effected me as deeply as this one. i respect the incredible amount of work it put to pull this together, as well as the dedication to tell this story before it gets conveniently 'forgotten' to history.

7. True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, Becky Cloonan, etc: you know what!!! i love the comic and I'm not afraid to say it <3 even in the pretentious ways, not just the "It's fun!" ways. here are my more in-depth thoughts.

8. The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry: realizing in retrospect that this is a novel about a female martyr figure.... but this is truly one of the best historical fiction books I've ever read. the research that went into it is insane, the characters are wonderfully fully-realized, and the setting is so vivid, and this story is right up my alley apparently....

9. Rot and Ruin series by Jonathan Mayberry: another nostalgia addition, this is a four book post-apocalyptic zombie series I fell in love with in middle school (and it held up upon rereading it in high school). it's special because it takes place years after the zombie 'uprising' in a world after it's immediate aftermath- which I feel is really rare for dystopian novels and makes the series unique- there's world building!! an established isolated society 13 years after society falls!! but the true gem of the series is the characters and their personal journeys. they all grow so much and witnessing it is so rewarding. they're just. special to me.

10. The Book of the Pheonix by Nnedi Okorafor: Nnedi Okorafor is one of the most brilliant sci-fi writers of this generation and you all should be reading her work!! Pheonix is my personal favorite because it has my favorite prose Okorafor has written, as well as a preoccupation with history and a superhero/mutant-esque plot that caters to me but it's also just a genius prequel to her novel Who Fear's Death (which you should also read but mind the content warnings) but all of her books/novellas are wonderful :)

small honorable mention to not the life it seems :) i didn't include it on the list but by virtue of being about my chem, it's spiritually here

Anyway... thank u nastia for giving me the opportunity to share!!! i may have gone a little overboard... but i v. much appreciated the ask 💕

[moonb-eam]

Hi! I just started reading your fics. You're such an amazing writing. Do you have any writing advice? Also what books/movies/TV shows have influenced your writing?

ahh hello darling!! 🧡🧡🧡 these are such lovely questions thank you so much!! 

okay, so i answered a fanfic ask about writing advice here a little while ago, but i’ll reiterate a few points, and add some new ones!!

i do want to say that these tips are just my opinion, and writing, like any other form of art, is so specific in process to each individual writer that what works for me definitely won’t work for everyone 🧡

(these are going to be very general and conceptual, but if you’d like some more technical “craft” advice then please let me know!!)

1. i’m going to keep repeating this until i die - the most important thing is to write, as basic as that sounds! i know some people who write every single day - i don’t, i find that exhausting - but i do try to write as often as i can, even if it’s something i observe on the bus to work that i write down on my phone, or it’s a single line for an opening of a new story. for me personally, i find it important to keep that part of my brain exercised, which is actually why i started writing fan fiction in the first place - so i could make deadlines for myself and keep writing in the midst of a terribly depressing job search, so i don’t lose that part of myself.

2. now, that being said, there are some days where writing just straight up doesn’t work. i sit down at my laptop and i have no words inside of myself, and it’s so frustrating when that happens, especially when you only have certain times of the day/week/month dedicated to writing. when that happens, i don’t force it. i have a friend in edinburgh who bakes every time he’s frustrated with a story - he says it always helps him to methodically create something and see it come to fruition, so he doesn’t feel so mentally stuck whenever he returns to his story. i have another friend who draws whenever she hits a writing snag. for myself, i like to go for runs whenever that happens  - it helps me clear my head and sometimes, gives me new ideas. writing is something that doesn’t just happen at the computer or the notebook. it’s happening constantly, with the media you consume, the interactions you observe, the new words you learn, the  fragments of ideas that pass through your mind. so yes, the actual writing of the words is critical, but so are all the other parts, and above all, it’s so important to take care of your mental state before anything else.

3. it’s also important to read a lot!!! there is no better inspiration that consuming the work of authors you really love and admire! i pretty well always have a book on me, and in the rare moments that i don’t, you know i’ve got ao3 loaded on my phone

4. rules and conventions exist for a few reasons, and one of those reasons is so they can be broken. so often young writers are told time and time again to find their “voice” or their distinct writing style, and what can happen is they feel pressured into boxing themselves up so early in their career - for example, in my master’s program, i wrote mostly science fiction, and was essentially labelled “science fiction girl” - that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because i love sci-fi, but i felt like i could never step outside of that box, because the people in my workshop would say, “this doesn’t feel like you” - but i didn’t even know who i was as a writer at that point, and honestly i still don’t - writing fan fiction has actually been really good for me to experiment with my prose and see how readers react to it. what i’m saying is, try something new, try whatever interests you, whatever you think may be cool, and if it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t, but don’t let yourself be swayed by what you think people may want to see from you. does that make sense? always remember that you’re writing for yourself before anyone else

5. the “don’t be afraid to write badly” advice is overused, but that’s because it’s important. i have a bad habit of self-editing as a write, which means writing a first draft can take me ages. sometimes, the best thing you can do is try to let go, and just let yourself put the words down without overanalyzing them. i described it in a group chat as “no thoughts, only words” asdfjkdf - when i first started in my workshop in edinburgh, i was terrified to write anything that wasn’t perfect, as though i would be judged for it. but the best thing you can do, is to show unfinished, imperfect work to people you trust. it is inherently embarrassing to share your writing, to let people see the inside of your heart, more or less, but it is the best way to improve - to get feedback, and to take it into consideration for your own work. not all feedback is good feedback, but all of it should be listened to! (conversely, if you’re ever asked for feedback, it’s so important to learn the distinction between being critical and being constructive)

6. this is getting quite long 😬 so i think i’ll do just one more - in the midst of practicing writing, receiving feedback, drafting and editing, i think it’s important to remember that, on a base level, what we do is tell stories, and that’s something that is really special. the act of writing isn’t always fun. editing certainly isn’t always fun, but telling stories is. finding new ways to look at the world is. discovering something new about a character is. what i mean to say is, get excited about your own work. get excited by your own ideas. those moments of excitement, for me, always help to carry me through some of the rougher bits

and now for a bit of inspiration!!

there are a lot of writers whose work i really admire - i would never say i’m as good as them asdfjk but i think they all have influenced me in one way or another

for novelists, i’m really inspired by madeleine miller, erin morgenstern, cherie dimaline, maggie stiefvater, leigh bardugo, ursula leguin, kurt vonnegut, mary shelley, shirley jackson, thomas king and kazuo ishiguro 

then there are some writers who do short stories and more experimental work, who have influenced me more in the last year or so: helen mcclory (i highly recommend everyone check out her work!!), shane jones (specifically the short novel light boxes), leanne shapton, and susannah m. smith (specifically the fairy tale museum)

and poets!! anne carson, richard siken, pablo neruda, amanda lovelace, i know there are more i’m forgetting....damn it

then there are a few illustrators/comic artists whose work really inspires me, such as tom gauld, emily carroll, tove jansson (moomins!!) and again i just know there are more i can’t think of!!! 😫

okay, okay lastly film and tv: i love any work by guillermo del toro, jane campion, alfred hitchcock, hayao miyazaki (so i LOVE your icon!!) and joe wright (except the peter pan film...we don’t talk about that...) i also think phoebe waller-bridge and dan levy are such stellar tv writers and i am very, very jealous of them - and OF COURSE skam, and all its iterations 🧡

(and if you browse through my “fic rec” tag on here, everything on there is from incredibly talented writers!!)

alright this got very long, I'm sorry about that!! but i hope there’s something in here that speaks to you in some way ✨ best of luck to you in your writing, and please drop by my inbox anytime if you’d like to talk more about it!! 😚

[kimdokjas]

Stop rolling your eyes at me, we both know you wanna be tagged in these things too whenever you see it on your dashboard

Rules: tag 9 people you want to get to know better

@iwishihadfancy ahh thank you for tagging me <3 it’s been so long since i did one of these

Top 3 Ships:

Currently (not of all time because picking just 3 would be impossible)

Victor Nikiforov / Yuuri Katsuki from Yuri on Ice

i’m stealing this ship for my list i just love how they both have their own emotional baggage but they find a way to help each other deal with it a little bit better without “fixing” each other

Anne Shirley / Gilbert Blythe from Anne with an E

aren’t they just the most pure pairing you’ve ever set your eyes on? Anne is first and foremost her own person before being Gilbert’s and vice versa. no joke this show is the best one i’ve watched so far. they handle so many topics in such a deft and respectful way (feminism, racism, education, lgbtq rights, censorship, indigenous history, grief... shall i go on?)

Tyrell Wellick / Elliot Alderson from Mr. Robot

i haven’t finished watching the series but god... the sexual tension so far? Tyrell being in absolute awe of Elliot and him not remembering all their interactions but still being drawn to him? painful in the best way

Lipstick or Chapstick:

both! i use chapstick to moisturize and then a nude or light pink lipstick over it

Last Song:

Waving through a Window from Dear Evan Hansen

i randomly stumbled upon a cover by Jordan Fisher yesterday, right after watching Tatbilb 2 (the guy who plays John Ambrose McClaren, link to cover here). i s2g every time i think i’m ready to stop obsessing over this song i just get dragged back into it

Last Movie:

(technically it’s Tatbilb 2 but i already mentioned it in the last answer)

Kiki’s Delivery Service. i hadn’t watched it since i was a kid and it brought back so many childhood memories! but i gotta say the part with Kiki’s depression sure hits different oof

Reading:

god... don’t put me through this... i have stacks of unread books that now hold a personal grudge against me. but lately i’ve been trying to read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley because badass female gothic writer in the 19th century? sign me the FUCK up

Three random things that make me happy:

the smell of books with yellowed pages that have been worn and loved

waking up early when everything is quiet and staring at the trees swaying with the wind

when friends look after my well-being or when they tell me something they saw reminded them of me <3

I tag: @left-the-keys-in-space @vaengogh @knightlybisexual @kevinday @melliferum @starfleetmccoys @merlinsprat @alohammora @nnico-z and anyone who was kind enough to read my rambling! i’ve been so quiet on tumblr lately i feel like none of the people i used to talk to even remember me. i tried to tag blogs that make me smile but please don’t feel pressured to do this!

[lostitjohannahairas]

Frankenstein Adaptions

1823: Richard Brinsley Peake's adaptation, Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein, was seen by Mary Shelley and her father William Godwin at the English Opera House.

1826: Henry M. Milner's adaptation, The Man and The Monster; or The Fate of Frankenstein opened on 3 July at the Royal Coburg Theatre, London.

1887: Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim was a musical burlesque written by Richard Henry (a pseudonym of Richard Butler and Henry Chance Newton).

1910: Edison Studios produced the first Frankenstein film, directed by J. Searle Dawley.

1915: Life Without Soul, the second film adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel, was released. No known print of the film has survived.

1920: The Monster of Frankenstein, directed by Eugenio Testa, starring Luciano Albertini and Umberto Guarracino.

1931: Universal Studios' Frankenstein, directed by James Whale, starring Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Edward Van Sloan, Dwight Frye, and Boris Karloff as the monster.

1935: James Whale directed the sequel to the 1931 film, Bride of Frankenstein, starring Colin Clive as Frankenstein, and Boris Karloff as the monster once more. This incorporated the novel's plot motif of Frankenstein creating a bride for the monster omitted from Whale's earlier film. There were two more sequels, prior to the Universal "monster rally" films combining multiple monsters from various movie series or film franchises.

1939: Son of Frankenstein was another Universal monster movie with Boris Karloff as the Creature. Also in the film were Basil Rathbone as the title character and Bela Lugosi as the sinister assistant Ygor. Karloff ended playing the Frankenstein monster with this film.

1942: The Ghost of Frankenstein featured brain transplanting and a new monster, played by Lon Chaney Jr. The film also starred Evelyn Ankers and Bela Lugosi.

1942–1948: Universal did "monster rally" films featuring Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula and the Wolf Man. Included would be Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The last three films introduced Glenn Strange as Frankenstein's monster.

1957–1974: Hammer Films in England did a string of Frankenstein films starring Peter Cushing, including The Curse of Frankenstein, The Revenge of Frankenstein and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. Co-starring in these films were Christopher Lee, Hazel Court, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. Another Hammer film, The Horror of Frankenstein, starred Ralph Bates as the main character, Victor Frankenstein.

1965: Toho Studios created the film Frankenstein Conquers the World or Frankenstein vs. Baragon, followed by The War of the Gargantuas.

1972: A comedic stage adaptation, Frankenstein's Monster, was written by Sally Netzel and produced by the Dallas Theater Center.

1973: The TV film Frankenstein: The True Story appeared on NBC. The movie starred Leonard Whiting, Michael Sarrazin, James Mason, and Jane Seymour.

1981: A Broadway adaptation by Victor Gialanella played for one performance (after 29 previews) and was considered the most expensive flop ever produced to that date.

1984: The flop Broadway production yielded a TV film starring Robert Powell, Carrie Fisher, David Warner, and John Gielgud.

1992: Frankenstein became a Turner Network Television film directed by David Wickes, starring Patrick Bergin and Randy Quaid. John Mills played the blind man.

1994: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein appeared in theatres, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, with Robert De Niro and Helena Bonham Carter. Its all-star cast also included John Cleese, Ian Holm, and Tom Hulce.

2004: Frankenstein, a two-episode mini-series starring Alec Newman, with Luke Goss and Donald Sutherland.

2006: Frankenstein, A New Musical, composed by Mark Baron, book by Jeffrey Jackson, and based on an adaptation by Gary P. Cohen.

2007: Frankenstein, an award-winning musical adaptation by Jonathan Christenson with set, lighting, and costume design by Bretta Gerecke for Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta.

2011: In March, BBC3 broadcast Colin Teague's live production from Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds, billed as Frankenstein's Wedding, Live in Leeds. About the same time, the National Theatre, London presented a stage version of Frankenstein, which ran until 2 May 2011. The play was written by Nick Dear and directed by Danny Boyle. Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch alternated the roles of Frankenstein and the Creature. The National Theatre broadcast live performances of the play worldwide on 17 March.

2012: An interactive ebook app created by Inkle and Profile Books that retells the story with added interactive elements.

2014: Penny Dreadful is a horror TV series that airs on Showtime, that features Victor Frankenstein as well as his creature.

2015: Frankenstein, a modern-day adaptation written and directed by Bernard Rose.

2015: Victor Frankenstein is an American film directed by Paul McGuigan.

2016: Frankenstein, a full length ballet production by Liam Scarlett. Some performances were also live simulcasts worldwide.

Loose adaptations: 

1967: I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night and its sequel, Frankenstein Unbound (Another Monster Musical), are a pair of musical comedies written by Bobby Pickett and Sheldon Allman. The casts of both feature several classic horror characters including Dr. Frankenstein and his monster.

1971: Lady Frankenstein is an Italian horror film directed by Mel Welles and written by Edward di Lorenzo. The strory begins when Dr. Frankenstein is killed by the monster he created, his daughter and his lab assistant Marshall continue with his experiments.

1973: The Rocky Horror Show, is a British horror comedy stage musical written by Richard O'Brian in which Dr. Frank N. Furter has created a creature (Rocky), to satisfy his (pro)creative drives. Elements are similar to I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night.

1973: Andy Warhol's Frankenstein. Usually, Frankenstein is a man whose dedication to science takes him too far, but here his interest is to rule the world by creating a new species that will obey him and do his bidding.

1974: Young Frankenstein. Directed by Mel Brooks, this sequel-spoof has been listed as one of the best movie comedies of any comedy genre ever made, even prompting an American film preservation program to include it on its listings. It reuses many props from James Whale's 1931 Frankenstein and is shot in black-and-white with 1930s-style credits. Gene Wilder portrayed the descendant of Dr. Frankenstein (who insists on pronouncing it "Fronkonsteen"), with Peter Boyle as the Monster.

1975: The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show (1973), written by Richard O'Brien.

1984: Frankenweenie is a parody short film directed by Tim Burton, starring Barrett Oliver, Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern.

1985: The Bride starring Sting as Baron Charles Frankenstein and Jennifer Beals as Eva, a woman he creates in the same fashion as his infamous monster.

1986: Gothic, directed by Ken Russell, is the story of the night that Mary Shelley gave birth to Frankenstein. Starring Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson.

1988: Frankenstein (フランケンシュタイン) is a manga adaptation of Shelley's novel by Junji Ito.

1989: Frankenstein the Panto. A pantomime script by David Swan, combining elements of Frankenstein, Dracula, and traditional British panto.

1990: Frankenstein Unbound.Combines a time-travel story with the story of Shelley's novel. Scientist Joe Buchanan accidentally creates a time-rift which takes him back to the events of the novel. Filmed as a low-budget independent film by Roger Corman in 1990, based on a novel published in 1973 by Brian Aldiss. This novel bears no relation to the 1967 stage musical with the same name listed above.

1991: Khatra (film) is a Hindi movie of Bollywood made by director H. N. Singh loosely based on the story, Frankenstein.

1995: Monster Mash is a film adaptation of I'm Sorry the Bridge Is Out, You'll Have to Spend the Night starring Bobby Pickett as Dr. Frankenstein. The film also features Candace Cameron Bure, Anthony Crivello and Mink Stole.

1998: Billy Frankenstein is a very loose adaptation about a boy who moves into a mansion with his family and brings the Frankenstein monster to life. The film was directed by Fred Olen Ray.

2004: Frankensteinmade-for-TV film based on Dean Koontz's Frankenstein.

2005: Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove, a 90-minute feature film homage of classic monsters and Atomic Age creature features, shot in black and white, and directed by William Winckler. The Frankenstein Monster design and make-up was based on the character descriptions in Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley's novel.

2009: The Diary of Anne Frankenstein, a short film from Chillerrama.

2011: Frankenstein: Day of the Beast is an independent horror film based loosely on the original book.

2011: Victor Frankenstein appears in the ABC show Once Upon a Time, a fantasy series on ABC that features multiple characters from fairy tales and classic literature trapped in the real world.

2012: Frankenweenie, Tim Burton's feature film remake of his 1984 short film of the same name.

2012: In the Adventure Time episode "Princess Monster Wife", the Ice King removes body parts from all the princesses that rejected him and creates a jigsaw wife to love him.

2012: A Nightmare on Lime Street, Fred Lawless's comedy play starring David Gest staged at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool.

2014: I, Frankenstein is a 2014 fantasy action film. The film stars Aaron Eckhart as Adam Frankenstein and Bill Nighy. The film is based on the graphic novel.

2014: Frankenstein, MD, A web show by Pemberly Digital starring Victoria, a female adaptation of Victor.

2015: The Supernatural season 10 episodes Book of the Damned, Dark Dynasty and The Prisonerfeature the Styne Family which member Eldon Styne identifies as the descendants of the house of Frankenstein. According to Eldon, Mary Shelley had learned their secrets while on a visit to Castle Frankenstein and wrote a book based on her experiences, forcing the Frankensteins underground as the Stynes. The Stynes, through bioengineering and surgical enhancements, feature many of the superhuman features of Frankenstein's monster.

2015: The Frankenstein Chronicles is a British television drama series, starring Sean Bean as John Marlott and Anna Maxwell Martin as Mary Shelley.

2016: Second Chance, a TV series known at one point as Frankenstein, was inspired by the classic.

[annleckie]

Worldcon Schedule

Sorry, I haven’t been blogging at all lately! I’ve been doing lots of other things–revisions on The Raven Tower and a short story for an anthology, and more stuff that’s not worth mentioning here.

But! Worldcon approaches! And I will indeed be in San Jose. You can see the whole schedule here (though I’d check it a few times between now and the convention, I gather it might well need some updating in the next few days, for various reasons, and I’d like to give a shoutout to Mary Robinette Kowal and her fabulous team).

Here’s my schedule as of today:

Friday August 17, 2018

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pronouns Matter — Gender Courtesy for Fans San Jose Convention Center , 210C

Spend an hour talking about pronoun and identity variations, and why they matter to our fellow fans. How do we ask about pronouns? What possible pronouns are there? How can we make our fannish spaces more inclusive when we write, name, and interact with other fans?

Moderator Ann Leckie | Roni Gosch | Angela Lujan | Ellen Kuehnle | Rivers Solomon

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Kaffeeklatsch: Ann Leckie San Jose Convention Center , 211B

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Autographs San Jose Convention Center , Autographing

Ann Leckie | Fonda Lee | Shelley Adina | Nick Kanas | Carrie Patel | Stanley Schmidt | Gail Carriger

Saturday August 18, 2018

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Reading: Hugo Finalists – Best Novel San Jose Convention Center , 211A

Listen to some of this year’s Hugo Novel finalists as they share their work.

Ann Leckie | John Scalzi | Mur Lafferty

So there it is, that’s where you can find me at Worldcon this year. And do please feel free to say hi if you see me around. I can’t promise I’ll have much time to stop and chat, if I’m on my way somewhere with a definite time attached (which can happen at a con), but I do want to see you! Also I plan to have badge ribbons for folks who are interested in that.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all!

(Crossposted from https://www.annleckie.com/2018/08/06/worldcon-schedule/)

[signourneybooks]

Intro

You know sometimes I like to challenge myself.

How to Play

This reading challenge consists of 3 sections. Fantasy, Sci-Fi and General for a total of 52 prompts which comes down to about 1 book a week.

 You can do 1, 2 or all 3 sections.

With each section you are allowed 1 Double-Up. Double-Up means you can use 1 book for 2 prompts. Preferred is not to at all but if for some reason you are struggling with time or a prompt you can.

In the general sections you can use both fantasy and sci-fi books but not other genres.

Graphic novels, comics, audiobooks and novella’s are allowed. It is all reading in my book.

Rereads count.

You can move the books around throughout the year if things fit better elsewhere and all.

You can step into this reading challenge at any point. I’m starting it in January 2019 but in reality this is a reading challenge you can fit for yourself in anyway you like. If you want to start in May and end April the year after, that is totally fine.

Graphic

Sign-Up

I don’t know if people want to join me but I would love to interact with each other if you do. You can participate anyway you like, with goodreads, twitter, instagram or your blog. I don’t require a sign-up post but I would appreciate if you boosted this.

If there are a nice group of people we can see if we can do a twitter dm group or an fb group or something to chat with each other on how to fill the prompts. 🙂

The widget won’t go into the post because wp sucks so here is the direct link.

If You Need Inspiration: Find Some Fitting Books Per Prompt Here

I figured some of you might like to have a list of options for each prompt so here we are. I’ve read a portion of these, others are on my own TBR and others I just know fit with the prompt. These are in no way meant as real recommendations, just those that fit the prompt. No links because do you see how many books I mention haha.

Fantasy

Classic Fantasy The Dragon Bone Chair by Tad Williams / Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin / The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien / Narnia by C.S Lewis /

Magic School Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling / Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce / A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. le Guin / The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss / Carry On by Rainbow Rowell / Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones / The Magicians by Lev Grossman / The Novice by Taran Matharu

Necromancers Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong / Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride / Sabriel by Garth Nix / The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco / Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews / Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard / Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh / Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landry / Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis

PTSD Witchmark C.L. Polk / The First Law by Joe Abercrombie /

Dragons The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli / Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb / The Copper Promise by Jen Williams / Talon by Julie Kagawa / Seraphina by Rachel Hartman / A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin / Eragon by Christopher Paolini / Eon by Alison Goodman / Temeraire by Naomi Novik / A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan / How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell / Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland / Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aron

Fairytale Retelling Uprooted by Naomi Novik / A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas / Ash by Melinda Lo / Forests of a Thousand Lanters by Julie C. Dao / The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh / The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden / Thorn by Intisar Khanani / To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Grimdark Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence / Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson / Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin / A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall / Skullsworn by Brian Stavely / Red Sister by Mark Lawrence / The Black Prism by Brent Weeks

Ghosts Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud / The Graveyard Queen by Amanda Stevens / City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab / The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman / The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater / Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Uncommon Fantasy Creatures So not the usual werewolf, dragons, vampires and the like Bones and Bourbon by Dorian Graves (Huldra) / The Golem and the Djinni by Helene Wecker (Golem) / Steel & Stone by Annette Marie (Incubus) / Troll Fell by Katherine Langrish (Trolls) / The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (Goblins)

Shapeshifters Moon Called by Patricia Briggs / Written in Red by Anne Bishop / Stray by Rachel Vincent / Soulless by Gail Carragher / The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong /

Gods Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan / Magnus Chase by Rick Riordan / Aru Shah at the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi / American Gods by Neil Gaiman / The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin / The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter / The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White / Furyborn by Claire LeGrand / Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor / Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman / Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova / The Gospel of Loki by Joanne Harris

Animal (or in Animal Form) Companion(s) Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb / The Dragon Bone Chair by Tad Williams / Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh / Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell / The Summoner by Taran Matharu

Matriarchy Seven Realms by Cinda Williams Chima / Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake / Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop / Dragonflight by Anne McAffrey / The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells / The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

Set in Our World The Others by Anne Bishop / Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling / Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare / American Gods by Neil Gaiman / Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning / Psy-Changeling by Nalini Singh / Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Witches Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt / The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco / A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness / Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett / The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy / Uprooted by Naomi Novik / Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

Magical Law Enforcement Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling / Rivers of London by Ben Aaronvitch / The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher / The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud / Lockwood & Co. by Jonathan Stroud

Thief The Legend of Eli Monpress by Rachel Aaron / The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch / Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo / The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima / The Death of the Necromancer by Martha Wells

Pirates Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo / Magic of Blood and Sea by Cassandra Rose Clarke / Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch / The Nature of a Pirate by A.M. Dellamonica

Portal Fantasy Child of a Hidden Sea by A.M. Dellamonica / The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis / Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll / Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire / The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Warrior Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin / Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien / Night Angel by Brent Weeks / Half a King by Joe Abercrombie /

Sci-Fi

On a Different Planet A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers / Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray / The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin / The Martian by Andy Weir / Dune by Frank Herbert / Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Space Ship The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers / The Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers / An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon / Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Addams

Artificial Intelligence Point of View A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers / I, Robot by Isaac Asimov / 2001: A Space Odessey by Arthur C. Clarke / Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Kick

Proto Sci-Fi As Frankenstein is seen as the first sci-fi novel all books prior to that that seem to be sci-fi are called proto sci-fi but anything before H.G. Wells will count here as it seems to cause some discussions.  New Atlantis by Francis Bacon / Frankenstein by Mary Shelley / The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson / From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne /

Alien The Fifth Wave by Rick Riordan / The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Addams / The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells / Binti by Nnedi Okorafor

Time Travel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells / Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier / Passenger by Alexandra Bracken / The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig / The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma / Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Utopia The Dispossed by Ursula K. le Guin / Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel / Andromeda by Ivan Efremov / The Giver by Lois Lowry

Games/Gaming/Virtual Reality Warcross by Marie Lu / Armada by Ernest Cline / Otherland by Tad Williams / In Real Life by Cory Doctorow / Unplugged by Donna Freitas

Hive (Mind) The Shadow over Innsmouth by H.P. Lovecraft / Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie / City of Broken Magic by Mirah Bolender

Steampunk Soulless by Gail Carrigher / Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve / Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld / Boneshaker by Cherie Priest / Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina

Super Powers The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson / Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore / Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee / Nimona by Noelle Stevenson / The Runaways by Brian K. Vaughan

Science Better known as heavy sci-fi if you go searching for books Foundation by Isaac Asimov / World War Z by Max Brooks / The Color of Distance by Amy Thomson / Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

Replicate/Replica Accelerando by Charles Stross / Replica by Lauren Oliver / Evolution by Stephen Baxter / The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Space Colonization The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Briggs / Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie / The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradburry

Mecha Themis Files by Sylvain Neuvel / Gundam Wing by Haijme Hatate / Dreadnought by Cherie Priest

Space Creatures/Beasts Mistworld by Simon Green / Dune by Frank Herbert /  Alien by Alan Dean Foster /

Teleportation Jumper by Stephen Gould / Timeline by Michael Crighton / The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter / The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Space Western The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury / Six-Gun Planet by John Yakes / Trigun by Yasuhiro Nightow / Those Left Behind by Joss Whedon / Cowboy Bebop by Yutaka Nanten

The Moon The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer / Moonseed by Stephen Baxter / Artemis by Andy Weir / Red Rising by Pierce Brown / The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells

Invasion Alien or Human The Andromedia Strain by Michael Crighton / Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout / The Lorien Legacies by Pittacus Lore / The Alien Years by Robert Silverberg / Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card / First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells / Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

General

For this you can use sci-fi and fantasy where you can make them fit.

Satire Discworld by Terry Pratchett / Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams / The Portable Door by Tom Holt / Red Shirts by John Scalzi /

Novella Binty by Nnedi Okorafor / Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire / The Ghost Line by Andrew Neil Gray / The Girl Who Rules Fairyland – For a Little While by Catheryne M. Valente

Finish a Series For this you can read the other books for other prompts throughout this challenge and read the last one here or finish a series you previously started. Or you could just read a whole series for this prompt alone. Whatever you want haha.

Mental Health Stormlight Archives by Branden Sanderson (depression) / The Magicians by Lev Grossman (depression) / Witchmark by C.L Polk (PTSD) / Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (PTSD)

Disability * On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis (autism) / October Daye by Seanan McGuire (weelchair) *Kristen from Metaphors and Moonlight created a masterlist.

Set in Africa Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor  / Zoo City by Lauren Beukes / The Famished Road by Ben Okri / Changa’s Safari by Milton J. Davis

Library Library is semi-important in the book Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor / Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine / The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman / The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins /

By a Woman of Color Nnedi Okorafor / N.K. Jemisin / Tomi Adeyemi / Julie Kagawa / Malinda Lo / Heidi Helig / to name only a few…

One Word Title / Under 500 Pages / Over 800 Pages / Published Before 1990 I don’t think I need to make a list for these, right?

If you have any recs for any of these categories (especially Disability, Mental Health, Set in Africa and PTSD) than please leave them down below.

Printables

Let me know if these don’t work to save.

Dancing with Fantasy and Sci-Fi – A (2019) Reading Challenge + Bingo Cards Intro You know sometimes I like to challenge myself. How to Play This reading challenge consists of 3 sections.

[whenyouareafeminist]

JAMIE CRICKS: FAMOUS AUTHORS REPLY TO YOUR UNSOLICITED DICK PIC

JANE AUSTEN

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of a smart phone may not be in want of your dick pic.

However little known the feelings or views of such a woman may be on her first opening a text, this misconception is so well fixed in the minds of the men online, that she is considered as the rightful viewer of their penises.

My dear sir! Have you not heard that women may not enjoy your images? It is true, for my friend has just been here, and we talked all about it. Do not you want to know what we thought of it?

Well, my dear, you must know, we agree that your penis is obviously one of a young man of large fortune in the southern region; but that you don’t care at all for the maintenance of your private area, and we were much disgusted with it and did not enjoy viewing it; and sincerely request that you send me no more, and remember that no woman of sensibility wishes to wake up to your cock before their own cock crows with its morning’s call.

VIRGINIA WOOLF

There it was before me — your dick pic. Your dick pic: I thought but I did not finish my thought. I took a look at the image, for I had a constant sense of it there, something turgid, something imposing, which I shared neither with my friends nor my Twitter followers. A sort of interaction went on between us, in which I was on one side, and your dick pic was on another, and I was always trying to zoom in on it, as it was of me; and sometimes we eyed each other (when I was alone); there were, I remember, furtive staring scenes; but for the most part, understandably enough, I must admit that I felt this thing that I called your dick pic was sudden, intrusive, and would be quick to pounce on me if I gave it a chance.

LANGSTON HUGHES

What happens when your dick pic is ignored? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

CHARLOTTE BRONTE

Most true is it that “beauty is in the eye of the gazer.” Your colorless penis, turgid, massive head, broad and hairless balls, deep eye, strong shaft, firm, rounded head, — is not disgusting, according to rule; but it is more than disgusting to me; admittedly it is full of power, an image that quite mesmerized me, — that took my thoughts from my own volition and tethered them to your penis. I had intended to want you; I had struggled strongly to grow within my soul the seeds of want; but now, at the first erected view of you, they spontaneously die, shriveled and impotent."

MAYA ANGELOU

Out of your sack and follicle’s nest You rise Up from a shaft that’s rooted in groin You rise You are average length, thin and unspent, Welling and swelling, and terribly bent. Leaving behind images of hope turned fear You rise Thrusting me into an evening of beer You rise Sending me pictures and hoping I’ll save, You are a crooked mast in need of a shave. You rise You rise You rise.

SYLVIA PLATH

All the disgust and disappointment have purged themselves. I feel surprisingly calm. I hold the dick pic suspended a few feet above my head. I am open to the offending image.

ANNE BRADSTREET

Your dick pic was so irksome in my sight; Yet being your own, at length photoshop would Thy shortcomings amend, if so I could.

OSCAR WILDE

There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting a dick pic, and the other is getting yours.

MARY SHELLEY

I behold the wretch — the miserable monster whom I had help create. He takes up the entire screen; and this dick pic, if dick pic it might be called, is fixed on me. The veins throb, and it lurches forward disturbingly, while a single tear weeps from the tip. Your one hand is stretched out, seemingly to grip him, but I avert my eyes and delete the image. I take refuge in my Candy Crush challenges, where I remain during the rest of the night, dropping candy pieces up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each text sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal snake to which I had so unintentionally given life.

ZORA NEALE HURSTON

It seems to me that trying to look at your dick pic is like milking a bear to get cream for your morning coffee. It is a whole lot of trouble, and then not worth much after I do it.

[tamaradmillman]

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? - Percy Bysshe Shelley What's the problem? Sometimes we have a generalized sense that something is not right, without not knowing the true problem. This is especially common when the weather is cold and gray, the days are short, and we are housebound. If you are feeling the "winter blahs," try... 1. Get more physical exercise, even if it's on the treadmill. 2. Crank up the lights around you. 3. Focus on projects that keep you mentally and physically active and interacting with others. 4. Grant yourself both hot-chocolate-and-a-blanket times and get-out-of-your-chair-and-get-active times. Movement energizes. - Mary Anne Radmacher https://www.instagram.com/p/BtYa-kpg5uN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rblurdzmyz4k

[slicewifi]

Women in IT Awards USA: Finalists Revealed

Finalist Revealed

The finalists for the US edition of the world’s largest tech diversity event are today revealed. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Gotham Hall, New York, on 22 March ‘As tech companies continue to disrupt industries and business models with new innovation, platforms that ensure the workforces behind this innovation are diverse and innovation are absolutely critical’ The world’s largest tech diversity awards event today reveals the finalists for its inaugural USA program, which will gather top leaders from America’s technology sector to further efforts to tackle the industry’s diversity challenges. The Women in IT Awards is the technology world’s most prominent and influential diversity program. Held for the last four years in London, the most recent event on 31 January 2018 was attended by 1,200 business and tech leaders. On 22 March 2018, the event will come to the US for the first time, taking place in one of the world’s most prominent business cities – New York – at the grand Gotham Hall in Manhattan. The Women in IT Awards USA marks the event’s first expansion out of Europe. With just 25% of computing jobs in the US held by women – and much fewer at senior and executive levels – the event seeks to tackle the industry’s gender imbalance by showcasing the achievements of women in technology, identifying new role models and promoting constructive dialogue around diversity among key industry leaders.

Organised by business-technology magazine and website Information Age, the Women in IT Awards has gathered resounding support from trade associations, politicians and companies of all sizes and sectors since launching in 2015. Through a series of 16 awards, the event acts as a flagship and high-profile platform for the industry’s wide-reaching diversity efforts. The awards, which attracted over 400 nominations, are sponsored by premium partner BMC Software, as well as AT&T, Bluewolf, Equinix, FireEye, Frank Recruitment Group, Neustar, Rolls-Royce and Zayo. “We were blown away with the incredible volume and standard of nominations for an event landing in the US for the first time,” says Ben Rossi, editorial director at Information Age publisher Vitesse Media and founder of the Women in IT Awards. “It’s been a privilege to watch the Women in IT Awards grow over the last four years as people from across the technology world have embraced it as the platform for identifying female role models in the industry and shining a light on their innovation and achievements. “As tech companies continue to disrupt industries and business models with new innovation, platforms like the Women in IT Awards that ensure the workforces behind this innovation are diverse and inclusive are absolutely critical. Congratulations to all of the finalists.” Advocate of the Year Kristy Wallace, Ellevate Network Anita Khandekar, Enova Bianca Jackson, JAX Digital DeLisa Alexander, Red Hat Selina Suarez, Salesforce Hala Hanna, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Marta Zanchi, Stanford University Elizabeth Hunter, T-Mobile Carita Marrow, UNCF Ronni Eloff, Women in Technology International Business Leader of the Year Kate O’Keeffe, Cisco Lisa Stanton, InAuth Brynne Kennedy, MOVE Guides Candice Corby, Cobra Legal Solutions Nancy Harris, Sage Meredith Whalen, IDC Trish Thomas, TEEM Kristel Lataste, Amadeus North America Paula Hunter, NFC Forum Business Role Model of the Year Rebecca Parsons, ThoughtWorks Heather Wilde, WithMe Margaret Dawson, Red Hat Rebecca Wynn, Matrix Medical Network Teena Piccione, Fidelity Investments Donna Wells, Mindflash Technologies Brenda Peick, Thomson Reuters Liz Tinkham, University of Washington Priyanka Vasudevan, Morgan Stanley Nabila Aydin, FDM Group CIO of the Year Marykay Wells, Pearson Kristy Simonette, Camden Property Trust Sherry Aaholm, Cummins Paula Tolliver, Intel Corporation Kimberly Ingram, Lansing Board of Water & Light Nancy D’Amico, LeasePlan Janice Withers, TD Bank Nicole Raimundo, Town of Cary Michaele James, CSAA Insurance Group Sandi Mays, Zayo Group Data Leader of the Year Sangeeta Krishnan, Asembia Olisa Stephensbailey, Booz Allen Hamilton Valerie Logan, Gartner Kjersten Moody, State Farm Jennifer Nelson, Rocket Software Aimee Webster, S&P Global Sara Garrido, Sizmek Jessica Kirkpatrick, Slack Tendü Yoğurtçu, Syncsort Jacquelin Speck, U.S. Navy Digital Leader of the Year Jessica Wong, Amorepacific Aurora Losada, Houston Public Media Kristina Villarini, Lambda Legal Jo Ann Saitta, Omnicom Health Group Monica Caldas, GE Melissa Stevens, Fifth Third Bank Jaime Chambron, NTT Data Services Daryl Drabinsky, Aetna Teesee Murray, Infor Karen O’Brien, Western Union e-Skills Initiative of the Year Tracey Welson-Rossman, Chariot Solutions / TechGirlz Renee La Londe, iTalent Digital Marlin Williams, Sisters Code Olga Mack, ClearSlide Ruthe Farmer, CSforALL.org Judith Spitz, Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in New York (WiTNY) Viola Maxwell-Thompson, Information Technology Senior Management Forum Women on their Way, NetScout Elizabeth Lindsey, Byte Back Diane Flynn, ReBoot Accel Editor’s Choice Rina Brahmbhatt, Atos Global Consulting Mylea Charvat, Savonix Lauren Cooney, Spark Labs Rita Torkzadeh, The Pew Charitable Trusts Christina Zuniga, InTouch Health Winnie Cheng, Io-Tahoe Jane Harper, Henry Ford Health System Shelley Westman, EY Liz Rowe, State of New Jersey Marlene Williamson, Watermark Entrepreneur of the Year Zhuo Li, AutoX Neha Sampat, Built.io Contentstack Autumn Manning, YouEarnedIt Jennifer Kyriakakis, MATRIXX Software Angela Hood, ThisWay Global Lora Ivanova, myLab Box Srii Srinivasan, Chargeback Gurus Mary Dee, Digital Altitude Meg Columbia, Walsh Wylei Rachel Bogan, Work & Co Future CIO of the Year Julia Lomax, Tengelmann Group Priya Aswani, Microsoft Jamila Parham, City of Chicago Eryka Johnson, ExxonMobil Amber Williamson, Robert Half Technology Anne Mette Hoyer, SAP Andrea Adams, Spanning Cloud Apps Tracy Vo, Bank of the West Leslie Hielema, GuideWell Praniti Lakhwara, Apttus Innovator of the Year Jin Zhang, CA Technologies Angela Nicoara, Intel Corporation Vicki Reyzelman, Akamai Rachelle Oribio, Techstars Jo-Anne Dressendofer, Slice Wireless Solutions Kristin Lovejoy, BluVector Natalie Gil, rational7 Veena Gundavelli, Emagia Corporation Bhavini Soneji, Heal Sophie Vandebroek, IBM Rising Star of the Year Velvet Johnson, Accenture Etosha Ottey, Chicago Black Women In Tech Jamie Migdal, FetchFind Robyn Gray, Otherworld Interactive Jennifer Perusini, Neurovation Labs Yana Zaidiner, Token Payments Margaret Gratian, US Department of Defense Lana Jovanovic, UBM Annie Eaton, Futurus Sarah Mogin, Work & Co Security Champion of the Year Rhonda Shantz, Centrify Christy Wyatt, Dtex Systems Linda Conrad, Exelon Deneen DeFiore, GE Lila Kee, GlobalSign Monica Jain, LogicHub Julie Cullivan, ForeScout Technologies Sydney Klein, Capital One Financial Deb Briggs, NetScout Terri Cetera, Quest Diagnostics Transformation Leader of the Year Alejandra Roslyakova, Amadeus North America Lisa Litherland, CDW Ozlem Coskun, Chubb Insurance Sandy Hogan, HERE Technologies Kelly Switt, Citi Barbara Morgan, FIS Carol Houle, Cognizant Chiara Bersano, LSI Consulting Erica Volini, Deloitte Kerry Small, Vodafone Group Enterprise Woman of the Year Kesha Williams, Chick-fil-A Ishita Majumdar, eBay Li Lo, SPANX Dianne Dain, United Nations Mayumi Hiramatsu, Infor Laila Beane, Intellect SEEC Anita Sands, Symantec Karen MacKay, Rolls-Royce Sheela Ramamurthy, VirtualHealth Jeanette Maister, WCN Young Leader of the Year Hannah Osborne, DXC Technology Miranda LeBlanc, Liberty Mutual Insurance Karen Parisi, Oodi Caitlin Burniske, Premier Logic Jessica Angelotta, Target Data Arlyn Burgess, University of Virginia Ali Greenwood, JLL Camille Stewart, Deloitte Ayesha Liaqat, UW Health Lisa Godwin, The New York Times See Original Post Here: information-age.com/women-awards Read the full article

[misccee]

I do love me some good pastiche

JANE AUSTEN

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman in possession of a smart phone may not be in want of your dick pic.

However little known the feelings or views of such a woman may be on her first opening a text, this misconception is so well fixed in the minds of the men online, that she is considered as the rightful viewer of their penises.

My dear sir! Have you not heard that women may not enjoy your images? It is true, for my friend has just been here, and we talked all about it. Do not you want to know what we thought of it?

Well, my dear, you must know, we agree that your penis is obviously one of a young man of large fortune in the southern region; but that you don’t care at all for the maintenance of your private area, and we were much disgusted with it and did not enjoy viewing it; and sincerely request that you send me no more, and remember that no woman of sensibility wishes to wake up to your cock before their own cock crows with its morning’s call.

VIRGINIA WOOLF

There it was before me — your dick pic. Your dick pic: I thought but I did not finish my thought. I took a look at the image, for I had a constant sense of it there, something turgid, something imposing, which I shared neither with my friends nor my Twitter followers. A sort of interaction went on between us, in which I was on one side, and your dick pic was on another, and I was always trying to zoom in on it, as it was of me; and sometimes we eyed each other (when I was alone); there were, I remember, furtive staring scenes; but for the most part, understandably enough, I must admit that I felt this thing that I called your dick pic was sudden, intrusive, and would be quick to pounce on me if I gave it a chance.

LANGSTON HUGHES

What happens when your dick pic is ignored? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?

CHARLOTTE BRONTE

Most true is it that “beauty is in the eye of the gazer.” Your colorless penis, turgid, massive head, broad and hairless balls, deep eye, strong shaft, firm, rounded head, — is not disgusting, according to rule; but it is more than disgusting to me; admittedly it is full of power, an image that quite mesmerized me, — that took my thoughts from my own volition and tethered them to your penis. I had intended to want you; I had struggled strongly to grow within my soul the seeds of want; but now, at the first erected view of you, they spontaneously die, shriveled and impotent."

MAYA ANGELOU

Out of your sack and follicle’s nest You rise Up from a shaft that’s rooted in groin You rise You are average length, thin and unspent, Welling and swelling, and terribly bent. Leaving behind images of hope turned fear You rise Thrusting me into an evening of beer You rise Sending me pictures and hoping I’ll save, You are a crooked mast in need of a shave. You rise You rise You rise.

SYLVIA PLATH

All the disgust and disappointment have purged themselves. I feel surprisingly calm. I hold the dick pic suspended a few feet above my head. I am open to the offending image.

ANNE BRADSTREET

Your dick pic was so irksome in my sight; Yet being your own, at length photoshop would Thy shortcomings amend, if so I could.

OSCAR WILDE

There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting a dick pic, and the other is getting yours.

MARY SHELLEY

I behold the wretch — the miserable monster whom I had help create. He takes up the entire screen; and this dick pic, if dick pic it might be called, is fixed on me. The veins throb, and it lurches forward disturbingly, while a single tear weeps from the tip. Your one hand is stretched out, seemingly to grip him, but I avert my eyes and delete the image. I take refuge in my Candy Crush challenges, where I remain during the rest of the night, dropping candy pieces up and down in the greatest agitation, listening attentively, catching and fearing each text sound as if it were to announce the approach of the demoniacal snake to which I had so unintentionally given life.

ZORA NEALE HURSTON

It seems to me that trying to look at your dick pic is like milking a bear to get cream for your morning coffee. It is a whole lot of trouble, and then not worth much after I do it.