#ITS JUDAS AND BIANCA

[lyricalchrysanthemum]

🐝

[feminurge]

act i: ishtar as the devil. ishtar born wrong. ishtar as a guttural prayer. ishtar looking at god through her mother (judas at christ: why didn't you make me good enough that you could've loved me?) ishtar looking at her mother (wych elm's why did you do this to me? i was your baby. you made me.) ishtar looking through her mother (sophokles' i am the shape you made me, filth teaches filth) ishtar looking at god again & deciding being doomed by the narrative is an unacceptable idea unless she's the one doing the dooming.

act ii: therefore bianca; her teeth in her neck; the dark gift. she loves her the way a fist loves the broken rib. they do not remain together. they are never separated. ishtar as a ghost. ishtar as the one being haunted. ishtar doing the haunting. ishtar letting herself be haunted by the ghost of her mother. "you're no daughter of mine" but the noose around ishtar's neck is her mother's love. ishtar as aria aber's when i say god, what i mean is i can barely stand to look at my mother's face.

act iii: ishtar as the source of evil. anger turned biblical. body, a wound. the wound, rotting. kneeling on the carpeted floor of a man's apartment, pretending to be the lamb only to slaughter him using nothing but her nails. ishtar as revenge. ishtar as a fire that was set; one she won't jump into. grace comes violently. ishtar as anne carson's i will take a crowbar and pry out the broken pieces of god in me.

act iv: ishtar collecting humanity through an eternity of discovery. ishtar as the devil, in its purest form: rebellion against the parent. the will to live beyond your mother's creation. the present. there is no god and she is his prophet.

[starfrckled-a]

CONT  //  &  @marblecarved​  (  bianca  )

   SMILE LAZY AND SLOW, drowned in honey  (  as false as Judas’s lips upon Jesus’ cheek, he is never to be trusted  ), the much older vampire appears all but fazed from her words. The act lies only in his demeanor, softened, stripped of danger, like a scorpion hiding its tail  ——  and yet, power drips from his frame, it pools around his expensive shoes, down into the marble floor, it oozes from the gazes following them. One motion of his hand and guards would move without hesitation, always ready, the fate of the other vampire hanging from his lips and his alone. But no laws have been broken, no attempts at disturbing the precious order of things have been made, so Bianca has nothing to fear. She is a guest and a well mannered one, much to Aro’s delight, there is no reason why harm should come to her.      « Maybe it should be. Are we not superior to humans in every way? »   question almost rhetorical, the answer much too obvious, then he slowly shakes his head, joining the tips of his fingers together in a purely theatrical movement.   « Ah, but you see, I was talking about our world, mia cara. We make and uphold its laws, as you probably already know. There is no higher authority than us. »

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15. Life isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card

Here are some of the books we’ve been reading in Oz! More to come.

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon (Bianca) - YA

Everything Everything is about this girl who has a medical condition that limits her life and the mysterious boy who moves in next door. They go on a journey together and they reach different milestones in their friendship/relationship. After this adventure, things take a drastic turn and you’d have to read it to find it out.

Bianca needed two full days to get over the book. To quote, Bianca was “not cool. [It was] just completely unexpected, not fair, horrible twist of events at the end. This book makes you so sad and so angry. It’s just not fair. I can’t even talk about it. Makes me emotional.” 

Mary Poppins She Wrote by Valerie Lawson (Lia, currently reading) - Biography

Still in the early throes, I’m currently learning about P.L Travers (nee, Lyndon Goff) and her upbringing in southern Australia, ultimately leading to the creation of one of the most iconic characters of all time.

Never Go Back by Lee Child (Lia, currently reading) - Action

The 18th installment of the Jack Reacher series is consistent with the previous books. An action-packed, winner-take-all setup, this time Reacher has been recalled to the military to defend himself against murder charges from 16 years ago. Chaos ensues and Reacher is about to triumph, again.

You can’t go wrong with the Jack Reacher novels. They read like movies and just as enjoyable. What’s great is how close Lee Child dangles Reacher above shark-infested waters, sometimes even dunking him in, before Reacher manages to come out on top. Always a little odd with the world, Reacher is reactionary and impassible against any obstacle. Would definitely recommend, and no, I don’t think it matters if you read them out of order.

The Romantics by Leah Konen (Bianca) - YA

Yes! Read this book. It’s very light hearted and relatable. You could put yourself in the characters’ situation. It is young adult fiction and it makes you happy. I would even read it again down the road if I needed a pick me up. I also like the way the author writes, she’s very fun. 

Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Haeberlin (Lia) - Thriller whodunit

Picked off the shelf for its cover promising a good read, this book delivers. I can say I easily enjoyed the process of reading it much more than the ending. BES is not unlike Gone Girl in its pacing and resolution. Overall, I liked reading it but was a little disappointed at the end.

The narrative jumps between when Tessa is sixteen, in therapy after the traumatic event of being the sole survivor of a serial killer’s rampage. The story skips ahead to when Tessa herself has a fifteen year old daughter, and is trying to overturn the death penalty conviction against the man she knows she helped wrongfully sentence all those years ago. My favourite parts are the wacky neighbour and Tessa’s mother-daughter relationship. 

Heart-shaped box by Joe Hill (Lia) - Horror

I’ve read about three or four horror novels, and I’m happy to add this one to my list. A debut novel from 2007, there was a waiting list at the library, generally a good sign. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy thrillers and dark movies, like Shutter Island or Poltergeist.

Judas Coyne, a fifty year-old rockstar buys a ghost off eBay. This ghost proceeds to haunt and hunt people in Coyne’s life to avenge a girlfriend who recently died. This book definitely isn’t for everyone, but if this is your cup of tea, it’s a great cup of tea for you.

Me Before you by Jojo Moyes (Candelaria) - Romance

Oh. The tears. Halfway through I suspected but I was in denial. It’s very heart-wrenching but still good. The writing makes Louisa Clark jump off the page.

After You by Jojo Moyes (Candelaria, currently reading) - Romance

Review so far: HE HAS A DAUGHTER????

15.1 Books We’re Gonna Read

Lia - In a Sunburned Land by Bill Bryson, Careful! by Steve Casner, Ultraperformance: the Psychology of Endurance Sports by Paul Moore

Bianca - Cabin Friends: the Mystery of the Camp Candle Lake Letters by Timothy deBernardi

“I brought another book with me. It’s written by my parents’ neighbour, it’s about these kids on a lake and all these mysterious things start happening and they have to figure out what is going on, I haven’t read it yet but I will.” -Bianca

Candelaria - eReader is locked, tbd