#Kristin Garth

[deehollowaywrites]

2022 In Review

2022 was not a particularly fruitful year for my fictive life, somewhat intentionally; I had meant from the get-go to take some time away from the round of writing/revising/submitting short work that is endless once you've started it. I'd hoped that not sending things places would provide space for new things to percolate and bubble up, but that wasn't really the case (I suspect it wasn't for many of us). 2022 was difficult in a lot of societal and personal ways. The short fiction I had published this year were pieces sold in the previous year. A piece of 2021 work, "This Deviant Flesh," was part of a Shirley Jackson Award win for Unfettered Hexes.

I did feel freer to pitch nonfiction pieces, most of which were just predicated on a simple concept: I think this thing is cool, would you let me talk about it? I recommend it. There are a lot of well-edited websites and journals for independent entertainment critique out there. There are also a lot of cool indie presses and labels who will send you review copies for free!

I also felt freer to DIY whatever I felt like myself--this resulted in some of my longest-term and most personal projects emerging into the world. I built up my itch.io page, switching fully from Gumroad for various reasons, and added a Chill Subs profile for highlighting my work and future submission tracking. DIY publishing: Also recommended!

The 2022 item with most future significance was an acceptance from Queen of Swords Press for my alt-history novella of Weird Horse Girls and their barmaid girlfriends. More details to come! For now, 2022 in listicle:

The Book of Korinethians (zine, edited with Kristin Garth)

"Lindsay Merbaum Debuts With Liminal Horror Smash THE GOLD PERSIMMON" (interview and review, DIS/MEMBER)

"HUSH. Contemplate the Heavy Weight of Past and Future" (interview and album review, Invisible Oranges)

"Pre-Dead Bodies: A Review of EV Knight's Three Days in the Pink Tower" (Ancillary Review of Books)

Devil's Cup (novel, DIY)

"Nu-Metal Bloodbath THE RETALIATORS Doesn't Push Far Enough" (review, DIS/MEMBER)

"Blackened Literature: Castaigne Publishing Ventures Into Black Metal Horror Anthologies" (interview and review, Invisible Oranges)

"Downstairs at Dino's" (short fiction, Diabolical Plots)

"Vestal" (short fiction, Haunt/Nyx Publishing's Unthinkable: An Anthology of Queer Gothic Fiction)

Son of Perdition (short collection, DIY)

hallowzine vol. 1 (zine, DIY)

Til next year.

[batmonkfish80]

Daddy by Kristin Garth

Art And The Artist

Formal disclosure: Kristin has published me via her Pink Plastic House website and press, and also nominated one of the poems she published for an award. Less formally, we have been in touch via various websites and social media.

Because of this I’m familiar with Kristin’s fiction, and of her past that she’s spoken and written about. When she announced this collection of stories, Daddy, I wasn’t sure this was my kind of thing. About father figures and dominance, about recovering – re-creating, re-discovering – a girlhood that was broken, about abuse and taking control of it. Those are not topics that habitually seize my attention.

But so what if they’re not my thing? Kristin and I have an online, transatlantic, writing relationship; our friendship is mostly made up of reading things. As I’ve said before, I read things that aren’t my thing all the time. This is important to her, so I should read it.

Still, I am an imperfect reader of this because I am not the audience for this. And an imperfect reviewer, because if my friend writes something I don’t like, I don't think is good, I will simply not mention it.

A Masculine Perspective

Some of these stories are about girlhood, in that they are about (narrated by) girls. They have the vital importance of these events for children. If I were to over-generalise these are about the breaking of an innocence. In Stall, the girl goes to the toilet in school, because she has thoughts she does understand and is not allowed privacy at home. Yet even here she is watched. In Quaintrelle the girl is barred from seeing another girl, as it has been reported their was a middle school orgy. In Spiderling the girl joins a club, the We Love Roman Everly Club. This leads her to disobey the rules and visit the house of a female murderer, the Black Widow.

Some of them are about girlhood less directly. The women in these stories are often looking for father figures. Sometimes they’ve found them and they hold them up to our gaze. They see the flaws in them, the terrible horrible people they are. They feel an attraction. In I Can Not Help It That I Have This Face he is beautiful, and she looks innocent. And so he feels the need to punish her, and she, she feels the need to submit, to be tied and beaten in a cable access studio in the mall.

The games of dominance and control are inevitably sexual, whether directly or peripherally.

In Florida Drakaina the woman lives alone in the woods. She has been abandoned by her Daddy, her lover, and the long, long drive is falling into disrepair. The neighbour, a retired builder, wants to buy it, to improve it. He needs something to do, but the woman needs her privacy. Needs her secrets.

Known for her sonnets, Kristin writes with deliberate rhythm. Her most distinctive lines tend towards the imperative/descriptive, telegraphic style that fits a meter. “Forgot your own name some months ago.” “No cellphones when you’re in middle school, so this story has no receipts.” “Rub against strangers in a thong for money – but not only money.”

A sonnet is the prologue to the novella at the end of the book, and another, unfinished sonnet plays a part in it. Another story is formatted as prose, though it maintains a Shakespearean sonnet form.

The final novella Plaything both stands alone and seems to sum up the book. At the Itty Bitty Kitty Coffee Shop Doria, the Stray, a waitress, has fucked a man in the alleyway. He’s a regular for a while. He picks up another woman, Melinda. He takes her away from all this, puts her in his mansion. There she becomes the Plaything and he becomes the Daddy. There she is safe, in her round of ballet lessons and true crime on parental controlled iPad and serving Daddy. She does not have to face the world. She does not have to make decisions.

The only one who knows she’s there is the Stray, the one who Daddy did not want. The one who hides her contact details with the Plaything. Why would the Plaything want to leave. There is nothing for her outside, only crime and stress. She is safe inside.

Until she learns what is within, the secrets her Daddy keeps from her.My copy (in my hand) A Family Trip To Florida

I’ve never been to Florida, the state that haunts this book, and that the book in turn haunts back. I was never a girl, nor had a girlhood of any sort and do not look to try and claim or reclaim one. On occasion I’ve had male role models and as often they have disappointed me, yet I wasn’t looking for a father, a protector. The games of dominance and submission – well we all play some of that, that is what living in human society is. But I don’t place them at the heart of relationships, invite them into the bedroom and back out again. On the face of it this book is not my thing.

This isn’t important. Reading things that aren’t my thing might be difficult, though here the prose is crystal clear and silky smooth. So the girls oppressed by family and rules and school and the customs of their fellow students, I see them and feel their quiet despair. The women who have grown up wanting to be controlled, in turn taking their own control through submission, I grasp their desires.

The book takes me to places I didn’t know about and I’m richer for learning about them.

Skip To The End

Read This: A journey through a more-or-less dreamlike Florida in search of childhood and fathers Don’t Read This: Too many explorations of intertwining girlhood and abuse, violence and control Disclosure: I have been published by Kristin Garth’s website Pink Plastic House Available From: Anxiety Press, or Pink Plastic House, or online bookshops. For more from Kristin, try her substack

[jaimehwatson]

Have you seen this book?

I've been trying to track down a copy of a poetry anthology I'm really interested in reading: These Poems Are Not What They Seem, edited by Kristin Garth and Justin Karcher. It has a page on goodreads, which is where I'm getting most of my information about it. Unfortunately it seems like the publisher, Apep Publications, no longer exists. Searching for them on google just turns up broken links (apeppublications.com/shop apparently existed at one point!), an etsy page with no items available, and a similarly named bookstore that looks to be unrelated. I did find a 2019 facebook post from another small publisher, Blood Pudding Press, advertising that the anthology was open to submissions - however it looks like they were just sharing the link and not involved with the book themselves, as they do still have an active etsy page with poetry books dating back several years and not including this one.

I can only imagine that a very small amount of these books were ever printed and I'm very unlikely to get my hands on a copy, but it sounds like exactly the kind of thing I would enjoy (poems inspired by Twin Peaks!), and I'd be really happy if I could find it. Do you know anything about this book, or just have any tips for more effective ways of searching for rare poetry anthologies? Let me know!

[book--brackets]

For the fantasy books: The Graceling series by Kristin Cashore, The Belgariad/Mallorean series by David Eddings, The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, The Iron Butterfly Series by Chanda Hahn, The Goose Girl series by Shannon Cole, Joust series by Mercedes Lackey, Rangers Apprentice series by John Flanagan, Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones, Thirteenth Child series by Patricia C Wrede, Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, The Traveller's Gate series by Will Wight

I have a lot haha!

I added what wasn't already there except for Uglies. Uglies is technically a sci-fi, dystopian series, not fantasy, so it's ineligible for this competition. However, if we ever end up expanding into new genres again, hold onto it for that!

[darlingofdots]

Hi!

I think I’m right that you’re a fellow listener of audio books? I was wondering if you had any recommendations for particularly good narrators? I have been spoilt by the awesomeness of Moira Quirk (Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb)& Adjoa Andoh (Anne Leckie’s Imperial Radch) - also Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Ben Aaronovich’s Rivers of london), Robin Miles (N K Jemisin’s Great Cities) & Kristin Atherton (Garth Nix’s Angel Mage). I’m currently listening to the Temeraire series but am always on the hunt for the next good book!

I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this! You have of course already named my top two audiobook recs (Moira Quirk's TLT and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's RoL) so here are some further favourites:

Memoirs of Lady Trent read by Kate Reading (5 books in the main series)

A Crown for Cold Silver read by Angéle Masters (first in a trilogy)

Discworld audiobooks! Personally I prefer Stephen Briggs over Nigel Planer but tbh they're both really good

Lord of the Rings read by Andy Serkis is really fun! my brother got started on this for a long train ride and he a) doesn't really read usually b) isn't that confident with English so I think that is a recommendation all of its own

Graceling Realms but make sure you get the version by Xanthe Elbrick!! (5 books so far but although I've read all of them I've only listened to 2 and 3)

if you already like Kristin Atherton you should check out her performance of Howl's Moving Castle!

and I'm going to rec @ariaste's brilliant book A Conspiracy of Truths read by James Langton, perfectly captures the crotchety old man narrator

I hope you find something you like! I am basically always listening to an audiobook even if I've already heard it a dozen times, but I am also very picky so I have a lot of Opinions about what I like and end up revisiting favourites a lot xD

[docholligay]

Books read 2023

~ = denotes reread

 * = denotes A Big Rec of The Year (Nothing I reread was allowed a Rec note. If I’m rereading it, I probably think it’s pretty good)

#–denotes Follower Pitch

^–Denotes Commissioned Read

♪–denotes Pitchless Draw

&-- denotes Holligay Book Club Pick

 Rogues edited by G.R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky*

Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers~

Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham*

Montana Women From The Ground Up: Passionate Voices in Agriculture by Kristine Ellis

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende#

Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz by Garth Nix

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara^*

Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue#

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlanksy~

House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne~&

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay ♪

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke*

Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang#

Provenance: How a Con Man and A Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo

David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas~

Ten Restaurants that Changed America by Paul Freedman

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead#* 

The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace

Lone Women by Victor Lavalle (A sister holligay forceread)

The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill

The Iron Tracks by Aharon Appelfeld~ 

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers ♪

The Power of The Dog by Thomas Savage

The Faceless Old Woman That Secretly Lives in Your Home by Joseph Fink #

Bedknob and Broomstick by Mary Norton

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield#

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng^

Close Range by Annie Proulx

Watership Down by Richard Adams&~ 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier^ 

She Who Became The Sun by Shelley Parker-Tran^

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke~*&

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead~*#

Snake Ropes by Jess Richards^

Les MIserables by Victor Hugo~

Currently Reading: 

On deck:

[medium-observation]

November Release

Beetlejuice - First US National Tour

October 31, 2023 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Justin Collette (Beetlejuice), Isabella Esler (Lydia Deetz), Megan McGinnis (Barbara Maitland), Will Burton (Adam Maitland), Jesse Sharp (Charles Deetz), Kate Marilley (Delia Deetz), Lexie Dorsett Sharp (u/s Miss Argentina), Abe Goldfarb (Otho), Brian Vaughn (Maxie Dean), Kris Roberts (Maxine Dean/Juno), Jackera Davis (Girl Scout), Lee N Price (Ensemble), Eric Anthony Johnson (s/w Ensemble), Haley Fish (Ensemble), Kenway Hon Wai K. Kua (Ensemble), Sean McManus (Ensemble), Katie Lombardo (s/w Ensemble), Trevor Michael Schmidt (Ensemble), Corben Williams (Ensemble)

Notes:

Good capture of Halloween! This was filmed on the aisle so you can see some people getting up and walking around at times. LOTS of latecomers during ready set I had to get up to let people into the row, so there is no video there. The guy in front of me wouldn't stop moving so his head can come in and out of frame at times but it's always worked around.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2024

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1KLh

Video is $20

Mean Girls - Second US National Tour (Non-Equity)

October 26, 2023 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Natalie Shaw (Cady Heron), Maya Petropoulos (Regina George), Kristen Amanda Smith (Gretchen Wieners), MaryRose Brendel (Karen Smith), Alexys Morera (Janis Sarkisian), Ethan Jih-Cook (Damian Hubbard), Joseph Torres (Aaron Samuels), Shawn Mathews (Kevin Gnapoor), Kristen Seggio (Mrs. Heron/Ms. Norbury/Mrs. George), Justin Phillips (Principal Duvall), Justin O'Brien (Mr. Heron), Justin O'Brien (Coach Carr/Glen Coco/Math Moderator), Thalia Atallah (Dawn Schweitzer), Victoria Mesa (Lizzie Therman/Caroline Krafft), Lucas Hallauer (Tyler Kimble), Jonah Nash (Christian Wiggins), Mikey Corey Hassel (Shane Oman), Oshie Mellon (Sophie Kawachi), Megan Arseneau (s/w Caitlyn Caussin), Brandon Moreno (Jason Weems), Tyler Jung (Marwan Jitla), Reagan Kennedy (Taylor Wedell), Joi D. McCoy (Rachel Hamilton)

Notes:

Nice Capture of the new non-equity tour! There can be a head in the way at some points but it's worked around well. The video can be somewhat grainy at times due to how far I was + how dark the show was. Overall a great video of this incredible cast.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2024

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1e1L

Video is $20

Come From Away - Second US National Tour (Non-Equity)

October 30, 2023 - Medium Observation

Video

Cast:

Addison Garner (Beverley/Annette & others), Shawn W. Smith (Kevin T./Garth & others), Andrew Hendrick (Claude & others), Danny Arnold (Oz & others), Hannah Kato (Janice & others), Trey DeLuna (Kevin J./Ali & others), Stanton Morales (Nick/Doug & others), Molly Samson (Diane & others), Candace Alyssa Rhodes (Hannah & others), Kristin Litzenberg (Beulah & others), Kathleen Cameron (Bonnie & others), Jason Tyler Smith (Bob & others)

Notes:

Incredible capture of the new non-equity tour. No obstruction, very little washout in wideshots. Overall a perfect video of a great new cast.

NFT Date: May 1st, 2024

Screenshots: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB1DyY

Video is $20

Videos can be purchased through me at

mediumobservationtrading@gmail.com

[shu-of-the-wind]

stories you have to read to understand my brain:

(this includes both fiction and nonfiction because people need to stop being wimpy about nonfiction tbqh)

i make no promises about the quality of each particular work or whether you will like them personally. some of them i have not reread in years. some of them i reread at least once a year. some of them are for children. some of them are definitely not. google the triggers for each and make your own judgments. this is not in any particular order either.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Natinoalism by Seyward Darby

The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Adnan's Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial by Rabia Chaudry

Quiverfull: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement by Katheryn Joyce

The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow by Ono Fuyumi

Ghost Hunt by Ono Fuyumi

Zan'e, or The Inerasable by Ono Fuyumi

Fullmetal Alchemist by Arakawa Hiromu

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Umineko no Naku Koro Ni | うみねこのなく頃に by ryukishi07

A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America by Beth Macy

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark

Rogue One by Alexander Freed

I Couldn't Even Imagine That They Would Kill Us: An Oral History of the Attacks Against the Students of Ayotzinapa by John Gibler

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Being Lolita: A Memoir by Alisson Wood

The Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend

East by Edith Pattou

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

The Anatomy of Fascism by Robert O. Paxton

On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

Wildthorn by Jane Eagland

Soul Full of Coal Dust: A Fight for Breath and Justice in Appalachia by Chris Hamby

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies

Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies, and Revolution by Laurie Penny

A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle

My Man, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

[gollancz]

Nominations for the 2023 Hugo Awards!

Nominations are still open for everyone's favourite phallic* SFF award! If you are able to nominate, why not consider some of our great books?

Everyone with memberships to either Chicon 8 or the 2023 Chengdu Worldcon that was purchased before February 1, 2023 is eligible to nominate up to five items in each of the 17 Hugo and 2 other award categories.

Some of the things you might consider nominating us for are under the cut!

*I don't wanna invoke the stalactite post but, like, come on

BEST NOVEL

Anything that came out in 2022 is eligible! And we had some bangers.

BEST SERIES

The Graceling Realm series by Kristin Cashore

The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock

The Last War trilogy by Mike Shackle

The Hussite Trilogy by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Legacy of the Mercenary King trilogy by Nick Martell

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson

The Great God's War trilogy by Stephen Donaldson

THE ASTOUNDING AWARD FOR BEST NEW WRITER

Rebecca Zahabi, The Collarbound

Kelly Andrew, The Whispering Dark

BEST EDITOR - LONG FORM

Gillian Redfearn

Maybe we’re biased, but Gillian’s the best. She’s been at Gollancz nearly 20 years, and is the editor for Brandon Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, Alastair Reynolds, Aliette de Bodard, Joanne Harris, Garth Nix, Elizabeth Bear, Patrick Rothfuss, Miles Cameron, Chris Wooding, Sarah Pinborough, Charlaine Harris… the list goes on! She is so involved in the SFF community, attending cons worldwide and she is staggeringly great at what she does. The only UK-based editor to be shortlisted for a Hugo award, she’s also genuinely one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Shortly after I first met her, she said something nice to me in the pub and I cried. On the plus side I set the bar for our future relationship very achievably low.

Marcus Gipps

Marcus has been in the biz for decades, starting as a bookseller and had a review Livejournal (yes, that's right, one of us) that helped him build respect with so many people in the industry. Any of the legendary, big names of SFF? He probably edits them. Michael Moorcock, Christopher Priest, Paul McAuley, Pat Cadigan, Stephen Baxter... He led the acquisition of THE LAST UNICORN once Peter S. Beagle got his rights back, he heads our WITCHER publishing, and his knowlege of SFF history is encyclopedic. He also leads our SF Gateway and Masterworks projects, archiving out of print SFF and saving them to keep in circulation. Marcus may be the most unflappable many on the planet, which is good because I'm extremely flappable so we balance out nicely.

Brendan Durkin

Do you like CHONKY books? So does Brendan. If you want a book to use as an offensive weapon, Brendan will have likely commissioned it. Brendan finds the books that are going to be the classics of the future. He works with J. T. Greathouse, Christopher Buehlman, Mike Shackle, SJ Morden, Chris Wooding, as well as being the lead for the Ursula K. Le Guin estate, the Terry Pratchett estate AND the Frank Herbert estate! Oh, and our beautiful D2C editions? All from his crazy genius mastermind brain. Also if you need somewhere to eat in central London? Go to him for a recommendation. I impressed him with my lunch choice the other day and felt like I'd Made It.

[leanstooneside]

Seizing every new idea that comes your way without question

- Terrence Howard's leg

- Garth Brooks's foot

- Aaron Carter's tooth

- Kristin Davis's wrist

- T.R. Knight's hair (thanks)

- Nick Cannon's tongue

- Sonja Morgan's head

- Jim Parsons's chin

- John Krasinski's back (by golly)

[phantom-le6]

Ramble of the month March 2024: Phase 5 of the Batman Begins-Led DCEU

With April set aside for an autism-centric monthly ramble and February utilised for phase 5 of my 90’s-based alternate MCU, March takes on the role of show-casing phase 5 of my hypothetical Batman Begins-led DC film-verse.  As DC is more prone to content reboots than Marvel, this latest phase will actually ramp up to just such a reboot, with “phase 6” actually being phase 1 of a new DC film-verse.  Unlike the real DCEU, that reboot will be better planned, but first let’s re-cap the previous four phases.

Phase 1:

2005: Batman Begins

2006: Man of Steel

2007: Wonder Woman

2008: The Dark Knight, Green Lantern

2009: The Flash, Man of Steel 2

2010: Aquaman, Justice League

Phase 2:

2011: Wonder Woman 2, Green Lantern 2, Green Arrow

2012: Hawkman, Batman/Superman, Aquaman 2

2013: John Constantine, The Flash 2, Suicide Squad

2014: Justice League 2, Green Arrow 2, Batman: The Long Crusade

Phase 3:

2015: Shazam, Man of Steel 3, The Atom

2016: Wonder Woman 3, Batgirl, Teen Titans

2017: Green Lantern/Green Arrow, Shazam vs Black Adam, Suicide Squad 2

2018: Justice League: Darkseid Rising, Aquaman 3, Doom Patrol

Phase 4:

2019: Superman: Doomsday, New Gods, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract

2020: Suicide Squad: Arkham, Knightfall, Green Arrow 3

2021: Reign of the Supermen, Green Lantern: Twilight, Knightsend

2022: Justice League: Armageddon, Teen Titans 3, Justice Society

Phase 1, of course, acts as a means of establishing the DC Universe for film fans prior to forming the Justice League.  Phase 2 then builds on that foundation while also causing a schism within the Justice League by adapting the “Tower of Babel” story arc into Justice League 2.  Green Arrow 2 then proves Batman’s point about safeguarding against rogue heroes, which some films in phase 3 follow up on.  Phase 4 then focuses on the falls of many heroes, some of which stay down and some of which return.  However, as phase 4 ended, Hal Jordan was revealed to have gone rogue, which phase 5 will pick up from.  This is how the phase 5 slate would shape up overall.

Phase 5:

2023: Justice League: World’s Finest, Nightwing, The Killing Joke

2024: Supergirl, Birds of Prey, Flashpoint

Compared to past phases, phase 5 is only half the size, and while the opening film deals with the issue of Hal Jordan becoming Parallax, most of the other films are one-shots or sequels to tell some interesting stories ahead of the Flashpoint film.  So, let’s start by taking a look at these various phase 5 films.

Justice League: World’s Finest (2023) Directed by The Russo Brothers

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Bruce Wayne/Batman = Christian Bale

Diana/Wonder Woman = Kate Beckinsale

J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Arthur Curry/Aquaman = Chris Pine

Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern II = Taylor Lautner

Wallace "Wally" West/Flash II = Calum Worthy

Green Lantern/Hal Jordan/Parallax = Ben Affleck

John Stewart = Derek Luke

Guy Gardner = Damian Lewis

Fire/Beatriz Bonilla da Costa = Selena Gomez

Ice/Tora Olafsdotter = Kristine Froseth

Dinah Lance/Black Canary = Malin Akerman

John Henry Irons/Steel = Aldis Hodge

Kara Zor-El/Supergirl = Dakota Fanning

Connor Hawke/Green Arrow II = Levon Hawke

Lex Luthor = Kelsey Grammer

Mercy Graves = Scarlett Johannsen

Koriand'r/Starfire = Elle Fanning

Dusk = Ella Balinska

Blackfire/Komand'r = Virginia Gardner

Ferro/Andrew Nolan = Garrett Wareing

Mon-El/Lar Gand = Milo Manheim

Brainiac-5/Querl Dox = Karan Brar

Saturn Girl/Imra Ardeen = Dove Cameron

Lightning Lad/Garth Ranzz = Tye Sheridan

Cosmic Boy/Rokk Kirnn = Dylan Minnette

Starman/Thom Kallor = Ty Simpkins

Dream Girl/Nura Nal = Sabrina Carpenter

Karate Kid/Val Armorr = Aramis Knight

Sensor Girl/Projectra = Angourie Rice

Amanda Waller = Viola Davis

Floyd Lawton/Deadshot = Christian Slater

Jaina Hudson/White Rabbit = Hayley Kiyoko

Eve Eden/Nightshade = Debby Ryan

Dr Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy = April Bowlby

Dr Niles Caulder/The Chief = Pierce Brosnan

Clifford Steele/Robot Man = Johnny Whitworth

Larry Trainor/Negative Man = Alessandro Nivola

Rita Farr/Elasti-Girl = Alyssa Milano

Mento/Steve Dayton = Nathan Fillion

Bumblebee/Karen Beecher = Kyla Pratt

Vox/Malcom Duncan = Donald Glover

This film is based on the events of the Justice League story arc The Final Hour, in which the Justice League and others try to stop an alien being called the Sun Eater from devouring Earth’s sun, only for Hal Jordan to ultimately sacrifice himself to save Earth by absorbing the Sun Eater and reigniting the sun.  The film version would be slightly different in numerous details, but by-and-large the main thrust of the story would remain the same.  The League would be the main focus, with Luthor, a few members of future super-team the Legion of Superheroes and a couple of others being heavily featured due to the story arc involved.  The Doom Patrol and Suicide Squad are also featured to lesser degrees during scenes showing the wider crisis in what is essentially a superhero disaster film.

Direction-wise, I’d put this film in the hands of the Russo brothers based on their work for the MCU, especially Infinity War and Endgame in the Avengers run of films.  Indeed, like Infinity War and Endgame, I also gave the Russos direction of Justice League: Armageddon to keep things consistent across both films.  In terms of cast, most cast members have appeared on prior films, with only the characters from Dusk down to Sensor Girl being new cast members coming in fresh on this film.

Nightwing (2023) Directed by Guy Ritchie

Richard Grayson/Robin/Nightwing = Patrick Schwarzenegger

Roland Desmond/Blockbuster = Adam Driver

Lady Elaine Marsh-Morton/Lady Vic = Florence Pugh

Talon/William Cobb = Evan Peters

Amy Rohrbach = Elizabeth Olsen

Elise Svoboda = Alexandra Stan

Gannon Malloy = Max Lloyd-Jones

Comissioner Gil Maclean = Michael Ealy

Mr Nice/James Nice = Sam Reid

In the first of our one-shot films, we get a solo outing for Batman’s original protégé Dick Grayson as he tries to clean up the corruption of Bludhaven by working for their local police force.  As the film progresses, Nightwing finds himself caught between local crime lord Blockbuster and a plot involving the infamous Court of Owls of Gotham legend.  Outside Patrick Schwarzenegger reprising the role of Dick Grayson, the cast is completely new to this DCEU, and in honour of his great work on crime-centric films, I’ve picked Guy Ritchie to serve in the director role.

The Killing Joke (2023) Directed by Christopher Nolan

Bruce Wayne/Batman = Christian Bale

Barbara Gordon/Batgirl = Bella Thorne

Tim Drake/Robin II = David Mazouz

The Joker = Willem Dafoe

Lucius Fox = Morgan Freeman

James "Jim" Gordon = Gary Oldman

Jeannie/Becky Moore = Georgie Henley

Comedian/Young Joker = David Corenswent

Patrolman Robert Moore = Grant Gustin

Mitch = Scott Eastwood

Murray = Drew Powell

Det. Harvey Bullock = Donal Logue

Det. Renee Montoya = Penelope Cruz

When DC and WB did an animated Killing Joke adaptation, they had the right idea in terms of expanding the story beyond the Alan Moore-written graphic novel.  However, they expanded it incorrectly by having an unrelated preceding 30 minutes that served more to facilitate Bruce Timm’s shipping of a Bruce-Barbara relationship than to make a well-expanded narrative.  This film begins with the Joker being apprehended, hatching his scheme in Arkham, and then a short while later, we get the original Killing Joke plot in the film’s middle.

The end is then expanded, first by taking from a prose novel adaptation I’ve read where Batman laughing with the Joker turns into Batman almost giving in to the temptation to kill Joker.  After this, Joker sees a woman who he thinks is the dead wife from his flashbacks and breaks out to “find the truth”.  When Batman confronts Joker for a third time, the question is left hanging as to whether the Joker’s past was true or not, and a post-credits scene sets up for Barbara becoming Oracle.  Direction-wise, I figure that only Christopher Nolan would do well adapting this material into a live-action narrative.  Casting-wise, the film is mostly existing cast reprising past roles, with only the characters linked to Joker’s back-story being fresh castings.

Supergirl (2024) Directed by Reese Witherspoon

Kara Zor-El/Supergirl = Dakota Fanning

Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent = Brandon Routh

Cat Grant = January Jones

Jimmy Olsen = Rider Strong

Winslow Schott Jr. = David Henrie

Lena Luthor = Spencer Grammer

Zor-El = Henry Cavill

Alura Zor-El = Rebecca Hazelwood

Astra In-Ze = Rebecca Hazelwood

Non = Ryan McPartlin

Vartox = James Murray

Indigo/Brainiac-8 = Letitia Wright

Capt. Crispus Allen = Djimon Honsou

Det. Peter Foley = Matt Le Blanc

This film gives us a solo film outing for Supergirl that is partly based on the first season of the character’s Arrowverse TV show.  In other words, we see Kara starting out on her own life in another city and having to clash with her villainous aunt and uncle, as well as Indigo, a time-displaced villain in the Brainiac family tree.  For direction, I’ve picked Reese Witherspoon as I know in recent years she’s taken up production and is very passionate about female-led stories and story-telling, so I think she’d be a great fit to make a directorial debut on a character like Supergirl.

Birds of Prey (2024) Directed by Patty Jenkins

Dinah Lance/Black Canary = Malin Akerman

Barbara Gordon/Oracle = Bella Thorne

Cassandra Cain/Batgirl = Momona Tamada

Helena Bertinelli/Huntress II = Alexandra Daddario

Zinda Blake/Lady Blackhawk = Rita Ora

Det. Renee Montoya = Penelope Cruz

Noah Kuttler/Calculator = Tom Cavanagh

Scandal Savage = Katie Leung

Knockout = Ireland Baldwin

Thomas Blake/Catman = Luke Grimes

Floyd Lawton/Deadshot = Christian Slater

Bane = Rodrigo Santoro

For the penultimate phase 5 film, we’re giving the Birds of Prey super-team their chance to shine, albeit better than they did in the real DCEU.  More comics-accurate castings and character selections, including leaving out Harley Quinn (who, if you remember my phase 4 ramble, is killed off in the last Suicide Squad film).  In this film, we see Barbara recruit a number of street-level heroes to tackle a criminal group known as the Secret Six.  The film follows up on plot threads from Knightfall, Knightsend and Killing Joke, and also uses Cassandra Cain as Batgirl like in the comics, another elements the real DCEU Birds of Prey got wrong.  Patty Jenkins of the real DCEU’s Wonder Woman films helms the project from a directorial standpoint.

Flashpoint (2024) Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Barry Allen/The Flash = Matt Damon

Thomas Wayne/Flashpoint Batman = Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow = Ethan Hawke

John Constantine = Matt Ryan

Jason Blood/Etrigan = Eddie Redmayne

Victor Stone/Cyborg = Ashton Sanders

Citizen Cold/Leonard Snart = Rob Lowe

Superman/Kal-El = Brandon Routh

Nora Allen = Cybill Shepherd

Eobard Thawne/Reverse Flash = Jake Gyllenhaal

Diana/Wonder Woman = Kate Beckinsale

Arthur Curry/Aquaman = Chris Pine

Billy Batson/Shazam = Zachary Gordon/Zachary Levi

Freddy Freeman = Chandler Riggs

Darla Dudley = Quvenzhané Wallis

Mary Bromfield = Halston Sage

Eugene Choi = Hudson Yang

Pedro Peña = Rico Rodriguez

Hal Jordan = Ben Affleck

Martha Wayne/Flashpoint Joker = Marg Helgenberger

Yo-Yo = Margot Robbie

During the events of Justice League: Armageddon, Barry Allen’s Flash became lost in the timestream.  When he gets out, he enters an alternate reality where Aquaman and Wonder Woman are at war, and many heroes are missing or dead, including Barry’s speedster alter ego.  Thus begins a mission to learn the truth of why events have changed, and the climax will reboot the DCEU.  While this film simply uses the title of Flashpoint, it’s based more on the DC animated version from the DCAMU as that’s the main Flashpoint story I’ve seen and recall.  Of course, the rest of the alternative DCEU I’ve laid out prior to this film alters some other aspects as well, including how Barry exits the timestream and why history was changed.  Direction-wise, I had to pick Robert Zemeckis just because as the guy who directed the Back to the Future trilogy and the 2009 Disney version of A Christmas Carol, he is probably the best director for anything with a time travel component.

This concludes our phase 5 for the alternate DCEU, and this specific version of the DCEU.  When I do phase 6 on my 90’s MCU, the first (and for now only) phase of my rebooted hypothetical DCEU will be hot on its heels.  So, until next time, ta-ta for now.

[vabeachazn]

🎶✨when u get this, list 5 songs u like to listen to, publish. then, send this ask to 10 of your favorite followers (positivity is cool)🎶✨ 🫶

In no particular order. From country to being a theater kid to Christmas fun. I have a pretty wide range of likes and it just depends on the day and time what I’m listening to. These are some of my favorites currently.

1.) The Dance - Garth Brooks.

2.) Purple Rain - Prince & The Revolution.

3.) Linus and Lucy - Vince Guaraldi Trio

4.) Defying Gravity - Wicked/Idina Mendel & Kristin Chenoweth

5.) Crazy - Patsy Cline

Thanks @joelswritingmistress 🫶🏼🖤

[thebaepatricia]

I Asked For a List of Popular Books That Made People "Ugly Cry" - Here's What ChatGPT Gave Me

Books hardly move me nowadays.

I guess I can say the same about movies and series and it really depends how deeply I connected with the characters or the storyline.

With that said, one of my (ambitious) book goals this year is to read a book that will make me ugly cry, give me all the existential crisis, leave me with a throbbing headache from all the feelings and thoughts, and put me on a temporary reading slump because it's that good.

So far, it has only happened twice this year, minus the tears. So, I'm on the lookout for something better than good.

Humans tend to be very biased with these things and I am not taking any CoHo book as a recommendation (please lang 🥴), so I turned to technology this time.

ChatGPT gave an interesting list. At first it gave me 15 books, but I wasn't happy with it so I asked it to expand to 15 more. Then, I asked for another batch with more underrated titles. Check out the lists it gave me. ↓

First up, the first 15 books!

First, let me categorize which ones I've actually read and haven't.

At the first draft of this blog post, I wrote a review per book, depending on how I read or perceived them, but I thought it's unfair and it will take me forever to finish this blog post, plus the review is not the point anyway. The point is tears. So instead, I'll just write pithy notes per book.

I HAVE READ

"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green (didn't read, but watched) - Nope. 0% chance of tears.

"Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes (watched + read) - It was sad, but not worthy of a sobfest

"The Art of Racing in the Rain" by Garth Stein (didn't read, but watched) - I have watched this in the cinema but can't remember if I cried

"Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman - This was bittersweet and one of the best books I read this 2023, but not worth the tears

"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini - This was heartbreaking. I think I did cry on this one, but didn't ugly cry

I HAVE PARTIALLY READ

"A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara - I have second thoughts giving this another shot because it gives off sad boy vibes and I'm not really into it

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak - About 20% in, it started to feel dragging

"A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman - I'm not sure if I care what a senior male does with his life and all the mundane hiccups he goes through

"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller (currently reading as of this writing) - This seems to be on a lot of people's fave book lists. I'm still too early in on the book to have a substantial feedback

I HAVE NOT READ

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

"We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

"The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

Of course, I'm never happy with a short list, so I asked for more and here's the result:

I HAVE READ

"All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven (didn't read, but watched)

"The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid - this put me into a rollercoaster of emotions and I was rooting for Evelyn the whole time, but I found the ending bittersweet rather than worthy of a cry. On a good note, it was emotionally distressing enough that I had to take temporary breaks for days.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger (didn't read, but watched)

"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" by John Boyne - This was honestly gut-wrenching, though I didn't bawl

"My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult (didn't read, but watched) - I'm not really into heavy family drama, which seems to be Picoult's genre, so it's hard for me to cry over these films. But to be fair, the book might be better than the film as they usually leave a huge chunk out of the movie adaptations

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett - This was a redemption story in the end, and nothing in between really made me cry. The racism was more disgusting and disappointing than sad.

I HAVE PARTIALLY READ

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky - I remember reading this back in high school and DNF-ing it before the term was even normalized in the book community

I HAVE NOT READ

"The Light We Lost" by Jill Santopolo

"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

"Before We Were Strangers" by Renée Carlino

"The Bronze Horseman" by Paullina Simons

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry

With all this said, ya girl was still not happy and just had to expand the list further

Suffice to say, I've never heard of these books before, but to me, that's a good thing. I love a hidden gem. A part of me takes pleasure in consuming underrated media. It's refreshing from all the hype and cult favorites I see online.

I don't think I'm actually gatekeeping these media because if people don't give them a chance even if you promote them endlessly, then that's their choice. Besides, I actually love sharing them. If I enjoyed them, I'd like to believe someone else would. But everything boils down to personal preference and we can't force anyone into liking the same things we do.

So to collate all the books I haven't read yet:

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

"We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

"The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

"The Light We Lost" by Jill Santopolo

"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

"Before We Were Strangers" by Renée Carlino

"The Bronze Horseman" by Paullina Simons

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry

"Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel

"The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell

"The Book of Lost Things" by John Connolly

"The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

"The Immortalists" by Chloe Benjamin

"The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender" by Leslye Walton

"The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

"A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" by Anthony Marra

"The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey

"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

"The House at the Edge of Night" by Catherine Banner

"The Secret Scripture" by Sebastian Barry

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

"The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss

"The Little Paris Bookshop" by Nina George

I have neither the time or energy to read all of these, so I'm filtering them further to "Pass" and "Willing to try".

🙅🏻‍♀️ Pass

"We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

"The Light We Lost" by Jill Santopolo

"Before We Were Strangers" by Renée Carlino

"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry

"Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel

"The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell

"The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

"The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender" by Leslye Walton

"The Snow Child" by Eowyn Ivey

"The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

"The House at the Edge of Night" by Catherine Banner

"The Secret Scripture" by Sebastian Barry

🤗 Willing to try

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

"The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

"The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

"The Bronze Horseman" by Paullina Simons

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness

"The Book of Lost Things" by John Connolly

"The Immortalists" by Chloe Benjamin

"The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

"A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" by Anthony Marra

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

"The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss

"The Little Paris Bookshop" by Nina George

Wow that was lengthy! 😮‍💨

Brb, adding my Willing to try list to my TBR 👀

[limejuicer1862]

A Poetry Showcase: Kristin Garth (Re-published)

[beaboutitpress]

LUCKIER, by Kristin Garth

LUCKIER after Lucky by Britney Spears and many other Britney Spears song titles

Around lunchtime, you make it out of bed, pound, pound, pound in your head.  Drive to the gym work, bitch, pink glitter still on skin.  Feel dead but take, tonight, a plaid skirt off for them again.  The DJ will play: isn’t she lucky? a VIP room dream.  it’s a lie, lie, lie pigtailed Mona Lisa you pretend to be. At 25, abused since you were five, finance a home, cry dear diary. Though you felt unluckier than Britney then, private show naked “star.” Later you’ll know how fortunate you are unburdened legally of your toxic family. It is outrageous that she isn’t free.

Name + Location + Favorite Sad Song Kristin Garth, Pensacola, FL, “Retrograde” by James Blake