#SACHA COME HOME

[lgbtqreads]

Happy Lesbian Visibility Day 2024!

Happy Lesbian Visibility Day 2024! We’re celebrating with these lesbian protagonists, and you can too! For more recs, check out past years’ posts!  Young Adult We Got the Beat by Jenna Miller Jordan Elliott is a fat, nerdy lesbian, and the first junior to be named editor in chief of the school newspaper. Okay, that last part hasn’t happened yet, but it will. It’s positive thinking that has gotten…

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

after watching bbc wolf i now desperately need sacha dhawan and iwan rheon to play an actual couple in something (who happen to also be crazy killers too ofc lol)

[zhniven]

Oh and also to the previous post. Alain, his family. And also Anne-Marie in 2018, she's so pretty 🥺

AAAND I found preface for the one book, and preface was written by Anne-Marie about Alain. I can share a full page (it's in french btw) but in short: It's 1973, Alain retired from cart race, Anne-Marie was trying to hide him under umbrella (because of the rain that started). And Alain was so upset so told her to "mind her own business" and Anne-Marie wrote "I was hoping that something would come out of this stubborn one". She fell in love with this pathetic man at that same moment oml

And I found this photo that basically is Alain after Adelaide 93. He was going home and was waiting for his flight in Singaporean airport. This photo was taken when he was looking at some toys to buy as presents for Sacha and Nico.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in October 2024 🌈

🌈 Good afternoon, my bookish bats! Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

❓What was the last queer book you read?

[ Release dates may have changed. List below! ]

❤️ Back in the Hunt - K. Sterling 🧡 The Connoisseur's Christmas Courtship - L.M. Bennett 💛 Shoestring Theory - Mariana Costa 💚 The Black Hunger - Nicholas Pullen 💙 Wild Fire - Radclyffe 💜 Because Fat Girl - Lauren Marie Fleming ❤️ The Ace and Aro Relationship Guide - Cody Daigle-Orians 🧡 Soul Survivors - River Kai 💛 Stolen Hearts - Michele Castleman 💙 Reverence - Milena McKay 💜 Love Immortal - Kit Vincent

❤️ Take a Sad Song - Ona Gritz 🧡 Showmance - Chad Beguelin 💛 Redundancies & Potentials - Dominique Dickey 💚 Alexander - Karla Nikole 💙 Rest in Peaches - Alex Brown 💜 Rise of the Wrecking Crew - Kalynn Bayron ❤️ Language Lessons - Sage Donnell 🧡 Legend of the White Snake - Sher Lee 💛 Sorcery and Small Magis - Maiga Doocy 💙 Cried Out - Kate Hawthorne 💜 Skysong - C.A. Wright 🌈 No Rules Tonight - Kim Hyun Sook, Ryan Estrada

❤️ My Mother's Ridiculous Rules for Dating - Philip William Stover 🧡 I Shall Never Fall in Love - Hari Conner 💛 Castle Swimmer - Wendy Martin 🧡 The Hollow and the Haunted - Camilla Raines 💙 How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? - Anna Montague 💜 The Arizona Triangle - Sydney Graves ❤️ Every Rule Undone - Nancy S.M. Waldman 🧡 Mister Nice - Jamie Jennings 💛 Under the Mistletoe with You - Lizzie Huxley-Jones 💙 How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster - Muriel Leung 💜 The Snowball Effect - Haley Cass 🌈 This Will Be Fun - E.B. Asher

❤️ Our Evenings - Alan Hollinghurst 🧡 Don't Let the Forest In - C.G. Drews 💛 Finding Delaware - Bree Wiley 💚 The Reeds - Arjun Basu 💙 The Bloodless Princes - Charlotte Bond 💜 Women's Hotel - Daniel M. Lavery ❤️ Alex McKenna and the Academy of Souls - Vicki-Ann Bush 🧡 A Vile Season - David Ferraro 💛 Synchronicity - J.J. Hale 💙 Writ of Love - Cassidy Crane 💜 Di-Curious - Erin Branch 🌈 Swordcrossed - Freya Marske

❤️ Stand Up! - Tori Sharp 🧡 Haunt Me, Baby - Rose Santoriello 💚 Planet Drag: Uncover the Global Herstory - Various 💙 Until We Shatter - Kate Dylan 💜 Metal from Heaven - August Clarke ❤️ Vicious Fates and Vast Futures - Tilly Bramley 🧡 The Daughter of Danray - Natalia Hernandez 💛 If I Stopped Haunting You - Colby Wilkens 💙 The Darkness Behind The Door - Mira Gonzalez 💜 Hunt Monsters, Do Magic, and Fall in Love - A.M. Weald 🌈 Jasmine Is Haunted - Mark Oshiro

❤️ Model Home - Rivers Solomon 🧡 Haunting Melody - Chloe Spencer 💛 The Door in Lake Mallion - S.M. Beiko 💚 The City in Glass - Nghi Vo 💙 Fang Fiction - Kate Stayman-London 💜 The Merriest Misters - Timothy Janovsky ❤️ Make the Season Bright - Ashley Herring Blake 🧡 My Kind of Trouble - L.A. Schwartz 💛 To Become A Flower - CEON 💙 What Was Lost - Melissa Connelly 💜 The Forbidden Book - Sacha Lamb 🌈 This Dark Paradise - Erin Luken

❤️ The Sound of Storms - Anya Keeler 🧡 Country Queers - Rae Garringer 💛 A Spell for Heartsickness - Alistair Reeves 💚 The Stars Inside Us - Kristy Gardner 💙 October's Ocean - Delaine Coppock 💜 Haunt Your Heart Out - Amber Roberts ❤️ The Dark Becomes Her - Judy I. Lin 🧡 Power Pose - Emily Silver 💛 The Magic You Make - Jason June 💙 House of Elephants - Claribel A. Ortega 💜 Tegan and Sara: Crush - Tegan Quin, Sara Quin, Tillie Walden 🌈 The Brightness Between Us - Eliot Schrefer

❤️ The Spring before Obergefell - Benjamin S. Grossberg 🧡 Pray For Him - Tyler Battaglia 💛 Coup de Grâce - Sofia Ajram 💚 Coal Gets In Your Veins - Cat Rector 💙 He Who Bleeds - Dorian Valentine 💜 The Revenge of Captain Vessia - Leslie Allen ❤️ Camelot's Tower - Brooke Matthews 🧡 The Manor - Tiffany E. Taylor 💛 Arcanum - Ashlyn Drewek 💙 Strange Beasts - Susan J. Morris 💜 On Vicious Worlds - Bethany Jacobs 🌈 Death Song - B. Ripley

❤️ Best Hex Ever - Nadia El-Fassi 🧡 I'll Be Gone for Christmas - Georgia K. Boone 💛 Make My Wish Come True - Rachael Lippincott, Alyson Derrick 💚 Gentlest of Wild Things - Sarah Underwood 💙 Troth - E.H. Lupton 💜 Solis - Paola Mendoza & Abby Sher ❤️ Lucy, Uncensored - Mel Hammond, Teghan Hammond 🧡 Mama - Nikkya Hargrove 💛 Under All the Lights - Maya Ameyaw 💙 Reclaimed - Seth Haddon 💜 The Devil's Dilemma - Alex J. Adams 🌈 The Jovian Madrigals - Janneke de Beer

❤️ Blood Price - Nicole Evans 🧡 Worship Me - K.C. Blume 💛 All the Hearts You Eat - Hailey Piper 💚 The Nightmare Before Kissmas - Sara Raasch 💙 Rogue Community College - David R. Slayton 💜 Mistress of Hours - Emma Elizabeth ❤️ The Dog Trainer's Secret - Sav Uong 🧡 Most Wonderful - Georgia Clark 💛 Antenora - Dori Lumpkin 💙 House of Frank - Kay Synclaire 💜 Sir Callie and the Witch's War - Esme Symes-Smith 🌈 Prince of Fortune - Lisa Tirreno

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 2

Book summaries below:

The Masquerade Series (The Traitor Baru Cormorant, The Monster Baru Cormorant, The Tyrant Baru Cormorant) by Seth Dickinson

Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon. The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They'll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She'll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she'll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free. In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery - and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu. But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full. Fantasy, epic fantasy, secondary world, politics, series

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

A queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure. Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her. Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold. Fantasy, historical fiction, young adult, folklore

[voltaspistol]

Here's 24-year-old Frengel Reyes Mota, a Venezuelan immigrant with no criminal record in the States or in Venezuela.

He's not part of a gang.

He's not said anything about Gaza or Israel.

He's just a house painter who left his home country due to the unrest and difficulties there, and came to the US legally seeking asylum.

He didn't show up for his asylum hearing this week, though, because when he showed up for his regular ICE check-in -- which he should as a legal immigrant in the US -- ICE arrested him and soon deported him to the largest prison in Latin America, the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center in El Salvador.

If you haven't heard of this prison, it's a 57 acre facility where prisoners are held in cells of about 150 prisoners. There are racks of bunks four-high, two toilets and two Bibles per cell. Prisoners are only let outside of their cell for 30 minutes a day for exercise or Bible study. No recreation, visitation, or phone calls are allowed. The lights are kept on in the cells 24/7. There are a number of controversies and allegations of human rights violations in this prison.

What did Reyes Mota do so that ICE took him into custody without charges and illegally removed him from the court system before transferring him to an extra-national prison for terrorists?

Nothing.

In fact, when ICE showed up at his asylum hearing this week and revealed the arrest paperwork it HAD THE WRONG NAME IN IT SIX TIMES. And not a misspelled name, it was talking about someone named Carlos Ortiz-Morales. Other sections referred to Reyes Mota as "she" and "her" and at least once a different person's immigration number was listed in the description. It was arrest by Chatgpt hallucination or gross human incompetence or both.

And when this was pointed out in court at Reyes Mota's asylum hearing by his lawyer this week, when the judge asked ICE if they made a mistake, the ICE lawyers said they'd "look into it."

As more of these cases are coming out, I keep hearing well-meaning people say "There's more to the story."

I get it. It's disorienting to think that a country that says things like "innocent until proven guilty" or "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" would also arrest an innocent man and fly him off to a gigantic horror show of a prison. So there MUST be "more to the story" even though Reyes Mota has no criminal record, isn't part of a gang, doesn't have a gang tattoo or even have a tattoo at all.

"There's more to the story."

THEN PROVE IT IN COURT.

If there's more to the story the US government should have just rolled into the asylum hearing this week and proved it. But they didn't because their paperwork DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THE RIGHT NAME ON IT throughout the document. And they couldn't prove it anyway, because there's nothing to prove.

PLUS: to remove an asylum applicant without a court order is ILLEGAL. This is a very clear case where -- unlike Reyes Mota --ICE broke the law.

So, here's your "more to the story":

Reyes Mota is married. He married a woman who already had a son, so he's the father to a 9 year old boy. He's got a dog that he loves named Sacha. The family doesn't have tons of money, so Reyes Mota carefully plans the budget so he can occasionally buy his dog treats. Reyes Mota is a hard worker, a legal immigrant, a good husband and father, a financially responsible tax-paying part of the US community.

Or he was.

This week the judge in Reyes Mota's asylum case "froze" the case. Meaning that if Reyes Mota returns to the country he can pick up where he left off. Assuming he can be released. Assuming he's brought back to the US.

While he was still in detention, before he was flown out of the country, Reyes Mota was able to talk to his family. He asked if his dog was eating okay. He wanted to know how his son was doing in school.

Of course he's not allowed to make any phone calls now so his family has no idea if he's okay, how he's doing, what's happening.

ICE is "looking into it."

[snobgoblin]

I always feel the need to justify Camios existence bc to me he seems so... pointless. so I have this little headcanon about him. so, you know how Mazelinka frees exotic animals- we know this from A Rising Tide, if you choose to talk to the twins (though, they did keep one animal...)

we also know, from BAEWATCH, if you choose to go with Nadia and Muriel, Mazelinka reveals that she jumps nobles who fish in protected waters, protecting aquatic life in the process. she's quite the animal rights activist! anyway

with all this in mind. you know how Lucio collected exotic pets? well. Nadia sent Sacha the cheetah away to be back home. I feel that, eventually, she should send the menagerie back home as well, right? once she can get a healthier mindset and admit to herself that she doesn't have to inherit all of Lucio's problems to prove herself. so anyway. Portia would know just the woman for that. and the headcanon comes in with like

ok so Mazelinka is a magician. we know this. but she doesn't seem to have a familiar. I always thought it would be silly if she had a parrot familiar since she is a pirate, so enter: Camio, the bratty cockatoo. I think itd be so silly if that ended up being her familiar. and she just whips (metaphorically) this bratty bird into shape

[jackoshadows]

Reminder that Joe Biden and the US congress wanted TikTok banned because they wanted to censor and shut down Palestinians speaking from Gaza and prevent young people from seeing the genocide being inflicted on the Palestinians.

Yes, there was always Sinophobia and fear mongering involved with TikTok but the urgent push to have it banned started with Americans being able to see what was being done to the Palestinians compared to main stream media doing genocide propaganda for Israel.

“What is happening at TikTok is it is creating the biggest antisemitic movement since the Nazis,” Borat actor Sacha Baron Cohen told TikTok executives on one of these calls. Former Will and Grace actress Debra Messing pushed them to simply bar the phrase “from the river to the sea” from the platform entirely. For start-up founder Anthony Goldbloom, who organized the come-to-Jesus meeting with forty tech leaders, the fact that pro-Palestinian content was so popular on the platform “just seemed crazy” and was simply inexplicable.

So called 'liberal' actors like Sacha Baron Cohen and Debra Messing pushing on lobby groups to have TikTok banned is why this happened.

Meta/Twitter/Tumblr have all censored and removed posts, facebook and Instagram have actively blocked and disabled accounts. Because they are US owned. That's the difference - Biden was unable to stop this with TikTok.

Plus, why should TikTok do what the government that shut them down wants them to do? Why should TikTok be beholden to the likes of Apple and Google on how their App works?

TikTok is making a stand against the government that shut them down - Democrats - and cosying up to Trump so that he will reverse the ban. It's plain strategy. They want their app to work in the US on their terms. Of course they are going to do this.

So if Trump reversing the ban and getting young voters happens then there is no one else to blame but the genocidal democrats who are so hell bent on genociding Palestinians they don't care about losing American voters at home.

[alexandrafeodorovna]

1901 Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna to Maria— March 2-th 1901. Papa & Mama kiss Baby sweet many times. March 4-th 1901. If you are a good little girl, we shall come and see you in yr. bath to-night. Papa & Mama kiss you.

Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna to Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich — Peterhof 23rd July 1900

Darling Serge The weather is quite splendid. Yesterday we had church and lunch afterwards then I went with Alix to see Olga and Aunt Sanny. Costia was also there, Olga is looking well but very grey and so thankful that her daughter Minny is so happy. All are pleasantly impressioned by the young couple who look so contented and in bright humour. I remember Sophie’s conversations and my impressions go deeper—she is so remarkably sweet and loving with me and so often thinks for the past and the present. God bless the dear child. . . . Out of the window I see the sweet children each holding a little parasol and a donkey being led behind them to ride on—too amusing. They ask often after you. Little Marie is marvelously lovely, I have never seen such eyes. The evening we spent the same as yesterday very pleasantly, this stay here is most cozy but without you so empty and then I cannot feel at home, one misses Sacha at every step and I feel so sad that although it is such a joy being with Alix Nicky and children and seeing Minny one cannot forget the past and that one dear brother that was a rock of love and comfort to lean upon for affection and as guide. Hearty kisses from your loving Ella.

Text from: Azar, H., & Hawkins, G. (2019). Maria Romanov: Third daughter of the last tsar, diaries and letters, 1908–1918. Westholme Publishing.

If there are any issues with this excerpt, please leave a comment, and I will delete the post.

Photos: Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna in 1900, posted by Tatiana Z on Flickr

[landinrris]

I got tagged by the wonderful @charleslelurk, thank you!!

Rules: tagger gives a word, then for each letter of that word you share an excerpt from your WIPs that start with that letter.

This is from chapters 3 & 4 of Age of Worry. (Eventually I will sit down and proof chapter 3 so it's no longer a wip, but I have just been so stupidly busy)

I was given the word HOLD and I will be giving the word LAUGH 🫶

H

“Hey.” “Hey. I thought you were supposed to be almost done.” “I am.” “Lando, there is one packed box in here.” Sitting by the doorway. Yet it barely looks like it’s made a dent. “Oh, I must’ve dreamt I finished.” Carlos can’t help but laugh. “Oh my God, you are lucky you are so cute. Come, I will help, let’s go.” He kicks lightly at Lando’s calf as he stands up. “Do we have somewhere to be?” “Yes, at home unpacking your things.” “That does sound nice.” “I know, tell me about it.”

O

Only then does Max pull Lando inside the flat and close the door. The last thing they need is accidentally attracting an audience. The flat is quiet from what Lando can hear, only the soft beats of Max’s music audible over Lando’s uneven breathing when he reluctantly pulls himself away from Max’s grip. Usually Sacha is around making noise, and their new roommate, Ed, as well. “Are you alone?” “Yeah, Ed’s out at some party with Sacha.”

L

Lando just shrugs. “Sorry, I don’t kiss and tell.” Marcus elbows Liam. “It’s probably Carlos knowing these two.” “Carlos would be lucky to have me,” he says without missing a beat. It’s remarkable, really. “Alright, we get it. Little Nando Lorris fucks. Can we please move this party to an actual party now?” Daniel practically pleads. It serves as good an excuse as any to drop the conversation and walk in the direction Daniel leads them. When Carlos is sure no one is looking at them, he reaches over and pinches Lando’s hip. Lando flinches. “What was that for?” Carlos fondly rolls his eyes. “What was that for he asks.”

D

Daniel nudges him. “What’re you smiling about?” Carlos almost has to shake himself out of it. “Oh, nothing. Just thinking about how much Lando will pretend to be annoyed by us all screaming later.” “Oh man, I can tell you exactly what he’s going to do. He’s going to pretend to be mad, but he’ll be smiling the entire time he yells at us.” And well, Carlos can’t exactly deny that one.

I'll go ahead and tag @f1-birb @magnificentbirb @quadrilogical @namariecarlando @phebess

[ninja-muse]

My last wrap-up of the year! Featuring one stack of "didn't know what to read, hey, this is on my shelf, also it's short and reading goals", and one stack of Christmas gifts. I'm very pleased about both. The Laurie Lee was as good as expected and the mafia romance was a gift last Christmas so it's nice to have that finished before the year was up. And I'm two books closer to having my Pratchett collection complete! I'm missing one major Discworld tie-in book now, and a handful of the maps that came out over the years.

In other news, whew, another year is over! It feels like it's taken ages, which I'm going to blame on a bunch of long books and general slumpiness rather than the global political climate. After all, this month has felt long due to both factors. A History of Ancient Egypt, Vol. 3 did take me twice as long as a normal book, and I had two DNFs.

As you can probably tell from the list below, apart from the history book, in December I prioritized fun. (It's about all I wanted to pick up after my workdays.) I was also trying to finish one of my Storygraph reading challenges, which I've managed—75 books from a list I set, mostly, at the start of the year. I recommend everything I finished, though Among the Gnomes is not a masterwork of Victorian fiction by any means. It was, however, readily available as an ebook when I needed something goofy.

In non-book news, I got home for Christmas? Barely a visit, but it worked out and I got to see my grandpa, who is getting very old. I'm sure one of the family cats is beside himself now, though, since I am his official lap provider and rarely around to offer that service. And I went on a walking tour near the start of the month, and ate far too many chocolates and baked goods.

I'll save discussion about reading goals and 2025 resolutions and what-not for my end-of-year wrap-up, which is coming soon, and in the meantime turn you over to my list of everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

A History of Ancient Egypt, Volume 3 - John Romer

A history of the last major cultural periods of ancient Egypt, centering archaeology and primary sources and deconstructing traditional Western scholarship and all its baggage.

8/10

warning: discusses racists and colonial attitudes

library book

Swordcrossed - Freya Marske

When Mattinesh Jay hires a swordsman for his wedding, he gets Luca Piere, annoying, attractive, and much more than he bargained for. And that’s before Luca discovers a conspiracy against Matti’s House…

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 main characters (gay), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (sapphic, trans man, nonbinary), brown-skinned main character, brown-skinned secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 author

library ebook

As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning - Laurie Lee

At 19, in the 1930s, Laurie leaves his childhood home to walk to London, Europe, and the future.

7.5/10

warning: mildly racist towards Black people and Roma, period-typical misogyny, sexualization of child, sex trafficking of children

off my TBR

Greymist Fair - Francesca Zappia

Empty clothes in the middle of the only road to town. A tailor’s daughter and a witch’s cottage. A wandering prince. A lonely, beautiful girl. Magic, wargs, and Death in the forest.

8/10

major genderless character, 🏳️‍🌈 incidental characters (sapphic, achillean)

reading copy

Saga, Vol. 10 - Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (illustrator)

Hazel and her family are picking up the pieces and getting by, but that doesn’t mean they’re out of danger. The Will is still out there, and so is Landfall.

8/10

🇨🇦

off my TBR

The Forbidden Book - Sacha Lamb

Fleeing a marriage to the rebbe’s son, Sorel adopts the identity of Isser Jacobs, not knowing that there’s a real Isser who’s just stolen a very important, very illegal book.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (genderqueer, lesbian), Jewish cast, Jewish author, 🏳️‍🌈 author

library ebook

Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop - Emmeline Duncan

Bookshop owner Bailey is running the first literary festival in her Halloween-themed town when she stumbles over a murder victim.

7/10

Indigenous secondary characters

library book

The Rivals - Jane Pek

Claudia and Veracity are still tracking synth-bot accounts on dating sites when a prospective client dies after reporting a copycat profile. Was it someone from the app's developer, or truly an accident?

7/10

Taiwanese-American protagonist, Taiwanese-American secondary characters, Indian and Mexican secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (lesbian), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (gay, achillean, lesbian), Singaporean-American author

warning: suicide

reading copy

Broken Whispers - Neva Altaj

To calm a war between the Italian mafia and the Bratva, a ballerina is pushed into marriage with an enforcer. Beauty and the Beast vibes.

6.5/10

main character with damaged vocal chords, main character with monocular vision

warning: mafia-typical violence and torture

off my TBR

Under the Smokestrewn Sky - A. Deborah Baker

Avery, Zib, and their companions have reached the Kingdom of Fire, one “step” away from the Impossible City on the Improbable Road. But that doesn’t mean they’re home free yet.

6.5/10

off my TBR

Among the Gnomes - Franz Hartmann

A scientist travels to the Unterberg to disprove the existence of gnomes, only to find himself living among them. An anti-science satire.

6/10

warning: anti-Irish xenophobia

ebook/off my TBR

DNF

The Stardust Grail - Yume Kitasei

Maya’s put her thieving past aside to pursue academia, but when a chance to find the legendary stardust grail (and save her friend’s species) falls into her lap, she can’t help but be tempted—even if Earth wants to use it to save itself.

protagonist with Japanese heritage, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (achillean, nonbinary, alternate gender system)

library book

Big Gay Wedding - Byron Lane

Barnett returns to his mom’s farm in Louisiana to confront her unspoken disapproval and introduce his fiancé. And possibly get married there, if certain parties in town don’t stop them.

🏳️‍🌈 POV characters (gay)

warning: homophobia

library ebook

Currently reading

In Veritas - C.J. Lavigne

Drawn by her synesthesia and a dog-that-is-snake-is-shadow, Verity encounters a hidden world in an Ottawa theatre. A world threatened by technology and in need of saving.

🇨🇦

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle Victorian detective stories

disabled POV character (limb injury), occasional Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 11 Yearly total: 127 Queer books: 3 Authors of colour: 2 Books by women: 6 Authors outside the binary: 1 Canadian authors: 1 Classics: 2 Off the TBR shelves: 5 Books hauled: 4 ARCs acquired: 1 ARCs unhauled: 2 DNFs: 2

January February March April May June July August September October November

[snowyyyw]

Jack Frost x Halloween!Fem!Reader

Part 1:Me? A Guardian? Pft-! Funny!

This is a jack frost x Halloween!Reader. The reader basically Hu Tao from Gensin impact, and only 2 children can see her.

I hope you enjoy this<3!

It was a cold day, but Sacha(Reader) didn't care about the cold and went outside to play with kids.

"Sacha is here!" One of them yelled

"Hi! How are my soldiers doing? Are you guys good?" I say as I bend down to their high.

After some time, most of the children were gone to home, so it's just that Sacha and James were outside.

"Sacha, can we explore the forest?" James asked whit puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, of course we can." she said as she held her hand for James to hold. As they were collecting mushrooms and chatting, Sacha heard a sound behind bushes.

"James, get behind me." I say and take out my knife

"Sacha..?" James said, his voice shaking.

"It's gonna be okay, darling. Now climb that tree behind us, okay?" I heard him climbing and take my eyes off from the bushes and look at him.

"If is it a bear or a coyote, I will get them away, and you will run to the village, okay?"

"But... what about you? I can't leave you behind..!" I was gonna talk back but shut my mouth when I heard growls from the bushes and coyotes start to come near me looked pissed.

"Suit the plan," I say before running off. As I ran, I saw all of them was behind, none of them there to attack James. I ran to the cliff and looked behind with a sad smile after that it's become dark for me.

I wake up to see a man standing right beside me. He looked like Deaht Eater from the stories used to tell the kids about. After than a voice from the sky called me

"Your name is Sacha Woods, and you are the spirit of Halloween"

"I'm a what?" I say as I looked at the moon

"We gonna be working together. I'm Deaht Eater btw" he said.

"And I'm Sacha Woods, I guess." it was silent between us for a while.

"Soo.. what are we gonna do together?" I asked him, but he was still looking at the sky.

"I'm gonna bring you the animal souls, and they are gonna help you with your holiday"

"Ohh.. okay" I say as I get up

"See you soon, then." I say, smiling before I start to walk away. I know this forest so I walk to the willage I know. As I get to the willage, I see people upset about something. Then I see james.

"Yo James!" I say as I ran in front of him

"I'm glad you are okay, mate!" I tried to give him a hug, but I can't. He just went through me.

"What?" I say whit a shaking voice

"Hey! Daphne!" I say the girl whit a hope

"It's me, Sacha guys!" I say spinning around.

"It wasn't your fault, James.." Daphne says to the boy next to him. As they start to walk away, all of them go through me. That it hit me.

"I'm I dead?" I say, looking around to see a picture of me with flowers around it.

It was a snow day at town. I was looking at the kids have a snow ball fight between each other. I was gonna leave, but I see my favorite twins coming on my way.

"How are my favorite twins doing today?" I say as i looked at them. They were first and the only bleivers I got. We talked till their mother called for them. They go to their home, and I stay on top of the tree looking at the sky.

"Why? Why me?" I say looking at the moon.

"If you're not gonna talk, then why you choose me?"

★At the North Pole★

The bunny and North were arguing on whose holiday is more important when man in the moon or for short Manny get into the view.

"Oh! Man in the moon! Long time no see old friend! Sandy, why didn't you tell us?" Sandy looked so done whit them.

"Pitch..!" Tooth says, looking at the shadow that just appeared.

"What are we gonna do then, Manny?" North asked, looking at the moon. After that, a crystal starts to rise from the ground.

"He's choosing a new guardian!" Tooth say whit a exited voice.

"Why would we need one?" Bunny says, rolling his eyes.

As they waited, a figure popped up.

"Jack Frost?" North say in a suprized voice

"Jack frost! Why him?!" Bunny say annoyed.

"There is one more!" Tooth says this time.

"Two?!" North tell at exited.

"Sacha Woods?" Bunny says and laughs in an annoyed tone

"A prank Star and a Devil side? Come on, Manny!"

"It's okay as long they helped us, right?" Tooth say, and sanndy nods at her comment.

"You don't understand! Jack doesn't care about kids! All his doing is ruin my Easter day! And Sacha? She is on the devil side! We can't trust her!"

"How you know she is on the devil side?" Tooth asked this time.

"I just know, okay!" Bunny says as he turns his back.

★Back to Sacha★

As I was walking through the streets, I saw gold sand in the sky.

"You see that?" I say, smiling to my cat with me.

"Let's go and see!" I say as he jumped my shoulder, and I start to fly towards the electrical wires. I touch one of them and it's shape as craved pumpkins and spin around my head.

My cat shadow was copying me on the other hand. As he touches the sand, it's shaped as fish. I giggle at the picture I was seeing.

I was having fun with my pet but suddenly something ran behind me. Me begin stupid, follow it to a dark alley, and look around.

"Hey! It's so nice seeing you!" A feminen voice rang my ears.

"Tooth Fariy?" I say as I let my guard down.

"Did you get mad at all the candy I'm giving to children?" I say, smirking.

"That's too, but right now it's not" I was confused.

"What-" I lifted up by a yeti from my collar.

"Hey! Let go!" I say as I tried to kick the yeti. I see them took shadow

"Give back my cat!" They trow me into a bag and start moving.

"Right on the time, Tooth!" A voice said, coming towards us. The yetis trow me on the ground so I was free and could go out. As I was getting out of the bag, I saw 2 elfs' looking at me.

"No way!-" I say as i get up from the ground.

"Sacha Wood, it's good to see you, my friend!" North say white opening his arms. I flew away from them and look at them.

"So how was your trip here? Was it good?" North asked

"Yeah! I'm so down for throwing into bags and then a yeti throwing me into a macig portal! This was awesome!" I say in a joking manner

"Good! It was my plan, actually!" North says in an exited voice.

"Soo- why I'm here?" I asked while bending down to pat an elf that brought me cookies.

"We'll wait for one more person," North says, and I lean towards a pillar. After some time, someone -whit the same way as me- brought to the north's place. After answering his questions. We finally get to the point.

"You guys are the new guardians!" North say and the music began, and little Tooth fries tried to give us necklaces from our own symbols. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Pft-JSVSJSB Me? A guardian? Jokes on you, I'm not looking to stuck in a place and do work all day" I said leaning against the table.

"I don't wanna be a guardian" I say as Shadow get on my shoulder and I pet him

"Me either," Jack said this time.

"Of course you guys want to be guardians! Music!"

"No music!" Me and Jack said at the same time and used our powers at the same time as well. So it just creates a cloudy mess around us.

Have a good day<3!!(ू˃̣̣̣̣̣̣︿˂̣̣̣̣̣̣ ू)

[windsroad]

more whumptober!

this is like an insert scene. the market stuff really happened in the game, seeing someone part did not. (also, I realize this was probably not the intended meaning of 'seeing double')

11 - Seeing double / loneliness 

In Vilestraia, they believed in an orderly sort of fun. You did your work, stayed in control each day, and in return, there were regularly scheduled holidays. Festivals were frequent and made designated days for the populace to let loose. People went crazy for festivals. No one went to work. They indulged in food and drink, spent all their money on games and activities. The fey joined in, providing an extra bit of chaos to a good time. 

Secaria was… very different. In the city of Jaertel, they seemed to be having a festival at all times, though people still went to work. The market was constantly abuzz, selling goods Sacha could have only dreamed of. They had this new sweet, called “chocolate,” imported through Commoda from their colonies. 

Since leaving Vilestraia, Sacha had been in a constant “work mode.” She acted carefully and with purpose. Everything she did was thought out before she did it. The market in Jaertel was Sacha’s permission to relax. She flitted from stall to stall, spending more money than was wise on another new good, “coffee,” which was a bitter brown beverage that gave Sacha more energy than she knew what to do with, as well as the equipment to make it herself. 

She felt good, excited, with all her pent up energy finally released. Wh3en she leaned back to take it all in, that[‘s when she saw him.

“Cecil!” she shouted without thinking. Across the crowd, head sticking up among a group of shorter people, was a tall figure with curly black hair. And was that a red cloak, just like hers, part of their uniform as executioners in the Kaerfriid? 

Sacha dove through the crowd, trying to reach him. Had he left VIlestraia? Had he come to Jaertel, looking for her? How had he known she was there?

Cecil moved further away, working through the crowd himself. Sacha pushed to where she’d seen him, and looked frantically around for where he had gone. There was no way he could hide that well, even in a bustling city marketplace. Humans were not common and humans in Kaerfriid armor and cloak even less so. 

There, there he was again! The curly head was squeezing sideways through the door to a tavern. Sacha surged forward—a few shorter folk yelled “hey!” as she did so—and grabbed Cecil by the shoulder, turning him to face her.

Sacha’s heart sank. It was not Cecil. He was short and skinny for a half-orc, but a half-orc, and utterly confused by who had grabbed him. He was carrying his red coat over his shoulder, since it was such a hot day.

“Uh, sorry,” said Sacha. “I thought—I thought you were someone I knew.”

The curly haired half-orc put on what was probably his most charming look and replied, “No, but we can get to know each other, if you want.”

“Ugh,” Sacha said, disgusted. She let go of the half-orc’s shoulder like it was diseased. “No thanks, I’m good.” She left hurriedly, ignoring whatever the man was calling after her.

Stupid. Of course it wasn’t Cecil. Sacha tried to convince herself that it was fine, she just felt embarrassed by her ridiculous display, but waves of loneliness crashed over her. It was the loneliest she’d felt since leaving home. She’d run all around the marketplace, smile plastered on her face, but it was all to cover up the overwhelming feeling she had: Cecil should be there. There was no point in any of it, the sights, the food, the fun, if he wasn’t enjoying it with her.

Sacha stood, in the middle of the crowd, stomach full, heart empty, and utterly alone.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💖 Sapphic Books Coming Out October 2024

🩷 Good afternoon, bookish bats. By now, you know that sweet, sapphic romance books have a special place in my heart. Here are only a few of the amazing sapphic books hitting shelves in October 2024.

💖 Which ones are you adding to your TBR?

Contemporary 💖 Stand Up! - Tori Sharp 💖 I'll Be Gone for Christmas - Georgia K. Boone 💖 Haunt Your Heart Out - Amber Roberts 💖 Most Wonderful - Georgia Clark 💖 Make the Season Bright - Ashley Herring Blake 💖 Make My Wish Come True - Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick 💖 How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? - Anna Montague 💖 Turning Twelve - Kathryn Ormsbee & Molly Brooks 💖 Sweet Home Alabarden Park - T.J. O'Shea 💖 Lucy, Uncensored - Mel Hammond & Teghan Hammond 💖 New Horizons - Shia Woods 💖 Writ of Love - Cassidy Crane 💖 What It Meant to Survive - Mala Kumar

Fantasy 💖 Metal from Heave - August Clarke 💖 Whispers Most Foul - Emma MacDonald 💖 Fang Fiction - Kate Stayman-London 💖 House of Frank - Kay Synclaire 💖 The Ghostwing's Lie - Rebecca Mix 💖 This Dark Paradise - Erin Luken 💖 Chai Jinxed - Emi Pinto 💖 The Bloodless Princes - Charlotte Bond 💖 Skysong - C.A. Wright 💖 The Forbidden Book - Sacha Lamb 💖 Until We Shatter - Kate Dylan 💖 Witchwood - Kalyn Josephson

Paranormal/Horror 💖 Haunting Melody - Chloe Spencer 💖 All the Hearts You Eat - Hailey Piper 💖 The Bloodred Moon - H. Noah 💖 Strange Beasts - Susan J. Morris 💖 Feast While You Can - Mikaella Clements & Onjuli Datta

Historical 💖 Women's Hotel - Daniel M. Lavery 💖 I Shall Never Fall in Love - Hari Conner 💖 Outlaw Hearts - Lori G. Matthews

Mystery/Thriller 💖 Staying the Course - Rebecca K Jones 💖 Long Time Gone - Hannah Martian 💖 Johnny-Boy - A. F. Carter 💖 This Ends Now - T.M. Payne

Sci-Fi 💖 On Vicious Worlds - Bethany Jacobs 💖 Sargassa - Sophie Burnham 💖 Villain - Natalie Zina Walschots

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 1A

Book summaries below:

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

You go through life thinking there’s so much you need…

Until you leave with only your phone, your wallet, and a picture of your mother.

Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend, Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she’s tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit, and Marin will be forced to face everything that’s been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.

Contemporary, grief, young adult

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

A queer immigrant fairytale about individual purpose, the fluid nature of identity, and the power of love to change and endure.

Uriel the angel and Little Ash (short for Ashmedai) are the only two supernatural creatures in their shtetl (which is so tiny, it doesn't have a name other than Shtetl). The angel and the demon have been studying together for centuries, but pogroms and the search for a new life have drawn all the young people from their village to America. When one of those young emigrants goes missing, Uriel and Little Ash set off to find her.

Along the way the angel and demon encounter humans in need of their help, including Rose Cohen, whose best friend (and the love of her life) has abandoned her to marry a man, and Malke Shulman, whose father died mysteriously on his way to America. But there are obstacles ahead of them as difficult as what they’ve left behind. Medical exams (and demons) at Ellis Island. Corrupt officials, cruel mob bosses, murderers, poverty. The streets are far from paved with gold.

Fantasy, historical fiction, folklore, turn-of-the-century, young adult

[sylvienerevarine]

Sophrine Aulette's Skyrim Encyclopedia (Part 2)

ok i guess i'm not done with this series yet. it may take a while. i keep thinking of new jokes.

Part 1 is here.

--

Blades

If you’ve ever met a Blade, no you haven’t (that was a joke, because they’re secretive). The Blades were originally founded as a dragon-slaying organization, but eventually expanded into other areas like bodyguarding and espionage. They got their name from using swords, which generally have blades.

Some notable Blades include:

Caius Cosades, who according to my Nana Sylvie’s memoirs never wore a shirt and drank a lot of skooma

Baurus, a fellow from the end of the 3rd Era who impressively survived the entire Oblivion Crisis

My distant great-aunt Sacha Llervu, Martin Septim’s best friend, who had a knack for closing Oblivion Gates and committing petty crimes

Delphine Fitzhubert, who is sort of my friend, except she’s still cross with me for being polite to some dragons. She’ll come around eventually.

Draugr

A draugr is a person who was alive at some point, but is now an undead sort of thing with a terrible complexion. There are a few different stories about how draugr came to be–many of them worked for dragon priests and became undead so they could keep doing their old jobs forever, and apparently some on Solstheim were cursed because they ate other people. Nasty stuff. Unless you’re Bosmer, I guess.

The good news about draugr is that they’re not terribly bright, as is proven by the fact that they can’t solve the puzzles in Nordic ruins. If you know the voice-projecting Shout like I do, you can just call “Who wants free mead?” from somewhere else in the room, and then sneak by while they’re trying to find the free mead.

Palace of Kings

I’m not allowed in here anymore (see Stormcloaks).

Stormcloaks

The Stormcloaks are a political movement based out of Windhelm, and are led by Ulfric Stormcloak (which is how they got their name). They have some pretty good ideas (make Skyrim independent, stop religious persecution, annoy the Thalmor) and some very bad ones (being horrible to Dunmer and Argonians and anyone who isn’t a Nord, really).

I once met Jarl Ulfric and pointed out some of these bad ideas to him, and he banned me from his palace. There’s gratitude for you.

Talos

You probably know about Talos from the park in Whiterun, where that fellow Heimskr is always shouting about what a good lad he was. There are two main theories about where Talos came from: either he was born in Atmora and moved to Skyrim as a young man to take Dragonborn lessons, or he was born in High Rock and did a lot of complicated political things. My grandparents favor the second explanation, since they’re very patriotic.

Wherever he came from, we know that Talos later went around conquering and uniting any piece of land he came across, and set up what we now know as the Third Empire. Somewhere along the way he changed his name to Tiber Septim, in order to match what the money was called.

Many people believe that after Talos died, he was promoted to a member of the Divines. Just in case any of the Thalmor are reading this, I’m legally required to state that this did not happen and humans can’t become gods, because we simply don’t have the intelligence for it. Unlike the average Thalmor officer.

The Throat of the World

The Throat of the World is the tallest mountain in Skyrim and by extension Tamriel. They might have higher mountains in places like Akavir or Atmora, but no one really bothers about those places. It’s unclear how the TotW got its name, since people’s throats aren’t typically very pointy or covered in snow. My guess is that someone from the Bards’ College thought it up. The only place on the Throat to get a bite to eat is High Hrothgar, the home of the Greybeards. While the monks don’t offer much in the way of conversation, they’re very kindly old men, and won’t shout at you for accidentally falling asleep in their library and drooling on their copy of Songs of the Return.