#chicks in chainmail

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Chicks in Chainmail Anthology by Larry Elmore

[book0ftheday]

Chicks in Chainmail edited by Esther Friesner, cover art by Larry Elmore, published 1995.

Publisher's Note: The Publisher wishes it known that the title for this volume was chosen by the editor and not by him. As a sensitive New Age Guy in good standing it would simply never occur to him to propose such a title, and he was shocked-shocked-that it did to others.

[jvwest]

[whumpinthepot]

Love train 🚂💖💖💖! Send this to all the blogs you love! Don’t forget to spread the love! 😊

Love you too Anon!! Heres a baby chicky from my farm for u <3

[adelesbian]

sometimes i want to quit my job and become a cheap romance novelist

[sixofravens-reads]

I really need to collect the rest of this series someday because god, the titles are so fantastic.

[darkelfchicksick]

Tag nine people to get to know them better. Tagged by @mariocki ty :3

fav color: blues and greens, although I'm also a bitch for a nice dark red, and purples. in general, saturated gothy tones.

currently reading: die angestellten by siegfrid kracauer, the pyeongchang pride and prejudice AU by AMarguerite, and, for proofreading, the too many everquest fanfics I'm co-authoring

last show: the last new show i watched was post mortem: ingen dør pa skarnes, a fun little Norwegian vampire thriller? thing. mystery. police procedural? idk man

last movie: the long road to war, a french-serbian documentary abt the events leading up to ww1. since I'm not a ww1 buff like some people i love to pieces, I'll have to rewatch it and get some input on whether it's actually decent

currently working on: LMAO I'll try? to get a list, i have problems

art: a painting of my rat harrow pc, an elsa frozen painting, several little drawings of other people from my guild, opal darkbriar portrait, a witcher netflix still redraw, mental health elsas

writing: two big stories abt Freeport mage chicks, several short stories about lucan-adjacent character's, and a non-everquest lesbian porn retelling of the hca snow queen

fiber stuff: i have a t-shirt pattern i want to try, a blouse that i already tested and want to sew in the actual fabric, a skirt that needs hemming, a crochet shawl, a crochet pandemic blanket, some more crochet lace for a sampler i think that's it???

dolls: testing some crochet patterns for chainmail, some sewing patterns for costumes, i need to buy a primer so I can do face-ups uuuuh. wigs. generally just working out dolls. test doll is going to be a custom antonia bayle

i think that's it?

unless you count the 2 d&d campaigns I'm DMing and the 1 I'm preparing

if you want to do this one, you have been TAGGED

[manifeststories]

Chapter 19: Halloween Mask

Katelyn's Home. Halloween Eve, 8:30 PM.

With the sun now set, Katelyn was ready for her night out. She already had the controller set and sitting in her matching yellow purse that she'll bring; just in case. Like yesterday, she stared at herself in her mirror and brought the masks together; ready for her Halloween transformation.

She leaned forward and pushed the already-wriggling green mass onto her face. As individual tendrils stretched itself over her head, she kept her hands over her molding face and sensually rubbed her fingers into the quickly softening material; lathering the mask's magic material deep into her pores. The mask sought to: clamp down on her skull, massage her scalp, invade her ears, and tighten around her jawline. Once the tendrils found the back of her skull, Katelyn spun into a twister that lit up her room with green flashes and a series of thunderous applause.

In an instant, she stopped spinning and just looked longingly into her mirror; there stood a female masked Stanley Ipkiss. Her yellow attire had an air of indulgence while her green face screamed of wild decadence. Katelyn bit her forest green lips and struck a pose; with a pedicured hand on her hips and a slight bend of her leg. She felt ready, she felt giddy, but above all she felt oddly free. Free from the unpredictability of her alter-ego. And free from the judgement of others; at least for tonight.

Her phone buzzed and interrupted her mid-thought. "hey meet us at skate park in 5," Danny messaged.

Upon seeing this, she walked out of her bedroom with her yellow purse and headed over to join the rest of her friends.

As she stepped outside, in the cool autumn night, she pondered. "The skate park eh...?"

Then Katelyn had an idea. Stepping onto her lawn, she pulled out a cobalt green skateboard from her blazer's pocket and dropped it onto the pavement. With a hop and a push, she sped into the night with the best protective helmet of all, her magical mask.

===

Skate Park. Halloween Eve, 8:40 PM.

"Woah! Is that real chainmail?" Malcolm asked, "are you like a knight or something?"

Danny shrugged. When he was with Maria, they would be in complementing outfits like: a cowboy and cowgirl or even Khaleesi and Jon Snow. This year, he didn't know what to wear and just bought whatever was left at Spencers.

"Hey who's that?" Tiffany asked. The group directed their gaze towards the park's entrance and saw a bright green skateboard ollie off a handrail and roll towards the teens. The figure got off the board and walked towards the group; who were standing under a street lamp. The figure approached, tilted her green head, and exposed her green and yellow cosplay to the group.

"Oh my god..." Danny said in horror; it was the green-faced lady. Danny took a step back and swallowed hard.

"Hi guys," Katelyn said in her normal voice, "it's me Katelyn!"

Danny grew even more confused. Even though she looked similar to the green-faced chick he met before, she didn't have the same sultry voice.

There was a pregnant pause as the group just continued to look at her; both in stock and in awe.

Malcolm then broke the silence, "Oh hey! Girl~ you're looking fine tonight. What you dressed up as?"

Katelyn cleared her throat and said, "I figure... I'd dress up like someone from a movie... Stanley Ipkiss from..."

"Oh yeah! From that mask movie." Malcolm tilted his head, "... wow. You really committed to the bit."

Katelyn blushed through her mask. "Thanks. Where's this party anyway?"

"Let's go!" Tiffany told the group as she looked down at her phone. "Don't wanna be too late..."

Katelyn hopped towards Danny's and asked teasingly, "... and who might you be?"

Danny, still struggling to recompose himself, replied "Uh... a knight." He cleared his throat and with more confidence in his voice, "at you're service~" And gave a little bow.

"Oooh, a knight in shining armor eh?" she asked rhetorically. "Hope I don't need saving tonight~"

Danny's smiled; welcoming the much needed confidence boost. He held out his gloved hand and Katelyn accepted his invitation; the two then held hands as they walked together out of the skate park.

===

Party House. Halloween Eve, 8:50 PM.

As soon as the group walked into the party, Tiffany broke Katelyn's clasp and pulled Danny to the side and quickly whisked him away somewhere in the packed house.

Katelyn, now separated from Danny, waded through the sea of witches, skeletons, and ninjas costumes. While she noticed the occasional stare or whistle, she felt oddly calm. Normally, she would be anxious to go to a party, like when she visited her cousin in UCLA, but this time it was different. In the back of her mind, she knew that nobody would suspect that she wasn't really "wearing" a costume; in fact it was wearing her.

After a few minutes of just wandering around, she gave up looking for her friends and walked to the back patio to get some air. She didn't know where Danny was or even if he was still at the party anymore. She rubbed her green chin and an idea popped into her head. She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a pair of X-ray binoculars. She placed them over her eyes and used it to scan the house; looking for Danny. After a few seconds of meandering, she looked into the ground and noticed a red outline of a person labeled 'Danny'.

"Why would he be underground?" She asked herself and walked inside the house towards the basement. She sneaked downstairs and was horrified at what she saw.

Danny, stripped of his costume, was laying on an ironing board with his hands tied-up and a rope in his mouth. She started to approach him but then heard some giggling behind her and quickly hid in the bathroom next to the stairwell. She locked the bathroom door and brought one side of her smooth head, where her ears would be, and pressed it against the bathroom door.

"So, you thought you could cheat on me in private and then publicly dump me?"

It was Maria; and she sounded like she wanted revenge.

"After humiliating me yesterday in front of the whole school... I'm now gonna humiliate you." Katelyn then heard a series of punches and yelps echo through the basement.

Katelyn had to do something; Danny was getting hurt and she didn't know what to do to help.

Just then, Katelyn felt an itch on the back of her head. She tilted her head towards the mirror and saw a reflection of herself with her arms crossed; wearing a shit-eating grin.

"I can help. If you you give me the chance..." her alter-ego suggested.

Katelyn adverted her eyes away from the mirror and looked to the floor. She contemplated the proposal as the noises in the basement grew louder and more frantic. She was panicking and she was getting desperate.

"Fine," she said to herself, reluctantly, to her reflection. "But you have 10 minutes."

Her alter-ego leapt up and down while clapping her hands as Katelyn tossed her yellow fedora into the corner of the bathroom.

With her delicate finger tips, she dug at the crease; trying to pull off the mask quickly. This time, the mask seemed to peel off easily; perhaps it knew that in due time it would briefly be unshackled from the constraints of Katelyn's psyche. With a pop, the masks deformed back into their wooden forms.

She quickly dug around her purse and set the controller's settings: "FW" to OFF, and an expiration timer for 10 minutes. Her hands, now shivering thanks to being back in her thin nighties in the cold basement, brought the two previously-worn masks up to her face and it eagerly latched itself on; giving her alter-ego a chance to escape on Halloween night.

=====

Desperate times call for desperate measures...

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[littlemissskuld]

Time for some Skuld ramblings;

I see all these posts of the books people have read, but it's what is considered "classics" growing up. Where I on the other hand grew up purely on Fantasy and Science fiction.

My Mum read to me for a loooooonnng time and she introduced me to some of the best- in my opinion- best authors.

Here is as many as I can remember; with examples

Diane Duane - Book of Night with Moon is my fave

Mercedes Lackey- By the Sword,The Oath

Anne McCaffrey- The Dragon Riders of Pern

Tamora Pierce - The Woman who rides like a man, The Bone Doll's Twin

Pierce Anthony- The Xanth series ( this was one of the earliest I can remember)

Gordon R Dickson - The Dragon and the George

Jim Butcher- The Dresden Files

Zenna Henderson - The People series

Tad Williams- Otherland

Marian Zimmer Bradley- The Dark Over series and the Chick's in Chainmail short stories

Naomi Novak- the Temeraire series

Robin McKinnley- Spindle's End

Neil Gaiman - Coraline, and The Sandman series

Elizabeth Haydon - The Rhapsody series

And that's barely scratching the surface.

Feel free to add your non conventional childhood authors.

[caeric-arclight]

The ‘Chicks’ anthology series (along with Margaret Ball’s related novel)

Not quite the types of stories you might expect. Esther Friesner has edited some other great anthologies, too. Personal favorite would be Strip Mauled, with werewolf stories. Part of the ‘Supernatural Suburbia’ series of anthologies that includes Witch Way to the Mall and Fangs for the Mammaries.

[big-wired]

Hey everyone, another episode of Brain Food has landed! 

In this episode, I review and discuss the feminist minded fantasy anthology series, Chicks in Chainmail, edited by Esther Frisner.

Sadly, it’s not as good as I used to believe it was, as its feminism is almost on par with that of Buffy’s to a certain degree.

[mikkeneko]

The Amazon scenes of ‘Wonder Woman,’ seen yesterday, really put me in the mood to read this again -- because it’s the same refreshing concept at heart; warrior women written by women.  

As explained in the preface, ‘Chicks in Chainmail’ was a concept drummed up by Esther Friesner in the ‘90s in response to a lot of the Conan-style, chainmail bikini babe pulp fantasy of the day. Friesner put out a call for female authors in the market at the time, both well-known and more obscure, to write to the prompt of ‘warrior women.’ There are a lot of different takes; there’s the traditional sword-swinging sister, but also mercenary mamas trying to raise kids while making a living through murder, and at least one had literal Hillary Clinton (in her pre-Senator days) getting kidnapped by a group of Valkyries.

If seeing‘Wonder Woman’ awoke a thirst in you for more fierce sisterhoods of warrior women written by women,  check out this collection.

[storypraxis]

She’d be right at home in a cyberpunk setting. Maybe wearing a VR visor. Or maybe she’s a time traveler who's gone to visit the Middle Ages for a chainmail tunic.

[nahara-nation]

Alright babes time to chalk these character designs up to “please hire a furry I’m begging you”

[jasminevalloittaja]

Bloodlust upon me I'm biting the flesh I'll take away Your God given breath Now I shall feast On your life giving blood Leave you to die On the land you once stood

Available at hellbentdesigns(dot)ca

[sixofravens-reads]

*some of these continue well into the 21st century, but they at least started then.