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sserpente · 8 months

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Blood on a Silver Platter

Synopsis: You are a human slave forced to serve your master the night he hosts a dinner party for some special guests. Only when you meet Astarion, you realise that the reason you were bought was not for your services... but for your blood.

A/N: Whoops. Oh dear, what is this sassy vampire doing on my blog? Seriously, I started playing Baldur's Gate 3 two nights ago but I've been obsessed with Astarion even before that. If you follow me on that fancy picture app, you'll know I've met Neil before and I can't emphasise enough how much of a sweetheart he is. He truly has a hand for these sassy characters, haha! Have fun reading!

Words: 1749 Warnings: blood, feeding, slave!Reader

Astrid didn’t like new girls. They were shy, terrified, angry, and stubborn and they knew nothing about how this place was run, where the dishes, the cutlery, and the crystal wine glasses were. But how would you? You had a right to be terrified. You had a right to be angry. How else would you feel, sold and enslaved like cattle or a piece of furniture?

Ezekiel, your new master, had made it very clear to you from the very beginning that you were easily replaceable if you did not obey. Human slaves did not sell for much in these parts, for they lacked strength, agility… and longevity compared to other species. You could not argue with that—and that made you even more furious.

He was hosting a dinner party tonight, a group of travellers if you’d heard correctly. Of course, none of you were supposed to ask questions. You were merely there to serve and make them comfortable. You sighed. You had been on your feet all day, preparing the feast and preparing the table.

By the time Ezekiel received his guests, Astrid was screaming the place down in the kitchens. She was not a slave—your master paid for her services and left her in charge of the girls he bought to do the dirty work for them. You hated them both.

Right after the main course was served and the guests began to eat, Astrid handed you a jug of red elven wine. Her ice-cold eyes bore into yours. “Ezekiel asked for you specifically to serve the wine before the main course. Do not speak unless you’re spoken to. Refill the wine, keep your head down, and leave, is that understood?”

“Yes.” You gnashed your teeth, biting back a snarky remark when she pushed you through the doorway and you almost spilled the expensive alcohol on the stone tiles to your feet.

It was the first time you got to lay your eyes on Ezekiel’s mysterious guests. None of them were human, not at first glance.

There was one with green skin, another with red skin and horns protruding from their forehead… a tiefling… one of them, however, stood out to you the most; he was sitting at the head of the table. His short blonde hair was wild, complimenting those sharp ears, the pale skin, and his eyes… red pupils.

You quickly looked down when you realised your master noticed your rude staring, refilling their wine glasses as instructed by Astrid. The blonde man’s gaze bore into you the closer you got to him, intrigue apparent on his face.

“Well then, my honoured guests. Dinner is served. Enjoy your meal. That goes for you too, Astarion. I hope she is to your satisfaction. I got her from the slave market only three days ago.” Ezekiel leaned over to another slave girl. “Take that jug from her.”

Astarion. You did not fail to notice that his plate was the only one that was still empty. But you realised a moment too late what exactly your master’s words entailed. The slave girl you handed the jug to was only slightly older than you but you didn’t even know her name. All you knew was that the both of you dreaded what Ezekiel had in store for you, for as soon as your hands were empty, Astarion grabbed your wrist and pulled you toward him.

“Why, hello, darling.”

Losing your balance, you stumbled, landing on his lap. He was quick to snake his arm around your waist to keep you from escaping. He buried his free hand in your hair and tugged on it hard enough to force you to reveal your neck to him.

Your eyes widened when you caught a glimpse of his fangs right before he sank them deep into your throat, breaking the skin. You flinched, the burning sensation quickly turning into a pulling pain that had you shaking on his lap, and then… the panic kicked in and dug its claws deep into your guts.

Pushing your palms flat against his chest, you attempted to push yourself off of him, your survival instinct getting the better of you. You winced when the pain intensified and Astarion pressed you even closer against him as he drank from you. His lips on your neck sent shivers down your spine and the more you fought, the more he seemed to be enjoying himself.

It felt like an eternity and as your body grew weaker, your determination to drive a stake through his heart grew with each passing second.

Finally, Astarion released you. He licked his lips, red with your blood, an almost lascivious noise escaping him. When he let go, you slid off of him with the last of your remaining strength, almost toppling to the floor in the process.

“Hmm… thank you, darling,” you heard him say. “You taste absolutely delightful.”

You did not turn around to see the smug expression that would match his tone on his face. Instead, you hurried back to the kitchens with trembling limbs, processing what had just happened. Your mind was near empty. As if along with your blood, he’d sucked every other thought from you as well. You swallowed thickly.

He bit you. He drank your blood. He almost killed you. He used you like a living blood bag. Was this why Ezekiel had bought you?

“Where is the new girl? I asked her to do one simple job, for the love of the gods!”

“Astrid, I’m not sure she…” It was the girl who had taken the wine jug from you who spoke up. She knew that something bad would happen, she must have. You had seen it in her eyes when your gazes had crossed.

“I’m here now,” you croaked out. Your throat was dry. You didn’t want to go back out there. Didn’t want to help serve dessert, didn’t want to face him again after what he’d just done to you with everyone watching as if it didn’t concern them, eating their fucking stag steak for dinner.

“A-Astrid… would… w-would you mind s-serving dessert, p-please?” you chirped.

“And what do you dream of at night?” She came barging in from the pantry, arms akimbo and practically fuming. You swallowed thickly, clenching your fists in a weak attempt to control your shaking. It was with great satisfaction that you noticed her face fall when you turned around, revealing the small trickles of blood running down the fresh bite mark on your neck.

Her eyes widened. You were quite certain you had never seen her stutter before.

“Go… you can… g-go wash up. I’ll take care of the desserts.”

“Thank you.” You nodded, rushing past the other slave girls, all of them staring at you with widened eyes, and barged into the small washing room adjacent to the kitchens. A dirty kitchen towel would have to do to wash the blood off of you.

With trembling fingers, you rubbed at your sensitive skin until almost all evidence of his assault was gone before leaning over to wash your face. You used the cleanest-looking part of the kitchen towel to pat yourself dry before you took a deep breath and opened your eyes again—facing Astarion in the mirror right behind you. The gasp that escaped your lips echoed through the almost empty room. Instinctively, you stepped back, only to realise a fraction of a second too late that you would bump straight into his chest.

The vampire grabbed your arms and flipped you around fast so you’d face him, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Hello there,” he purred. “No need to be so frightened, dear.”

You narrowed your eyes at him. It was the amusement in his voice that had you seethe, anger pushing your fear out of the way for just a moment. “Of course not. Why would I be? You only just bit me and drank my blood like I’m some sort of snack.”

“Oh but are a snack,” he retorted, chuckling. “And you were quite a delicious one too.”

You stared at him. “What do you want?”

“I want you to come see me tonight.”

Frowning, you processed his words. He couldn’t possibly mean…

Astarion laughed. “You are looking so frightened again. I promise I will make it worth your while.”

“And if I don’t want to?” you whispered. You were a slave—your question was entirely redundant. It wasn’t like you had a choice. Ezekiel had practically delivered you to Astarion on a silver platter.

“Well, Ezekiel expects me to kill you tonight.”

You felt your heart plummet.

“I understand it he only bought a human slave for the occasion. To satiate my hunger and for my… entertainment tonight. Surely, he is aware how feeble mortal lives are, it is almost a waste to invest in human slaves.” You gnashed your teeth. “But there is an alternative,” he continued.

“What alternative?” you snapped.

“I could use a travelling companion. A… loyal blood slave, so to speak, and I must say I did not expect human blood to taste so delightful.”

Your frown deepened. A blood slave… to a vampire, following him like an obedient and lost puppy… you would rather die than give up your body like that. But was it truly worse than serving your current master knowing he had killed former slaves for dropping plates before? Knowing that the sole reason he had purchased you was to please one of his guests?

One thing was certain—you did not want to die and at least… he was quite handsome, was he not?

“What do you say, dearest?” Astarion’s brushed his knuckles against your cheek. He took a step forward, pressing you against the doorframe and trapping you between the solid wood and his strong body.

You sucked in a deep breath when he bent your head to the side, revealing the bite mark he had left on you. You prepared for another rush of sharp pain tearing through your neck, squeezing your eyes shut in response.

Instead, you felt his tongue dart out to taste you with a start, licking over the wound.

“There… all healed. For now,” he added with a sly smirk. You frowned, your hand flying up to feel your neck. He was right. The two little holes where his fangs had punctuated your skin were gone. And yet… his sly smirk was a silent promise that this was only the beginning of your time together.

A/N: Check out my blog for more Imagines and my original novel(s)! ♥

#astarion #astarion imagine #astarion x reader #astarion x you #astarion x female reader #baldur's gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 imagine #neil newbon

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critter-genfic-events · 2 months

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This week, we have nein lovely hair care fics! Come enjoy some tender love and care. Check them out under the cut, and as ever, comment or kudos if you like them!

Routine by RainyDayDecaf (2902,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Beau & Essek

A part of a series where tm9 find a feebleminded Essek, this fic features Beau cutting Essek's hair and giving him a sense of comfort no one was expecting

Reccer says: I adore this series in general, but this specific fic just hit all the right spots for me comfort wise.

won't you try to be kind to that wandering mind? by GrayintoGreen (2566,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Fearne & Laudna & Imogen

Fearne gets to have a little bit of girls-only bonding time with Imogen and Laudna

Reccer says: It's a great Fearne point of view, plus early campaign bonding time!

fate (is but dandruff) by Meridas (1794,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Mollymauk & Yasha

A newly resurrected Mollymauk and Yasha cut their hair together

Reccer says: It feels like healing

Shave and a Haircut (Two Bits) by MasterQwertster (1749,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Ashton Greymoore & Laudna

Laudna has a rock chisel in her hair and Ashton’s could use a… trim, for lack of a better term.

Reccer says: A fun look at taking care of crystal hair and friendship between Laudna and Ashton.

trimmed by Chanse (SpottedEnchants) (239,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Essek & Yasha

essek inspects the aftermath of yasha's help

Reccer says: It's short, sweet, and very poignant

there is no other version of this story by Otocyon (625,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Vex and Vax

Vex tries to talk to Vax

Reccer says: Lovely, lyrical and heartbreaking

With no Lapidary by Operafloozy (960,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings:

Ashton's hair requires a little extra work to take care of - much like the genasi himself

Reccer says: An interesting thought I never had before - if Ashton's hair is actually gemstones, how did he learn to take care of it?

Three Years, Six Beacons, Nein Braids by devil_seabird_king (ShaaKi) (1818,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Essek & Verin Thelyss

Verin visits Essek in prison, talks about the nein, and braids his hair

Reccer says: I liked it

tell me there's another song by yelenavasilyevna (7220,Mature) Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, discussion of child abuse (Caleb's backstory) Pairings: Astrid Becke/Caleb Widogast, Astrid Beck/Eadwulf Grieve

A post-canon character study about the newly appointed Master Astrid Becke. Astrid copes with the political and ethical horror show that Ikithon has left for her to clean up, while reconnecting with Bren as he teaches her his transmogrification spell. Uses haircutting and Astrid's hair as a framing device.

Reccer says: Class tension, Astrid on the assembly, Astrid in the memory prison rooms of the nein-sided tower, Astrid talking to students, Astrid and Eadwulf trying to be people after a lifetime of being weapons, Astrid and Caleb doing magic together, and gratuitous use of the title "Master Becke"

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

Next week, we'll be featuring Pre-Campaign fics!

Then, it'll be Crashing A Party, Calamity Focused, and then Transformation!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit!If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

#critical role #critter genfic rec lists #gen fic #cr fan fic #hair care #the mighty nein #bells hells #vox machina #sorry for the late post!

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wildwren · 1 year

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The thing about The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749) is that it is fundamentally about women’s desire. I’m not saying that I like everything that Fielding has to say about women’s desire, or that his own obsession with women’s sexuality isn’t baldly plain on the page. It is! It definitely is! For every one of his culture’s biases about women’s sexuality that he aims to deconstruct, there are several more of his own that remain unexamined. It’s one of the knottier (and perhaps more compelling) parts of the text as a modern reader — to observe how these sort of proto-feminist threads are at tension with the lazy misogyny still on the page.

However, it is undeniably the female characters' desires that shape and propel the narrative, so it’s very interesting to see how modern readers who have never read the book or have only learned about aspects of it through osmosis apply a knee-jerk assumption that it’s Tom’s desires that are shaping the story. They know it’s about a man who sleeps with several women, so therefore Tom must be a seducer, a womanizer, a rake, a playboy, or even a rapist. When in fact, it’s a central conceit (if not THE central conceit) of the novel that Tom is never interested in a woman who isn’t interested in him first. The romance begins when Sophia decides she wants Tom, not when Tom decides he wants Sophia.

There’s certainly a lot to unpack in the fact that Fielding wrote an 1000-page novel about horny women lusting after his hero, but in as much as it’s possible to back something like that up, he does back it up. Women don't just like Tom because he's attractive, they like him because he’s genuinely good with women. He actually likes women, he enjoys spending time with them in both sexual and platonic contexts. He feels safe to be around because it's not his default mode to objectify women -- he literally never once considers sleeping with a woman until she has already propositioned him. He regularly leverages his privilege to defend and advocate for women who others around him have decided are worthless and maintains positive feelings towards his partners after their sexual relationship has ended. He remains friends with his ex-girlfriend Molly for the rest of his life!! He is -- literally -- the definition of a himbo in its truest form.

Anyway, I'm just really grateful that Gwyneth Hughes and Georgia Parris both understood this about Tom as a character and understood the opportunities in the text for actively centering the women -- giving the voice of the story to Sophia and adding much needed roundness and complexity to the other female characters on the page. It's really what I've always wanted for this book. Of course the story still has issues, some of which are baked in, most notably the execution of the HEA and how it requires Fielding to uphold the systems he's spent the novel critiquing (but that's a different essay.) But at the end of the day, I love these characters so much and it's just nice to read interviews with Hughes where she makes it clear: "I didn't update Tom. This is Tom."

#tom jones #the history of tom jones #henry fielding #tom jones pbs #tom jones 2023 #gwyneth hughes #tom jones meta #i wrote this post in the green room before my gig last night akljdhfasfas #i just have so many feelings #tom my boy my actual son and heir

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a-d-nox · 10 months

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jason, the unconventional hero (asteroid 6063)

"when talking about such a popular god/ goddess/hero i am going to for warn paraphrasing - of course all these stories have more details and all these popular gods have stories within stories. i would love to share them all/in detail but i would need a book and a lot more time to write it. my attempt in writing these posts are to inform you on the high level story of the god’s or goddess’s life. that being said if any one of the events regaled in the post pique you interest - please let me know i don’t mind giving a more in-depth tale of any of the events mentioned."

Son of King Aeson and leader of the Argonauts, Jason was sent away at a young age before he was more than just a boy prince. His uncle seized the land his father ruled - his father sent Chiron to raise him due to this. When he returned to his homeland as a young man, he came upon an old woman near a river who asked him to help her cross it. Jason took the woman across on his shoulders - this woman was Hera, who his uncle allegedly had been neglecting to worship. Hera inspired the boy to see his uncle. Pelias immediately felt mortified as he noted Jason was missing a sandal - for years he worried that someone would challenge him. So, in those years, he visited with an oracle who told him that he should be wary of a man with only one sandal. He immediately feared his nephew was there to steal his throne - so he questioned Jason about what he would do if someone challenged his reign. Jason answered as that he would send them on a quest for the Golden Fleece - these words were spoken by Jason but were guided by Hera once more. Pelias told him that is what Jason would have to do to prove he was the rightful king of the land. Jason was off to start readying himself for the journey - with Athena's guidance, he found the shipbuilder Argus who crafted Jason's ship, the Argo. He then recruited the Argonauts: Heracles, Castor, Pollux, Meleager, Orpheus, Peleus, and Telamon. Jason and the Argonauts traveled to islands made up of cursed women, six-armed men, Amazons, etc. Eventually he received the fleece with the help of the enchantress Medea (this part of the story, I have told - I will leave it to her post because, let's face it, she did basically all the work). The two fled together under near constant chase of her family - until eventually they found that if they were married they would have no right to chase after her. The two married; as we know from her side of the myth their relationship is an odd one. She tricks his cousins into killing their father King Pelias, his cousin kicks him out, Jason remarries - not really because Medea burns her in her wedding gown, Medea kills their children, etc. Unsurprisingly, Jason is abandoned by the gods because of his disloyalty to Medea and their shared vows. Jason then lives out the rest of his days alone - ironically, the rotting Argo collapses on him and Jason dies from a crush wound in his sleep. IN MY OPINION Jason in your chart can represent a) how you can improve your leadership skills, b) where you are a pawn in karma's game, c) where the gods guide you, d) where you get a lot of help from others, and/or e) how/where your break vows.

i encourage you to look into the aspects of jason along with the sign, degree, and house placement. for the more advanced astrologers, take a look at the persona chart of jason AND/OR add the other characters involved to see how they support or impede jason!

OTHER RELATED ASTEROIDS: hera (103), heracles (5143), athene (881), pallas (2), orpheus (3361), chiron (2060), peleus (11311), telamon (1749), and medea (212)!

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my "suggest a post topic" button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next!

click here for the masterlist

click here for more greek myths & legends

want a personal reading? click here to check out my reading options and prices!

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thegaycousin-upgrade · 5 months

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Reading about the people who signed the constitution is so funny bc it’s always like:

James Wilson:

Did you know James Wilson was awarded an honorary Masters degree in art!

Did you know James Wilson was a gambler?

And then it’s like fucking:

Benjamin Franklin:

Did you know Ben Franklin created swimming fins, the armonica, the lightning rod, and bifocals?

Did you know Ben Franklin killed a turkey with an electric shock as a party trick in 1749?

Did you know Ben Franklin made a new English alphabet with only 20 letters that never caught on?

Did you know Ben Franklin wanted the National bird of American to be the Turkey not the bald eagle because eagles had, AND I QUOTE, “bad moral character”?

Did you know Ben Franklin posted newspapers with misinformation that he knew was false just to mislead people?

Did you know that there is a common conspiracy theory that Ben Franklin killed Beethoven unintentionally?

Like… WHAT? HOW DID HE DO IT ALL!? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK.

#benjamin franklin #ben franklin #Ben Franklin is an icon #love him #history #america #constitution #history memes #history funny #history facts #james wilson #glass armonica #beethoven

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cousticks · 5 months

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Hi cou <3 I wanted to ask if you had any thoughts on the Transcendents and/or any brainstorms on what we may see from them if they ever do appear cause there's some interesting names there

Hi Sol!! This ramble really got away from me. I end up going on about the Great War, different European organizations , talk about 55 minutes a little bit, brief stints on the real-life authors, this is really rambly as all hell.

Honestly? I don't know what to expect from them at all, and I'm quite excited about it.

Realistically, I don't expect them to appear directly. It seems like the Transcendents mostly exist in background and worldbuilding outside of the main series. Our favorite sad frenchmen Verlaine and Rimbaud were mostly for Chuuya's backstory (though Verlaine is still technically relevant, as an executive. I expect him to come back... eventually. The Chekhov's Gun of "waiting for a storm" wouldn't have been left if he wasn't mean to come back eventually in a plot relevant way, I hope. We know what happened to Rimbaud, too.

As for the big names we haven't seen any of yet, I feel like they were mostly involved in the circumstances of the War, and some background for 55 Minutes. (I had to go reread the passage where they're mentioned.) We... don't really know anything about them at all, other than they were European ability users who were deployed during the war with devastating outcomes.

Read more cut because I got real rambly <3

If we did see any more from them, though? I expect big things.

I study English literature, so I'm not too versed on other European works, unfortunately, so I did a little light research. (I encourage anyone better with German literature particularly to hop in.)

Goethe's Faust was wildly influential in German literature during a time where there was a push to form a unique literary identity separate from that of England and France, if I'm understanding correctly. It was and is a great work of literature that helped form the literary identity of a country. Foundational. That's not something to be taken lightly and I'd expect a powerful user to come out of it.

Similar with Victor Hugo. Plays, massive literary works, all riddled with social commentary that was key to his time. Big things. I'm more familiar with Hugo and kind of making the assumption anyone seeing this is, too. Or at least knows Les Mis. You don't write Les Mis to get anime twinkified in a way that is weak or uninteresting.

And of course, Shakespeare. Who had such a wild contribution on English literature and the language itself that we still use today plenty of words he invented, and follow the pattern of his plays to no end. I had a horrible Shakespeare phase I never grew out of, and have favorite sonnets (sonnets 131-134 my beloved). He was foundational to the language as we know it. I'm sure he'll be a powerful user.

But... sure, whatever. All the characters we know are powerful skill users in their own right. That's not new, that's just me going "look! this major author was important! wahoo!" I haven't said anything yet.

The Transcendent characters are... kind of strange, when you look at their real life counterparts. Most if not all of the characters are based off of authors within ~100 years of each other (with lifespans ranging from early 1800s to early-mid 1900s, generally.) With considerable overlap.

The Transendents, though? Are kind of outside of this. Victor Hugo is a little earlier than average, but he's got some decent overlap with the other authors. Rimbaud and Verlaine are in there, too. But Goathe? He was born in 1749, and died in 1832. The end of his life overlaps with some of the older authors generally present in the main series, but he really is significantly earlier, generally, to the point its kind of weird. And Shakespeare? Man is from the 1500s. He is so far removed from the other general eras that I was honestly surprised he was mentioned anywhere within relevant BSD canon. As such, I'm expecting to see some crazy shit with him, even in more background lore than actual main plot. Shakespeare is so far removed from any of the other authors featured and so foundational to his language that I can't imagine him not having crazy amounts of impact.

As far as the 'organization' itself, the Transcendents seem to be more of a class of ability users from the war more than any kind of group on their own, which I'll always find interesting. I'd love to learn more of what exactly they did in the war--its only mentioned that Goethe, Shakespeare, and Hugo 'clashed' during the war in 55 minutes. Each from one of the three countries who's peace treaty resulted in Standard Island. So likely they were all enemies. We don't really know who was on what sides, or what the "sides" were at all. Its interesting, because if we expand the scope to Rimbaud and Verlaine as well, that leads to three French Transcendents known, and only one English and one German. (I have my own running theory that Agatha Christie, or perhaps some other member in the Order is also a Transcendent, though.)

Which... I like to believe Shakespeare was allied with the Order, since they seem to call the shots for English ability users and foreign conflicts relating to such, and 55 Minutes says the Transcendents were deployed. As for the other two? Who knows.

We do know a decent bit about goings on in the French side of the war. We know they were running spies, with Rimbaud and Verlaine, and that there were internal conflicts at the time, as Verlaine killed his creator/was acquired by Rimbaud in what they called the May Uprising, iirc. France was also responsible for Mimic becoming what it was. Where Hugo fell into this, I don't know, but he was most likely working under whatever same government umbrella Rimbaud and Verlaine were. But with, theoretically, an even more combative ability, or just more blanket-powerful. Which... Rimbaud's Illuminations is pretty damn powerful, but Hugo was the one deployed as a direct offensive in the war, so we can at least assume his is either more combat-oriented or more generally powerful than Rimbaud's. That's about all I can assume about him.

Wells was an engineer for English skill-weapon development, which we can assume is a project that continued on in England after the war, considering how quickly the Order was able to deploy a weaponized skill user to wipe out Yokohama in Dead Apple. We really don't know much about the Clock Tower, other than the fact the Guild may also have ties to it, and that they're powerful. I'm sitting on the idea that Shakespeare was also involved in the order. We don't know what Agatha's ability is, but again we can make the assumption that whatever hers is, it is less combat oriented than Shakespeare's. Which... doesn't say much of anything, but we could theorize that Agatha's ability leans more manipulative or psychological than physical if it isn't combat optimized, which is an interesting insight to her, but kind of fitting to what we have seen of her, I think.

We... don't really know much of anything about the German side of things. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Goethe is the first German author mentioned in BSD canon at all? So I don't really have a reference for him. We can assume his ability is combat oriented and insanely powerful as well, but I've got nothing beyond that. Hopefully we'll get more content surrounding that eventually, that would be really cool. But... assume combative or otherwise offensive, that's all I've got.

I... don't really know what else to say on them, honestly. There's so little known and so many pieces missing that I can hold high expectations for the Transcendents we haven't seen, but I don't know enough about anything surrounding them to really have more than vague speculation.

Its a silly one, but I personally would love to see some kind of weird obscured identity surrounding Shakespeare at some point. If you've never gotten into the Shakespeare Authorship Question conspiracy theory rabbithole, I recommend it. Some kind of weird identity obscurity in canon would be a really fun nod to it that would personally make me happy and will probably be a headcanon I hold, but beyond that I've got nothing.

This was a very long answer to tell you I have no clue, but I had fun with this ask anyway!! I hope something from it gives you some food for thought.

#asks? answered. hotel? trivago.#sol!#bsd transcendents #bsd #bsd 55 minutes #bungo stray timeline #i guess

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checkoutmybookshelf · 1 year

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Spy Girls

School stories are one of those genres that everyone is kinda half-aware of, but few people know that it goes back as far as 1749 with Sarah Fielding's The Governess, or The Little Female Academy, not with the wizard school books. Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl books fall squarely into the boarding school novel tradition, but with a spy twist. When I was in high school, I read these books and Anthony Horowitz's Alex Rider series side-by-side, and while I liked both for very different reasons, the Gallagher Girls books spoke to the idea of community and sisterhood that I very much wanted (and was slowly finding, but with some pretty massive caveats).

Cammie Morgan learning to be a spy and a girl at the same time, and navigating all the pitfalls and joys of both worlds is objectively the best part of this series. These books are majorly nostalgic for me, and as is becoming more and more evident to me, I'm here for character dynamics. Our core quartet all have moments to shine and they never ever fail to support each other in their high school adventures.

#ally carter #gallagher girls #ya books #ya fiction #ya spy novels #spy girls #books #books and novels #books and reading #books & libraries #book recommendations

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umbry-fic · 9 months

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reminiscence

Summary: Following an order given by the Queen, Mizuki embarks on the trail of a demon.

Fandom: Project Sekai Colourful Stage Characters: Akiyama Mizuki, Shinonome Ena, Asahina Mafuyu Relationships: Akiyama Mizuki/Shinonome Ena, Akiyama Mizuki/Asahina Mafuyu (implied) Rating: T Word Count: 1749 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 16/07/2023

Notes+Warnings: A Ga1ahad and Scientific Witchery inspired fantasy AU. Warning for blood.

~~~

Mizuki crept through the forest wreathed in fog, taking care to avoid the stray branches littered about the snow carpeting the ground that leapt into view without notice. They scanned the space between the creeping trees, trying in vain to make out anything past a few inches ahead. It was like a curtain had been lowered all around them - a solid barrier that light was unable to breach. They could only forge ever onwards with the biting cold as their sole company. Each step made the frost laying on their bones dig its claws deeper, their breath emerging as crystallised puffs, shivers wracking their shoulders. The only thing that continued to drive them forward was the mission they had been entrusted with, which they were bound to carry out by the vow of fealty they had sworn to their Queen.

Their target truly was an elusive creature. A demon, mentioned only in hushed whispers and in embellished horror stories that graced sleepovers, their rumoured ferocity enough to elicit fear in the hearts of every citizen that lived in this fair kingdom. By order of the Queen, they’d been following up on a sighting of one for weeks, chasing after leads that disappeared like smoke as the sun set and rose, prepared to put an end to that which threatened the peace and safety of this land.

There wasn’t a single hint to latch onto - no footprints left behind on the snow to trail, nor any unnatural sounds to follow. It was enough to make them wonder if this had been just another instance of a hysterical villager, or a prank by a child that had gone too far. Yet, their target was within reach. They could feel it, a strange humming in their blood that had been getting louder over the past day. If they could just hold out a little longer -

A flash of brown against white made them pause. Could it be…? Could the end of this mission finally be within reach? Holding their breath, a bubble of forced calm descended over them in an instant, washing away the dregs of frustration. They shifted their stance, cautiously drawing their sword from its scabbard, the smooth slide of metal against metal slicing through the silence.

The air exploded into motion, a lance of pure flame shearing through the fog and nicking their cheek, flinging flecks of blood to stain the snow red. Shouldering through the fiery pain with naught but a grimace, as they were trained to do, Mizuki lunged, sword poised to pierce. A matching sword of flickering fire attempted to stop them in their tracks but only succeeded in ripping their cloak from their shoulders, sending its rippling form into the sky to burn to ashes that fluttered back to the earth.

The pained gasp that met their ears when they slammed into the ground informed them that their blade had met its target. With a grunt, they pressed the sword through the cloth it had caught and into the frozen ground, trapping their assailant beneath them, a thin stream of blood running down its edge from where it had grazed a shoulder. Still able to feel the ghostly remains of heat searing their skin, their hair falling out of their ponytail to fan their face, they raised their head, relieved that this long and miserable hunt had finally reached its conclusion.

The “demon” that met their gaze didn’t resemble any of the grotesque descriptions they’d heard passed around the royal soldier’s barracks. Pinned beneath them, there was only a girl that seemed to be around their age, with brown hair that ended in curls tumbling across the snow, and stark black horns curling from her head. Her clothes were dishevelled, brittle leaves stuck to the worn fabric. But what was most surprising were her eyes: wide, and fixed on Mizuki as if she were in the midst of seeing a ghost.

They could have sworn they’d never met this person in their life. After all, they never really left the castle, and their memories from before they’d arrived there were nothing more than a blank. Yet there was something incredibly familiar about her - the shape of her face, the flow of her hair, the curve of her horns. As their gaze traced over it all like they’d done it a thousand times before, the humming only intensified, enough to make them want to clap their hands over their ears.

More importantly, her use of magic marked her as the target that they were meant to eliminate. But Mizuki found they couldn’t move a muscle, some strange spell compelling them to stay as still as a statue. They could only stare, fascination warring with unease as the demon raised a trembling hand to their face, thumb brushing tenderly over the wound her own magic had left behind. It came away red with blood.

“It worked,” she breathed in a voice filled with wonder, a soft smile growing on her face that only made the unease roiling in their stomach grow. “It really…”

Her hand fell away, sorrow washing over her face like the relentless waves of the ocean, drowning out every last trace of joy.

The spell shattered, and Mizuki wrenched their blade from the ground, chest heaving as they let it hover over the demon’s throat. Their breaths came quickly, their heart racing, their vision blurring with unbidden tears. What in the world had that been…?

Closing her eyes, the demon let her head fall back against the ground, baring the pale skin of her neck to the sharp end of their sword. Not another word left her lips as she waited, the picture of serenity painted beautifully upon a canvas of snow.

It wouldn’t feel right, to end the life of someone who wasn’t even fighting back. None of this felt right, a sense of wrongness screaming in their heart and begging them to stop.

But it was their duty as a loyal knight to follow their given orders and dispatch this threat to their kingdom. To do otherwise would be treason - and they knew what the consequences of that would be.

It would be far easier to just lift their sword and end it all here, to stab through the seed of doubt that had ingrained itself in their heart. To leave it untouched and allow it to grow would be dangerous.

Gritting their teeth, they closed their own eyes, raising their sword with trembling hands -

“Ena!”

A shrill cry and a lance of pain straight through their shoulder made them roll back, sword clattering to the snow, hissing as they pressed a hand to the wound.

Another demon, this one with hair as white as the snow, burst through the trees, hurrying to help “Ena” to her feet. She shot Mizuki one last glare filled with terror, before scrambling to pull the both of them out of sight.

Mizuki should have given chase. Instead, they sunk to their knees, staring at the snow that had turned into a bloody, upturned mess, resembling a trampled flowerbed. They couldn’t hear anything over that strange humming that could be more likened to a tortured scream, their hands instinctively reaching for the top of their head.

Only for their fingers to close on nothing. Of course there would be nothing there, they reassured themselves. They were just a human knight that had been found by the Princess without a single memory but their name.

They repeated that fact in their head, over and over again, until their breathing had calmed down and the swirl of thoughts in their mind had cleared. Rising unsteadily to their feet, they retrieved their sword, sparing a glance at the gap in the trees where droplets of blood formed a trail.

If they followed it, they could easily catch up.

But… was that really what they wanted?

Sliding their sword back into its scabbard, they turned and left in the opposite direction, wishing to finally be free of this accursed forest.

~~~

“I lost track of them. That is all, Your Highness,” Mizuki intoned flatly from where they knelt on the floor of the throne room, head bowed.

“I see. That is disappointing.” There was nothing overtly threatening about the Queen’s words. Yet they could still feel those cold purple eyes trained on them, invisible thorns wrapping around them, squeezing and threatening to draw blood. “You will hunt them down the next time you meet, knight. You’re dismissed.”

Or else.

They rose, turning to catch the eye of the Princess. Mafuyu held their gaze for a while, something lurking in her eyes, before she gracefully followed her mother out of the room, her dress trailing behind her.

Later that day, when all light had bled out from the sky to be replaced with inky darkness and winking stars, there was a knock on their door.

“Hand it over,” Mafuyu mumbled after she’d made her way in, beckoning for the bandages they had set out on the table.

In silence, she dressed the wound on their shoulder, the moonlight filtering through the window set in the wall painting her in silver. Exquisite beauty that almost hurt to gaze upon, a blooming flower that would never wilt.

How did you find me? What truly happened, on that day?

The questions stuck in their throat like a round stone, refusing to be disgorged no matter what, even as their hands clenched, nails digging into the skin of their palm.

“Did they really escape?” Mafuyu asked in that quiet voice of hers, leaning back in her chair. Mizuki had always felt like she could see right through them, and they had never felt it more than in this moment, being the sole holder of her attention.

Resisting the urge to avert their gaze, they didn’t answer, and she only hummed knowingly, choosing not to pursue it any further.

~~~

That night, their dreams were a mess of faces and fractured shards of memories. Stumbling through a snowfield, frost eating at their skin and terror making its home in their heart. The day the Queen swore them into knighthood, the very sword they wielded now resting heavily on their shoulders.

A girl tending to their wounds, worry glimmering in her brown eyes as she gently stroked over the jagged edge of a broken horn, jutting from their head.

The vivid images slipped through their fingers with the morning light, leaving nothing but an aching hole in their heart.

#fanfiction #one shot #project sekai #project sekai colourful stage #akiyama mizuki #mizuki akiyama #shinonome ena #ena shinonome #asahina mafuyu #mafuyu asahina #mizuena #mzen

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purplesurveys · 7 months

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1749

How old were you 10 years ago? I was 15.

The last time you went out to eat, where did you go? I already talked about it in detail in a previous survey but my workmates and I went to a wine bar for Trina's despedida. We went to a nearby bar after for more filling bar chow cos all they had in the first place were light finger food meant to be paired with wine.

What did you order? For the wine bar, we got a few bottles of wine, clams, a cheese plate, and fries; for the bar, we had chips, sisig, and mac and cheese balls.

Think of the last film you watched. Who was your favourite character? I can't remember the last movie I saw because I rarely watch any anymore; but the last anything I watched was Prison Playbook. I'm only one episode in, but my favorite has been the sweet dude who was part of the same inmate batch as the main character. Least suspicious character so far, and it helps to know that his reason for getting incarcerated was merely because he didn't pay back the loan for his mom's surgery.

Do you use Twitter? How about Tumblr? I do use both, although I'm much more active on Twitter because all I do here is take surveys on weekends and the occasional weeknight.

What colour are the walls of the room you’re in? They're white.

What would you like to say to the last person that hurt you? I have not felt hurt by my loved ones for a very long time now. That feels pretty great to realize!

When was the last time you felt disappointed? Who/what cheered you up? I was soooo bummed last Friday – I had booked a visit to a museum, but I didn't expect the traffic to be absolutely awful (it was mid-afternoon, when roads would be relatively more relaxed) that I got to my destination 40 minutes after my reserved slot. It was also the last timeslot for the day, so it wasn't like I could just join the next batch of visitors.

I figured it'd be stupid of me to even show up lol, so I just went to the food hall next door, which also ended up sucking because there was no cell signal inside; I couldn't even use my data. At least I got a delicious spicy tuna poke from my visit.

Do you have a friend whose name starts with ‘L’? Describe him/her. There's Lea and Leigh. Lea is SUPER friendly, I love love love having conversations with her so it's a shame we see each other so rarely; I also see her as headstrong, ambitious, and intelligent. Leigh is creative, gentle, and a really talented singer.

When you opened your eyes this morning, what were your first thoughts? Holy shit I suck at waking up, I must have missed Jungkook's set at the Global Citizen Festival and I hate myself. Then I checked my Twitter (it was 7 AM by that point; they advertised the set as starting at 4 AM, Manila time) and apparently he was still in the middle of doing Seven LOL. Man did his set three hours late so I got to still hang out with him for a few minutes AND see the teaser for 3D!!!

Have you received any compliments today? Nah.

Describe one of your favourite items of clothing. Where did you get it? My brown sleeveless maxi dress - just Shopee, haha.

Name one of your favourite foods that starts with the letter A. Arancini.

Is there anyone from your past that you sometimes miss? Tell me about them. Only people I can think are Sofie and my grandpa. Sofie was my best friend in high school and we were each other's biggest confidantes. She was born overseas but since her parents were incapable of raising her and were separated, she was sent back here from childhood, and that's how she ended up in my school by around Grade 7. She had hair as thick as mine, loved makeup, and got me into Audrey Hepburn. We grew apart in college and saw each other a grand time of Once before she migrated to the UK this time last year. Our relationship post-drifting-apart has been wholesome and there's been absolutely no grudge or bad blood or whatever. I was raised around my grandpa routinely telling me random trivia and general knowledge, and I think I got my love from learning from him. He is a gifted writer and he apparently used to write my grandmother poems when they were younger, and is into history. If there is one thing he can't handle well, it's alcohol, and I have my fair share of trauma from what I've seen of him when he has had too much to drink. Nevertheless I think of him fondly, especially for the person he was without his brandy. He died in 2015 from a sudden heart attack when he was visiting family from our province.

How long have you known the last person you text messaged? Since 2020.

Do you know what the person you miss is doing at this moment? Probably on his lunch break.

Has anyone told you that they love you today? Yes.

In the last week, what’s the kindest thing that someone has done for you? My sister making me instant noodles when I asked her.

Is there a song that makes you cry every time you hear it? We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal has been a little rougher to listen to these days. So has Love Letters.

If someone read your mind right now, what would they hear? They would hear remnants of Le Sserafim's Fire In the Belly because I can't stop thinking about it lmao.

Do you have any favourite jewellery that you wear every day? Yes, my purple heart charm necklace that Reena gave me.

What colour are the eyes of the last male you talked to? Dark brown.

Are you wearing anything orange or red? Yes.

Who was the last person you said “hello” to? Idk, I think my sister.

I like to think there is always something to smile about…so, tell me, what’s your reason to smile right now? News about my potential resignation has apparently spread at work so I'm just happy that I'm not bearing it on my own anymore. They know I have plans to leave and they know I'm not too thrilled with my promotion, so at least I don't have to worry about violent reactions when the timing is finally right to step back and step out.

Also, Jungkook new single on Friday.

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scotianostra · 1 year

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Happy 57th Birthday Scottish actress Shirley Henderson.

Shirley was born 24th November 1965 in Forres, Moray, but grew up in Kincardine, Fife, she began performing young and at the age of 13 found herself singing in a boxing ring between bouts after winning a local singing competition going on to sing in the local working men’s clubs on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. Reading through a few interviews I found it interesting that her big days out as a youngster was going to the York Cafe in the town I live, Falkirk, the cafe is still there, but has been through a few changes in ownership since I came here 8 years ago.

Anyway back to the lass herself, after deciding upon acting as a career, she uprooted to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

After graduating in 1986 Henderson embarked upon a stage career that included spells at the National Theatre, the Royal Court, the Traverse, Hampstead, the Citizens, and the Whitehall Theatre.

I first remember her in Hamish Macbeth where she played Isobel Sutherland, who was head over heels in Robert Carlyle's character, though he didn’t know it, she bowed out in the penultimate episode.

There are very different roles that you might remember Shirley from, in my case she played Gail in the two Trainspotting films, if you need another reminder who she was, well remember Spud’s girlfriend and the incident with “dirty” bedding that he wanted to was and got into a tugging contest?

Other film fans will know Shirley as Moaning Myrtle in a couple of the Harry Potter films. Romcom fans will know her for her role as Jude in Bridget Jones’s Diary who is always in the ladies’ room crying about her boyfriend.

She has of course been in numerous other shows and films including Wish Me Luck, Casualty, The Bill, Rob Roy, Dr Who, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands, Happy Valley and she plays Lucille Hardy, wife of Oliver Hardy about the comedy duo, called Stan and Ollie.

Shirley is a busy lassie, she has recently been in Lovely Little Farm, on Apple TV, The 2022 comedy mystery film See how they run, and the excellent Channel 5 drama The House Across the Street.

Next up for oor Shirley is a new adaptation of Tom Jones, from the makers of Poldark, it is of course based on Henry Fielding's 1749 novel, Dune: The Sisterhood as prequel to the original for HBO Max and a Brit-flic set in London, The Trouble with Jessica is a comedy about the dissolving relationship of two couples.

Shirley has a great attitude and has said;

“ I never get the tall, blonde, glamorous roles because I'm not tall, blonde and glamorous. I'm more the wee, disturbing characters because of the way I look or sound.” And as a Scot;

“I like doom and gloom with a sense of humour. Maybe it's a Scottish thing, we like to undercut indulgence with a laugh.” And on fame;

“I like to be left alone,” she tells me at one point. “I’m happy to be anonymous and just to lead my own wee quiet life.”

#Scotland #scottish #actress #tv #theatre #film #movie #Harry Potter

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literaturemini · 1 year

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Best English Poets of All Time- English Literature

The Best English Poets of All Time in english literature. people just know the poet death & birth and literary works.

William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) English poet and playwright. Famous plays include Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice and Hamlet. Shakespeare is widely considered the seminal writer of the English language.

Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) Anglo-Irish writer born in Dublin. Swift was a prominent satirist, essayist and author. Notable works include Gulliver’s Travels (1726), A Modest Proposal and A Tale of a Tub.

Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) Britishauthor best known for his compilation of the English dictionary. Although not the first attempt at a dictionary, it was widely considered to be the most comprehensive – setting the standard for later dictionaries.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832) German poet, playwright, and author. Notable works of Goethe include: Faust, Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship and Elective Affinities.

Jane Austen (1775 – 1817) English author who wrote romantic fiction combined with social realism. Her novels include: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1816).

Honore de Balzac (1799 – 1850) French novelist and short story writer. Balzac was an influential realist writer who created characters of moral ambiguity – often based on his own real life examples. His greatest work was the collection of short stories La Comédie humaine.

Alexandre Dumas (1802 – 1870) French author of historical dramas, including – The Count of Monte Cristo (1844), and The Three Musketeers (1844). Also prolific author of magazine articles, pamphlets and travel books.

Victor Hugo (1802 – 1885) French author and poet. Hugo’s novels include Les Misérables, (1862) and Notre-Dame de Paris (1831).

Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) – English writer and social critic. His best-known works include novels such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and A Christmas Carol.

Charlotte Bronte (1816 – 1855) English novelist and poet, from Haworth. Her best known novel is ‘Jane Eyre’ (1847).

Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862) – American poet, writer and leading member of the Transcendentalist movement. Thoreau’s “Walden” (1854) was a unique account of living close to nature.

Emily Bronte (1818 – 1848) English novelist. Emily Bronte is best known for her novel Wuthering Heights (1847), and her poetry.

George Eliot (1819 – 1880) Pen name of Mary Ann Evans. Wrote novels, The Mill on the Floss (1860), Silas Marner (1861), Middlemarch (1871–72), and Daniel Deronda (1876)

Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) Russian novelist and moral philosopher. Famous works include the epic novels – War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877). Tolstoy also became an influential philosopher with his brand of Christian pacificism.

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) Russian novelist, journalist and philosopher. Notable works include Notes from Underground, Crime and Punishment and The Idiot

Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) Oxford mathematician and author. Famous for Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, and poems like The Snark.

Mark Twain (1835 – 1910) American writer and humorist, considered the ‘father of American literature’. Famous works include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885).

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) English novelist and poet. Hardy was a Victorian realist who was influenced by Romanticism. He wrote about problems of Victorian society – in particular, declining rural life. Notable works include: Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), Tess of the d’Urbervilles (1891), andJude the Obscure (1895).

Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) – Irish writer and poet. Wilde wrote humorous, satirical plays, such as ‘The Importance of Being Earnest‘ and ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’.

Kenneth Graham (1859 – 1932) Author of the Wind in the Willows (1908), a classic of children’s literature.

George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950) Irish playwright and wit. Famous works include: Pygmalion (1912), Man and Superman (1903) and Back to Methuselah (1921)

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859 – 1930) British author of historical novels and plays. Most famous for his short stories about the detective – Sherlock Holmes, such as The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902) and Sign of Four (1890).

Beatrix Potter (1866 – 1943) English conservationist and author of imaginative children’s books, such as the Tales of Peter Rabbit (1902).

Marcel Proust (1871 – 1922) French author. Best known for epic novel l À la recherche du temps perdu (In Search of Lost Time) published in seven parts between 1913 and 1927.

William Somerset Maugham 1874 – 1965) British novelist and writer. One of the most popular authors of 1930s. Notable works included The Moon and Sixpence (1916), The Razor’s Edge (1944), and Of Human Bondage (1915)

P.G.Wodehouse (1881 – 1975) English comic writer. Best known for his humorous and satirical stories about the English upper classes, such as Jeeves and Wooster and Blandings Castle.

Virginia Woolf (1882 – 1941) English modernist writer, a member of the Bloomsbury group. Famous novels include Mrs Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927) and Orlando (1928).

James Joyce (1882 – 1941) Irish writer from Dublin. Joyce was one of most influential modernist avant-garde writers of the Twentieth Century. His novel Ulysses (1922), was ground-breaking for its stream of consciousness style. Other works include Dubliners (1914) and Finnegans Wake (1939).

D H Lawrence (1885 – 1930) English poet, novelist and writer. Best known works include Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow, Women in Love and Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) – which was banned for many years.

Agatha Christie (1890 – 1976) British fictional crime writer. Many of her books focused on series featuring her detectives ‘Poirot’ and Mrs Marple.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 – 1973) – Professor of Anglo-Saxon and English at Oxford University. Tolkien wrote the best-selling mythical trilogy The Lord of the Rings. Other works include, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, and a translation of Beowulf.

Vera Brittain (1893 – 1970) British writer best known for her autobiography – Testament of Youth (1933) – sharing her traumatic experiences of the First World War.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940) American author. Iconic writer of the ‘jazz age’. Notable works include The Great Gatsby (1925), and Tender Is the Night (1934) – cautionary tales about the ‘Jazz decade’ and the American Dream based on pleasure and materialism.

Enid Blyton (1897 – 1968) British children’s writer, known for her series of children’s books – The Famous Five and The Secret Seven. Blyton wrote an estimated 800 books over 40 years.

C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) Irish / English author and professor at Oxford University. Lewis is best known for The Chronicles of Narnia, a children’s fantasy series. Also well known as a Christian apologist.

Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) Ground breaking modernist American writer. Famous works included For Whom The Bell Tolls (1940) and A Farewell to Arms (1929).

Vladimir Nabokov (1899 – 1977) Russian author of Lolita (1955) and Pale Fire (1962)

Barbara Cartland (1901 – 2000) One of most prolific and best selling authors of the romantic fiction genre. Some suggest she has sold over 2 billion copies worldwide.

John Steinbeck (1902 – 1968) American writer who captured the social change experienced in the US around the time of the Great Depression. Famous works include – Of Mice and Men (1937), The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952).

George Orwell (1903 – 1950) – English author. Famous works include Animal Farm, and 1984. – Both stark warnings about the dangers of totalitarian states, Orwell was also a democratic socialist who fought in the Spanish Civil War, documenting his experiences in “Homage to Catalonia” (1938).

Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) Irish avant garde, modernist writer. Beckett wrote minimalist and thought provoking plays, such as ‘Waiting for Godot’ (1953) and ‘Endgame‘ (1957). He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969.

Albert Camus (1913 – 1960) – French author, journalist, and philosopher. Associated with existentialism and absurdism. Famous works included The Myth of Sisyphus, The Stranger and The Plague.

Roald Dahl (1916 – 1990) English author, best known for his children’s books, such as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, James and The Giant Peach and The BFG.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918 – 2008) Russian author, historian and political critic. Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970 for his work in exposing the nature of Soviet totalitarianism. e.g, The Gulag Archipelago (1965-67).

J.D. Salinger (1919 – 2010) American author. Most influential novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Wrote many short stories for New Yorker magazine, such as “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”

Joseph Heller (1923 – 1999) American novelist, who wrote satirical and black comedy. His most famous work is ‘Catch 22’ (1961) – a satire on the futility of war.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1927 – 2014) Colombian author. Wrote: One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), The Autumn of the Patriarch (1975) and Love in the Time of Cholera (1985). Nobel Prize in Literature (1982).

Anne Frank (1929 – 1945) Dutch-Jewish diarist. Known for her diary ‘Anne Frank‘ Published posthumously by her father – recalling her life hiding from Gestapo in occupied Holland.

Salman Rushdie (1947 – ) Anglo-Indian author. His works combine elements of magic realism, satire and historical fiction – often based on Indian sub-continent. Notable works include Midnight’s Children (1981), Shame (1983) and Satanic Verses (1988).

Stephen King (1947 – ) American author of contemporary horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. One of the best selling authors of modern times.

George R.R Martin (1948 – ) American author of epic fantasy series – A Song of Ice and Fire, – his international best-selling series of fantasy, adapted for the screen as a Game of Thrones.

Douglas Adams (1952 – 2001) British writer of humorous and absure science fiction. Adams wrote a best selling trilogy (of five books) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – which began as a BBC play.

J.K.Rowling (1965 – ) British author of the Harry Potter Series – which has become the best selling book series of all time. Her first book was Harry Potter and thePhilosopher’s Stone (1997). Rowling has also published adult fiction, such as The Casual Vacancy (2012) and The Cuckoo’s Calling (2013)

Khaled Hosseini (1965 – ) Afghan born American writer. Notable works include: The Kite Runner (2003) A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) And the Mountains Echoed (2013)

Homer (c. 8th Century B.C. ) Considered the greatest of the ancient Greek poets. Homer was the author of the two epic poems, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Sappho ( c 570 BC) One of the first published female writers. Much of her poetry has been lost but her immense reputation has remained. Plato referred to Sappho as one of the great ten poets.

Virgil (70 BC – 19 BC) Roman poet. Wrote three epics Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the Aeneid.

Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) Italian poet of the Middle Ages. His Divine Comedy, is one of most influential European works of literature. Dante is also called the “Father of the Italian language”.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400) Considered the Father of English Literature. Best known for Canterbury Tales (1475).

John Milton (1608 – 1674) English poet. Best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse – telling the Biblical story of man’s fall. Also wrote Areopagitica (1644) in defence of free speech.

William Blake (1757 –1827) English mystic and romantic poet, wrote Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. Also hand-painted many of his works.

William Wordsworth (1770 – 1850) English romantic poet from Lake District, many poems related to natures, such as his Lyrical Ballads.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834) English romantic poet. Author of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kublai Khan.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822) English romantic poet. Famous works include Queen Mab and Prometheus Unbound

John Keats (1795 – 1821) English Romantic Poet, best known for his Odes, such as Ode to a Nightingale, Endymion.

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882) American Transcendentalist poet and writer.

Alfred Tennyson (1809 – 1892) Popular Victorian poet, wrote Charge of the Light Brigade, Ulysses, and In Memoriam A.H.H.

Walt Whitman (1819 – 1892) American poet. Wrote Leaves of Grass, a ground breaking new style of poetry.

Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886) American female poet. Led secluded lifestyle, and left legacy of many short vivid poems, often on themes of death and immortality.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861 – 1941) Indian poet. Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature for his work – Gitanjali.

Robert Frost (1874 – 1963) – Influential American poet, one of most highly regarded of the Twentieth Century. Most famous work ‘The Road Not Taken’ (1916)

Maya Angelou (1928 – 2014 ) – Modern American poet and writer. Source: Internet

#literature #english literature #history #golden age comics

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