Hi guys! Physical prints are available on Etsy again! It will only remain open until the end of November (but we'll re-open next year, don't worry :D).

Soul Eater? Stardew Valley? Rwby?

I have some art for you ~

Remember, all my prints are fully made with vegan inks and papers and are mostly recycled :) (The shipping envelopes also are!) I'll keep making them as sustainable as I can so you can enjoy some environmentally friendly art.

Enjoy!!!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/artscythe

November 2023 Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Frankisstein by Jeanette Winterson read by John Sackville and Perdita Weeks

This book has three different story lines, one of which is much stronger than the other two, which is making it hard for me to figure out how I want to rate the book. The opening story line, and my favorite, is about Mary Shelley during the period in which she wrote Frankenstein. These scenes especially in the audiobook are beautifully read and atmospheric, damp, melancholy, introspective, with engaging characterizations of Byron, Percy Shelley, and the other guests of the house. The second story line is about Ry Shelley, a trans doctor living in post-Brexit Britain who becomes entangled romantically and criminally with Victor Stein, a researcher focused on AI, cryogenic preservation and reanimation, and training robots to detect human diseases. Ry is fairly genderfluid, and is often described as both a man and a woman, or a boy who is a girl who is a boy. I appreciated having a trans POV character in this book, but wished Ry had more of his own ambitions and plot- he seemed to exist primarily to have conversations and sex with Victor, who insisted over and over that he wasn't gay even after falling for and sleeping with Ry. Ry also interviews and then is repeatedly misgendered by Ron Lord, a Welsh entrepreneur in the sex robot industry- there is a lot in this book about sex bots, including huge chunks of uninterrupted dialogue by Ron Lord that got fairly repetitive in audio. Ry is also the victim of a bathroom sexual assault near the end of the book that felt thematically unnecessary and punishing. I can imagine a different version of this book where Ry was the one conducting the research that Victor does in this book, and his love interest is a modern version of Percy, which might have interested me more. There's also a third partial story line about Mary Shelley meeting a man named Victor Frankenstein who claims to be the character from her book; these didn't add anything for me. Would I recommend this? Hard to say. It's a complicated queer remix of Frankenstein and I was engaged while listening to the majority of it but there were also pieces that fell short of my expectations.

The Hills of Estrella Roja by Ashley Robin Franklin 

High school senior Mari is woken from a nightmare about voices calling to her from a pit in a cave to learn that her grandmother is dead. Mari, her mom, and her little sister drive back to Estrella Roja, their small mysterious Texas hometown. Meanwhile, Kat, a college freshman who runs a podcast about the paranormal with her best friend, receives an anonymous email tip about the "devil lights" of Estrella Roja and decides to solo road trip to investigate it over her spring break. Kat can't find anyone in town willing to to talk to her... except Mari, who is both sad and bored, and can't seem to connect with any of her close-mouthed relatives. The two stumble across something in the desert that was spooky enough to make me wonder if I should be reading the book before bedtime. This story weaves a queer meet-cute with a dark family history into a very effective YA horror tale. The inking and coloring are absolutely gorgeous. Scary, but not too scary for me, a known scaredy cat!

The Dyslexic Advantage by Brock L Eide and Fernette F Eide 

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has dyslexia, is parenting a young person with dyslexia, works in education at any level or is just in general interested in how differing brain structures effect things such as working memory, 3D visualization, problem solving, and other areas of cognition. I've known I was dyslexic since I was about 8 years old, but I had never picked up a book on the topic. I found this very interesting and very easy to read (its printed in a san-serif font with large page margins, and also short well-structured chapters). It contains many real-life stories of people with dyslexia rising to the very pinnacle of their chosen fields as well as a good section of layperson's neuroscience of brain structure and some of the latest research on memory formation. The authors do an excellent job highlighting how so many of the things that are cast as weaknesses or drawbacks in dyslexic students' early education are often reshaped into strengths later in life. Multiple times the authors emphasized that while dyslexic students should receive extra instruction in reading in early childhood, that they probably won't catch up their peers until later in life, often in high school or beyond and that one of the most important things is never letting the dyslexic student give up on their own ability to learn, thrive, and succeed. Most dyslexics are late bloomers, but as the book says, "time is on your side."

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross read by Alex Wingfield and Rebecca Norfolk

Set in a kind of fantasy WWI, this story follows Iris, a young woman who had to drop out of high school after her brother enlisted and her only other relative, her mother, fell into depression and alcoholism and lost her job. Iris begins working at a newspaper, vying for a regular columnist position against her office rival, handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt. Iris has a magical typewriter, and she writes letters to her brother regularly, even though she's never received one back from him. She slips these letters under the door of her wardrobe and in the morning they are gone. What she doesn't know is that the letters are making their way into the bedroom of Roman, who also has a magic typewriter. They begin a correspondence and a budding friendship. But a series of misfortunes befall Iris and she decides to enlist at the front as a wartime journalist. Will Roman follow the woman he's beginning to fall for? Will he ever tell Iris than he is her penpal confidant? This story was fast paced and interesting throughout, but at the end I was left with some critiques. Primarily, the way the book simplifies war by making the cause of war a divine conflict outside of mortal responsibility. It felt like an extremely watered down version of a wartime romance, with none of the political questions that would have plagued the characters had the book been set in actual WWI or WWII. The book also has a cliffhanger ending, and sets up a plot twist that will probably delight some readers but which unfortunately falls into one of my LEAST fantasy favorite romance tropes. So I will not be reading the second one unless someone else reads it first and spoils some of the plot for me!

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang read by Eunice Wong

What a delicious book, in many senses of that word! The unnamed main character is a Chinese-American chef from Los Angeles who is stranded in London by natural disaster. A toxic gray smog envelopes the majority of the world, killing most crops and animals. Countries close their borders as their populations being to starve. The chef is offered an unbelievable job in a billionaire's small private country, a mountaintop in Italy which still has access to some sunlight and caters to a set of unbelievably wealthy residents who bought their way in. The chef lies on her resume, padding it out a fictional degree from a French culinary school and experience at closed Micheline start restaurant. The chef is granted access to the country for a probation period and re-encounters a lush array of ingredients she thought were extinct from the world: fresh berries and greens, rich cream and butter, unpreserved meats and fish. Under the cold eye of her cruel employer and his charismatic and ambitious daughter the chef tries to prove she can cook dishes that will astonish the 1%. Little does she know she was hired as much for her skill in lying as her ability to cook well. This book had more queerness, more speculative elements, and more hope for a world destroyed by human greed than I was expecting. The descriptions of food, flavors, textures, and the intersection of appetite with pleasure are rich, powerful and evocative. I really enjoyed this and I particularly recommend the audiobook.

The Mysteries by Bill Watterson and John Kascht 

Watterson's first offering in many years is a strange little picture book. This fable opens with a kingdom surrounded by a deep dark forest. The people are fearful of mysteries which live in the forest, so the king sends his knights into the forest to capture a mystery. Most return empty handed, or do not return at all. One knight captures a mystery and it is not what the people expected. The art is quite elegant, black and white photographs of dolls posed in blurry but evocative settings. The story is very slight, and I'm not sure it delivered on the depth it seemed to be reaching for. Maybe check this one out from the library rather than buying it.

Everything is Beautiful and I Am Not Afraid by Yao Xiao 

I've been following Yao Xiao's work online for several years and I'm really glad I finally made time to read the collection! The brightly colored pages are full of small, poem-like comics that circle and return to multiple themes: self-esteem, coming out as queer, being a Chinese American immigrant living in the US, trust, taking up space, trusting in one's own strength and the love of friends and community. The artist draws themself as a small character with orange hair and a black elf hat and moves like a spite through urban landscapes, clouds, dreams, gardens, hopes, fears and other elements of the unconscious. There's no overarching narrative, but the many small experiences add up to a greater sum than their parts.

Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb read by Nick Taylor

This book begins 15 years after the end of the Farseer trilogy. Fitz, the bastard son of royalty, trained as an assassin, who survived torture, a war, a coup, multiple attempts on his life, a long dangerous journey, deadly magic, and the death of his king and close friend, has retired to a small cottage near the sea. He lives a small peaceful life there with his old wolf, Nighteyes, his adopted son Hap, a pony, some chickens, and a garden. He's working on his memoirs. Then the world turns up at his door again, demanding as much of himself as he has to give, again. Kettricken's son, the Farseer heir, is missing and no one knows if he was kidnapped or ran away or something more sinister. This story was EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE! One of the best books I've read this year, a rich, emotional, satisfying return to the Farseer world. I love how this book deepened and complicated Fitz's relationships from the previous book: with Chade, Starling, Nighteyes and most especially with the Fool who is once again living at court in a completely new guise. Every character in this series feels so real, so grounded, so impacted by the events of the world, and the consequences of their own choices. I've been disappointed by a lot of the fantasy I've read this year, but this one not only met but exceeded my expectations- especially because I read this book once before, when I was 16, and didn't love it then. Now I am obsessed with it. I think I just wasn't ready to read a book about adults and the uncaring passage of time as a teenager. Literally thirty minutes after finished the audiobook of this book I started the sequel because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next!

Anime North 2023 - Haul

Total cost: $335 (all prices are in CAD)

Figures:

Total cost: $185 + 150

Love Live! Sunshine!! - Mari Ohara - Super Premium Figure - The First of Aquors (SPM) - $30

I think that she's so cute! I was having a difficult time deciding between a few Mari prize figures, but I definitely like this one a lot. :)

Fate stay/night - Saber - Nendoroid (#250) 10th Anniversary Edition (Good Smile) - $60

I bought her at the Nominoichi! I've never owned a full-size Nendoroid so I'm really happy to own her, especially at this price. :) She hasn't been unboxed in over 10 years... The seller was originally selling her for $70, but I was really happy to see the price drop near the end of the night, and that's what ended up cementing my decision. I love Saber so much and I'm really happy about this one. :D

Hatsune Miku - BiCute Bunnies - ~White Bunny Baby Pink~ (FuRyu) - $50

She's so cute.... and also now the largest figure I own. The stockings are made of real material (which is a cool touch), but the fabric pills a lot in the back. I don't think the stockings were executed well at all. Regardless, I think she's adorable and I absolutely love her. >_<

Hatsune Miku - Noodle Stopper Figure - Sporty Maid Ver. (FuRyu) - $45

I absolutely love the noodle stopper figures that have released recently. I love maid outfits, so I'm so overjoyed to have this one. >_< She's so cute.... it makes me want to buy cup noodles on purpose so I can take a picture of her with it. For now, she sits quite nicely on the edge of a shelf. I think I actually prefer this style a lot over figures with stands.

Manga:

Total cost: $20

From top to bottom:

Persona 3 - volumes 8 and 9

Persona 4 - volumes 7 - 10

Steins;Gate 0 - volumes 2 and 3

The Beguiling's stand at Anime North has select volumes of manga for 4/$10 every year, and I always look forward to it! I already own volumes 1-6 of both the Persona 3 and Persona 4 manga from their stand in 2019 (the last time that I attended the convention), so I'm up to 10 on P4 and I'm missing 7 on the P3 one! I don't own volume one of the Steins;Gate 0 manga, so I'll end up pirating it online. Overall, I'm always really happy to get them so cheap, especially since most of the manga I've accumulated over the years is actually from them at this price.

Artist Goods:

Separate page for full artist links is located here: ♡

Total cost: $120

From left to right:

NIJISANJI - Millie Parfait - acrylic charm (moecinna) - $15

NIJISANJI - Yugo Asuma + Millie Parfait - acrylic charms (NIKOORIN) - $25

I love these charms a lot! I was so excited to see one for Yugo. :O There were a lot of artists selling Nijisanji merch, but OP was the only one with him. >_< I have moecinna's charm on my keys and NIKOORIN's charms attached to the backpack that I take to work! They're all so cute! I put moecinna's charm on the lanyard with my badge, and I got some compliments on it while waiting in line for a panel, too. :)

Project SEKAI COLORFUL STAGE! - Nightcord at 25:00 - print (Nemururin) - $20

Her art was so pretty! I really wanted the Luxiem print, but it was sold out by the time I decided on the purchase. :( Spent my last $20 here! I was debating on whether or not I'd get her Wonderland x Showtime print or her Nightcord at 25:00 print, and Nightcord won out. If I ever see the Luxiem print up for sale again... 👀

Ichigo Magazine Tee - shirt (Ocean In Space) - $50

I absolutely love her art! I saw a post online a week before the event saying that she'd be there and I was so excited, except I couldn't find her in the artist alley. It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realize that her booth was in the dealer's room. >_< The shirt itself is really comfy, and the fact that it's mostly polyester is a godsend to me! (I have a lot of texture issues with cotton and don't wear it unless I'm leaving the house.) I normally wear a medium, so I bought that, and it definitely does come really oversized! I think that makes it even more comfortable, honestly. It was an intense debate on which shirt to buy, but I'm really happy with this one and I think it's so cute. ^^

Sanrio - Cinnamoroll - phone grip (uukipi) - $10

(Phone case not included, LMAO.) A ton of artists were selling phone grips this year, which was super cool! I've never used a popsocket-type phone grip, but it's actually pretty nice. :O All of the phone grips from uukipi were super cute, too, which makes me really happy. :)

Miscellaneous:

Total cost: $30

Love Live! μ’s x SNOW MIKU 2016 (Bellplans) - clear file - $3

I wasn't aware that this collab even existed! I really like Love Live! and I really like Vocaloid, this is like a collab made in heaven. The file's still in it's original packaging (which I haven't removed), so it was a bit difficult to get a good picture of it! I'm surprised that I got it so cheap at the Nominoichi, but I'm really glad that I did. :)

From top to bottom/left to right:

Code:Realize - Cardia Beckford - rubber strap - $2

Diabolik Lovers: More,Blood - Ayato Sakamaki - deka keyholder

Love Live! Sunshine!! - Yoshiko Tsushima - acrylic keychain

Love Live! Sunshine!! - Kanan Matsuura - acrylic keychain - all keychains for $5

I can't even explain how much joy I had when I found Code:Realize merch! :O I love the keychains so much, too... The girl running the table was really nice, and a lot of things were discounted right before the end of the Nominoichi, and the keychains on the bottom were 3/$5!

From left to right:

Pokémon Scarlet/Violet - lanyard - given to me by @form-sweet-form! Thank you so much!

Café Delish 2023 - Zelda heart pin, rubber bracelet, maid café ticket - $20 (for admission to the maid café)

This year, I attended the con with someone that I'd met in a DMMd server! She was super nice and it was so fun hanging out with her. :D Her cosplay of Aoba Seragaki was so good, too... She gave me this lanyard when we met up with each other! I had to wait in line for an hour and a half to get tickets for Café Delish for the both of us... it was so worth it though, it was so fun! ^^ I should've shown up even earlier, we couldn't get tickets at the same table by the time I made it... As souvenirs, I have a pin, a rubber bracelet, and a Polaroid with the maid at my table (which I will not be posting on Tumblr, as I'm not exactly eager to post my face here). I definitely wish to buy tickets for Café Delish again, and I hope to see her in the future as well!

Bandori! - 8th live - mini file map

Everything here and below were free goods given at the Nominoichi for whoever wanted them!

From the same Nominoichi seller that sold me the keychains: a whole bunch of goods given for free (originally $2 each) at the end of the night! I took a lot of them, so I ended up handing her some money (separate from the keychains LMAO) as thanks. I didn't realize until I'd gotten home that I accidentally took two of one of the envelopes. >_< If anyone happens to want the spare, I don't mind mailing it as long as you can pay shipping. Interestingly enough, the back of them has the 7-Eleven logo? These envelopes are made of plastic (clear file material) and super cute. :)

From left to right/top to bottom:

Tsukipro - Yaegashi Kensuke - Alive & Growth fan club card collection

Uma Musume Pretty Derby - Mejiro McQueen - tin

Senran Kagura - Yumi - acrylic keychain ver. A

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai - Kobato Hasegawa - mirror

Ocean in Space - sticker

Pins:

Fire Emblem Awakening - Tharja, Gaius, Henry, Chrom

Fire Emblem Fates - Xander

Dream Daddy - Damien Bloodmarch

DRAMAtical Murder - Clear, Virus, Trip

(Pin artist - unknown. If anyone can find out who drew any of these, please let me know!)

Everything from the top (except the sticker, that one came free with the shirt purchase) is from the keychain seller! All of the pins are from another seller that had a box of pins they were giving away for free. I actually don't know much about the shows and games that they're from... I think that I want to look into Tsukipro especially! I do think that all of the goods are super cute, though. :) I was especially surprised when I peeled off the backing of the Kobato metal and found out that it was a mirror, I didn't expect that at all. :O They had other DRAMAtical Murder pins, too! I gave the Aoba and Koujaku to Raphaela (from form-sweet-form), since those were the only ones that she wanted. :) The other DMMd pins are over here, in her Anime North post! Especially happy about the Clear, Virus, Henry, and Damien pins, since I love those characters especially. :)

From left to right:

Akuyaku Reijou wa Ringoku no Outaishi ni Dekiai Sareru - postcard

5-Toubun no Hanayome ∬ - postcard

(I have no idea what the third one is from. If anyone knows, please let me know!)

Postcards! I think that they're super cute, so I picked these up from the keychain seller as well. I've never heard of any of the medias that they're from, though. The maid one is especially adorable.... I'm such a huge fan...

Overall, I had so much fun attending Anime North, and I'm really happy about the merchandise that I picked up from the convention! I've never had the money to own larger figures (over the many cons I've been to, I have two prize figures, one of which was a gift), so I'm so happy that I can actually collect them now! There are so many Miku figures that I want... Going to a convention as an adult with a job is such a freeing experience. I hope to go again next year, check out more panels, buy a lot, and hopefully go with a friend or two again!

hello !!! do u know any poems that are abt not giving up and finding strength in urself etc? kinda like intructions on not giving up by ada limon! it can be book recs too ! boooks that just keep u going when things are hard?

poems.

“a litany for survival” by audre lord (i believe ive read that ada limón had this poem printed on her wall to look at every day during a difficult time in her life.... i have too)

“the peace of wild things” by wendell berry

“wild geese” by mary oliver (you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves)

“from blossoms” li-young lee

“the trees” by philip larkin

“á la recherche d’ gertrude stein” by frank o’hara (all is wiped away revealing lifes tenderness)

“this morning” by lucille clifton (i survive survive survive)

"have you ever tried to enter the long black branches" by mary oliver (listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?)

“i am not ready to die yet” by aracelis girmay

etc.

if you want something philosophical: the myth of sisyphus by albert camus

if you want something fictionalized and slowburning: his dark materials trilogy by philip pullman

if you want to read those whose words will never fail me: letters of vincent van gogh, letters to a young poet by rainer maria rilke

Photographer: Yasuhiro Ishimoto Title: View from the New Palace toward the Middle Shoin Date: Made 1954 Medium: Gelatin silver print Credit Line: Gift of Yasuhiro Ishimoto in memory of Mary Morris Stein

The Courtesan Arihara of the Tsuruya, and Child Attendants Aoe and Sekiya (Tsuruya uchi Arihara, Aoe, Sekiya), from an untitled series of courtesans, Kitagawa Utamaro, 1792, Art Institute of Chicago: Asian Art

Restricted gift of Mary Diamond Stein Size: 33.3 x 22.2 cm Medium: Color woodblcok print; aiban

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/19236/

1108 AD

A/N: Mostly historically accurate. Ava and Sara are best friends, never dated and Sara is still in her old habits.

Warning: Slight NSFW

Sara Lance x LeagueofAssassins!Reader

Word Count: 1615

“Captain I have found an anachronism in the year 1108 AD. Should I plot a course?”

“Yeah, while you’re on it notify the team that we are going to time jump,” Sara said as she marched to the Captain’s chair from her office.

The Legends entered the Bridge and pulled the safety harnesses over their heads.

“Where are we going now?” Mick grumbled.

“It’s not where but when,” Sara calibrated the control panel a bit more.

“I wonder when we’re going,” Ray grinned. “World War II, Gutenberg’s Printing Press, oh maybe Pax Romana,” Ray listed.

“Did you know that Pax Romana was the period of relative peace in the Roman Empire for about two hundred years, which is shocking because the Roman Empire loved fights and bloodshed. Road, postal systems, arch, plumbing, and other cultural advances developed during this time,” Nate rambled in his area of expertise.

Sara breathed a sigh, rolled her eyes and was ready to pilot the ship through the temporal zone.

“How big is this anachronism?” Amaya ask.

“At this point I don’t even care, I’m starting to get a massive headache.” Zari complained.

“Shut up!” Mick grunted with a beer in his hand.

“It’s a level 14, you’re still getting use to time jumping, and I agree with Mick everyone shut up so I can pilot!” Sara answered respectively.

Sara pushed the pilot lever forward and was met with a golden yellow light of the time jump. She parked the Waverider just outside the city —well buildings made out of bricks, sticks and mud, roads just dirt and a couple of stones. Sara cloaked the ship, pushed the harness up and headed towards the octagon control panel. The Legends right on her tail.

“What do we have Gideon?” Sara places both her hands on each side of a panel.

“King Louis VI was kidnapped the morning of his coronation,” Gideon explained.

“Ooh fun fact King Louis VI is the Great great great great great great great great great-” Nate counted on his fingers till twenty three. “Grandfather of King Louis XVI. Sorry Gideon continue.”

“In this version of history the royal power was never centralized for instruction, King Louis XVI was never born, France never helps the United States with the Revolution,the United States remains a monarchy and France falls into anarchy.”

“Alright Jax and Stein quarterback on the ship first sign of trouble you firestorm up, Nate, Amaya and I need you to pose as a merchant setting up shop in the square, Ray I need you to shrink down and run reconnaissance while guarding Louis VI with Mick,” the Legends nodded at the captain’s orders. “Zari you’re with me in the town to run reconnaissance. Alright let’s go save the world.”

Amaya and Nate set up a bakery, Amaya mainly bake or displayed the middle age pastries Gideon fabricated as Nate set up the fabricated sign that read ‘The Muffin Man’. As Nate finished with the sign he climbed down the ladder and opened the door for you.

Amaya smiled at you as you looked around the shop. To Amaya and Nate you were just looking around, however as League training you scanned the area for escape routes as well as Amaya and Nate’s actions.

The League was more advanced with its technology as you wore your custom made League of Assassins suit, fitted with leather tunics under the long, fairly-wide green over-garment with the cotte hardie pinned by a girdle to easily hide your weapons.

“Are you two new to the business?” You spoke in French. Amaya gave you a piece of bread to try.

“Yes, we traveled from England,” Nate replied cautiously.

“Well I must know your names and let the word spread that there are new bakers in town.”

“Nathanial and Marie Antoinette,” Nate introduced. 

“How funny, the real Marie Antoinette loved cakes while the fake baked cakes.” Jax laughed on coms

“You have a beautiful name Marie Antoinette,” you smiled and ogled at Amaya’s body without the two noticing. “My name is Shamara Zurisada.”

You passed a few small silver pennies over to Amaya who gladly accepted them with a smile.

“What a nice lady,” Nate said once you were out of sight.

A short static buzzed in their coms before Sara spoke up.

“Anything with you guys, Nate?” Sara asked.

“Nope, but we had our first customer Shamara Zurisada,” Sara froze in realization. “Hello? Captain? Earth to Sara?”

“Nate, I need you to follow her. We just found our white whale and the reason Louis VI went missing before his coronation, he gets killed by the League of Assassins,” Sara filled in the whole team.

“You want me to follow an assassin?” Nate asked doubtfully.

You walked into the crowded square knowing full well who the Legends were. One important thing Sara didn’t tell the Legends was that Shamara Zurisada, you, were important to League history.

“According to the Shadow Records, Shamara Zurisada was an assassin that strengthened the League, in which the Demon Head even feared. Though a part of the League she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, due to her said power being able to see through out all of history. She supposedly disappeared without a trace and reappeared throughout the League history as an immortal warrior,”  Stein explained as Nate turned the other way as he lost courage to continue walking.

“Wow the Shadow Records say all that.” Zari rolled her eyes at Ray’s bubbly comment.

“The Shadow Records are names of assassins and when they joined,” Sara retorted.

“My mistake I was reading off the League’s history. However the Shadow Record does not say when Shamara Zurisada joined the League, only that she joined.”

Sara caught a glimpse of your black robes, what she didn’t expect was to find you staring back at her with a smirk. A couple of French men and women blocked the path between you and Sara and that was when you climbed up the stone steps above the square’s walls.

You watched as the city was filled with laughter and music all ready for the new King. The crunch of gravel came from behind you, without turning you spoke.

“Ta-er Al-Sahfer,” No one dared to speak afterwards.

You threw a dagger towards Sara. While she was distracted by the weapon you executed a double roundhouse to her chest. Sara ran out of room to dodge as the walls came closer to her. She continued retreat; you continued to advance.

Sara didn’t know how it happened but a sharp gasp escaped her lips. The stones and sticks dug into her back in random places. You pulled Sara to her feet, almost tearing her collar off the middle age dress. She heard the slight rasps of material ripping before her back slammed against the wall.

You pinned Sara against the door by her wrist a smirk written on your face.

“Why do you want to kill the King?” Sara panted.

“It got boring and I went looking for trouble, well looking for you.” You whispered the latter half in her ear.

Sara’s infamous smirk appeared as you pushed against the door to open it. You and Sara immediately locked lips as Sara kicked the door closed. Sara bit your lower lip and allowed herself to slip her tongue in your mouth. With the slight advantage Sara pushed you onto the bed. Sara pinned you down by straddling your waist and held your wrists above your head. Her head flew towards the sweet spot on your neck and you threw your head back to let out a moan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“To a successful mission!” Ray cheered as the Legends entered the Bridge from the Cargo Bay.

“Do we really need a new member of the team?” Zari grumbled.

“You’re on the ship to help Amaya with her totem problem and Shamara Zurisada is on the ship to help with mine,” Sara explained.

“(Y/N),” you crossed your arms and leaned against the Bridge entrance.

“What problem?” Amaya asked with concern.

“N-nothing,” Sara stuttered.

“Her sexual frustration problem,” you pushed off the wall.

“Ha! A fuck buddy!” Mick took a sip of his beer.

The Legends froze and stared at Sara who had flushed cheeks.

“Well regardless, Welcome to the team,” Ray beamed and tried to hug you.

He landed on the floor with a thud and a groan. You maintained a straight face and crossed your arms.

“I like her,” Mick pointed to you and sipped his beer once again.

“Just keep your room soundproof Captain,” Nate shot it finger gun, clicked his tongue and headed towards the library.

“I am so moving to the room at the other end of the hall,” Jax shook his head.

“Remarkable, by taking (Y/N) onto the Waverider she lives the myth of the immortal warrior. Truly astonishing!” Stein followed Jax to clear his room.

The Legends slowly left the Bridge with you and Sara the last two standing.

“You’re welcome to show me around or we could just head straight to your room,” you whispered in Sara’s ear

“Actually I was thinking about round two,” Sara was met with your smirked grin. “I was thinking more of sparring!” Sara rolled her eyes. “Besides we should wait till Gideon, our artificial intelligence, robot....” Sara tried to explain.

“I know what an A.I is Lance. I can see around time remember.”

“Right. As I was saying we should wait for the room to be soundproof first, you’re really load.”

You raised your eyebrows, dropped your crossed arms and placed them on your hips. “Is that a challenge, Ta-er Al-Sahfer?”

Sara shrugged her shoulders, “We will have to see.”  

for @clinicaldissection ( I wanted to send an ask, but this got too long ).  "A little birdie told me it was your birthday today.  Okay.  Big birdie.  Six foot something birdie.”  ( Not the point! )  They chuckled, and presented Stein with a small. neatly wrapped box.  It was plain brown paper, with a forest green bow, In the center of which was a vivid red amaryllis bloom, and a small card with neatly printed upper-case handwriting that read: 'Happy Birthday, kóniklos!" Inside he would find a small assortment of treats, an old, well-loved copy of Mary Shelly's Frakenstein ( teehee! ), and a small, silver pendent of a hare in mid-run.  The pendent, of course, was the main gift--- something that they had cast and poured and hammered and engraved with their own two hands; one of the Forgemaster’s skills they had retained over the years.  The pendent hung on a silver chain, which clasped around the neck and hung at a comfortable length: neither too long, nor too short. A rise on their tiptoes, pressing their lips to his cheek in a chaste, familial kiss, “Happy Birthday, Stein.  I hope to be a part of many more celebrations for you in the future.” 

I find there are many differences between the soul eater anime and manga, but I think Stein and Marie's relationship is a big one. I really Hope the anime geta the fmab treatment someday :)

(If you like my drawings and want a physical one to hang up, just check my Etsy shop! All the prints are vegan :D)

PARABOLA published its first issue in January 1976. Since then we have explored with you the great questions of human existence, drawing on the world’s spiritual and cultural traditions in nearly 175 issues.

Writers, thinkers, and luminaries as diverse as Robert Aitken, Ibn' al-Arabi, Sri Aurobindo, Wendell Berry, Annie Bessant, Black Elk, Paul Bowles, Peter Brook, Joseph Campbell, Henry Corbin, HH the Dalai Lama, Meister Ekhart, Mircea Eliade, Georg Feuerstein, G.I. Gurdjieff, Kabir Helminski, Franz Kafka, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Ursula K. Le Guin, Martin Lings, John Daido Loori, Thomas Merton, Mary Oliver, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Gertrude Stein, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, P.L. Travers, and Ken Wilber have all graced the pages of PARABOLA.

Dean Koontz, Alan Arkin, Mark Nepo, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Adyashanti are among recent contributors.

Currently only one quarter of our back-issue library has been digitized. Many classic issues such as Attention, Prayer and Meditation, Liberation, The Heart and others are in danger of going out of print and disappearing.

PARABOLA is a non-profit, independent, reader-supported publication. We have no endowment. No organization sponsors us. In order to publish each issue, we depend directly upon the generosity of readers like you. Now we urgently need your help to pay for costs to professionally digitize and curate our 43-year archive.

Please consider making a meaningful (and tax-deductible) donation to help us digitally protect and secure our rich archive of material and ensure its accessibility well into the future. 

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Why Djuna Barnes is Relevant Today

Modernist writings have generally been pushed to the past in favor of postmodernism and contemporary works for many reasons. Postmodernism develops modernist ideas and concepts while modernism is older and arguably much more depressing. However, there are many reasons why modernist writers, specifically Djuna Barnes, should be recognized and studied today. 

Barnes is a truly amazing writer and breaks societal norms surrounding the LGBTQA+ community, and Nightwood exemplifies everything good about her writing.

For too many years, centuries, the LGBTQA+ community has been oppressed and persecuted for trying to live their truth. Going against society, religion, and even the law, queer individuals like Djuna Barnes risked so much to destigmatize, normalize, and fight for human rights. In Nightwood, Barnes works to do just this with her queer characters and attempts to break the gender binary, among other dichotomies. Alex Goody writes in “Modernist Articulations: A Cultural Study of Djuna Barnes, Mina Loy and Gertrude Stein” that “Nightwood… merge[s] the sacred and profane, destroying the boundaries between the clean and polluted, the proper and the corrupted, masculine and feminine: the invert is both a sufficient and scant figure for these disruptions.” (171) While somehow describing Barnes’ indescribably specific yet general writing style, Goody also pinpoints the main themes of Nightwood and describes how she breaks these dichotomies through the juxtaposition of each in queer characters. 

Nevertheless, Barnes is able to avoid what many, albeit often hetereosexual writers, fall into: the sexualization, fetishization, romanticizing, or otherwise falling into the perversion/innocence binary when it comes to lesbian characters. No queer person is perfect, completely innocent, completely perverted, an entirely sexual being, or exists for any eyes other than their own. Nightwood in particular strayed away from the common sexualization of lesbian relationships, while not entirely a bad thing this can still be harmful. “Silence and power: a reevaluation of Djuna Barnes” talks about Barnes’ works and the impact she has had, saying, “Despite the fact that its plot is a lesbian love story, Nightwood does not write the lesbian body as Ladies Almanack does, nor does it dramatize female desire, except insofar as it voices victimization…” (Broe 232). Barnes carefully treads the line in Nightwood to create a beautifully undramatized lesbian love story. 

Later in the same book quoted from above, Barnes is described as giving voice to “the indeterminate desire of transvestite, Jew, lesbian, and black makes the forbidden erotic into a political cry for freedom. Racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and homophobia are challenged by this text” (Broe 232). Djuna Barnes has so much relevance for today and the world we still live in. Discriminatory acts of hate and bigotry surround us still and the political subtext in Nightwood demands the attention of us living in the now and proves its own relevancy in our studies.

Sources:

Broe, Mary Lynn, ed. “Silence and power: a reevaluation of Djuna Barnes.” SIU Press, 1991. Print.

Goody, Alex. “Modernist Articulations: A Cultural Study of Djuna Barnes, Mina Loy and Gertrude Stein.” Springer, 2007. Print.

When you take the perfect #polaroid 👌🏼📸 . . What do you think of Polaroid cameras? I love that you can only take 10 shots per film so you only have a couple of highlights per trip 👍🏼 no more sorting through thousands of phone pics after a holiday (sounds familiar?😅) and you don’t even have to go anywhere to print them because they print & develop within seconds. 🙌🏼😍 . . . . /🇩🇪/ Ich bin gerade total im Ausmist-Modus - Klamotten, Handy-Bilder, Lebensmittel, ja sogar Instagram-Accounts (ihr müsst euch fürs Entfolgen nicht rechtfertigen oder entschuldigen). Dinge loszulassen schafft Platz für Neues. Wir wachsen über uns hinaus im Laufe des Lebens, die Interessen ändern sich und damit auch das Umfeld. Uns von Dingen zu entledigen ist ein Akt der Selbstliebe - es ist, als würden wir uns Steine aus dem Rucksack laden, den wir jeden Tag mit uns rumtragen. 🎒 Probiert es mal aus! Und wenn ihr nicht wisst wie und wo ihr anfangen sollt - Marie Kondo hat ein 4-ständiges Hörbuch zum Thema Ausmisten, das mein Leben verändert hat. 🎧 (at Lisbon, Portugal) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByTD3CVJnA7/?igshid=8dgm2585svpj

Artist: Yasuhiro Ishimoto Date: Made 1954 Medium: Gelatin silver print Credit Line: Gift of Yasuhiro Ishimoto in memory of Mary Morris Stein

unindations

  ane n inon un           1

—

enable unable   unénable enúnable   unúnable           2

at last, however, being ununable

unc. unca, unco           3

—

unck uncked ununcked           4

uncome uncomes come

uncomes           5

—

unda undula           6

inúndula uníndula uníndulata inúndulata           7

inundate unindate           8

vast mazy, unindating flood liable to unindation, and cut sometimes the unindation is so sudden the Unindation; or by unindation from           8a-e

indelible undelable unindelable           9

—

undern           10

undone undones           11

undex           12

—

undern days undones done quyk erthe among undure as lie is made

undure           13 unjure           14

—

unscape on the wish

nunscape anunscape ununskup           15

únsula únsular unwater           16

—

unwatered           17 unthing

unthis unthat unthis that thut thing

unsome unwhat

—

unsum unsong           18

eene verkorting von perhaps unsong is the name of the new art. unsong there were very few

undersome unsion unsions           19

unstruct unward

unhere unwhere

unward unwards           20

unword unwords these           21 unders

—

ununder   únununder unúnunder           22

un o n inen an           23

un  

sources and asides

1 "la ordenación silábica," ex Enrique de Vedia, El Arte de Leer Buenos Aires, 1905) : 31 as for an en in on un, numerous instances in grammars, shorthand and phonographic texts, and in Alexander Melville Bell, his Letters and sounds: an intr. to English reading, on an entirely new plan (London, 1855) : 77 2 ˈɛnable (initial emphasis, short "e") at last, however, being ununable from "Analyse de Bayle" in The Monthly Review (December 1756), and from James Lynd his The First Book of Etymology 1853 and — enénable — from Francis O. J. Smith his The Secret Corresponding Vocabulary 1845 3 unknown, strange, foreign Wright, English Dialect Dictionary previously encountered 4 ex Latin, lock, locked 5 an ulcerous swelling; unarrived (as of yet) uncomes come here, before 1999 6 Latin, wave. Ian Hamilton Finlay, UNDA (1987) undula, diminutive of unda 7 Bertholdia inundulata Rawlins (species of butterfly) * (Field Museum, Zoological Collections) 8 forms of unindate — typographical errors all — 8a vast mazy, unindating flood from A. Sanderson ("daughter of the late Robert Stephenson, Esq., Captain of the Northumberland Regiment of Militia"), "On the absence of friendship," in her Poems, on various subjects (North Shields, 1819) : 33 8b liable to unindation, and cut from T. Fraser, "Some Notes on Military Engineering Incidents, in the War of 1877-8," in Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal Engineers (Occasional Papers, v. 4, 1880; London, 1881) : 69-70 8c sometimes the unindation is so sudden, from "Hollanders' Care for their Cattle," The Farmers' Review (May 10, 1893) : 293 8d "The Unindation; or, Peace and Pardon," title of an illustration listed in an auction sales catalogue, The Anderson Galleries (1917) : 30 8e "by unindation by the Feather, but" in Thomas R. Jones, comp., "California, A Half-Century Back" in The Grizzly Bear (November 1915) : 2 9 his undelable due ex Walter Scott, his Anne of Geierstein (1829; an 1868 printing) here 10 O.E. undern, third hour, nine in the morning; morning; also, the forenoon; the period between noon and sunset; the evening. (in OE, ME, dialect.) undern days and, obs., OE ca 1225, "not hidden, open" (all OED) 11 "dones" and "undones," John Ruskin's discussion of, in letter of 1872 included in Arrows of the Chase (1880) : 208 — "...they will find it well, throughout life, never to trouble themselves about what they ought not to do, but about what they ought to do..." and "...the Undones are now the greatest Family in England, (thank this blessed Parliament...) I know no honest Man but is a Kin to the Undones; no Trade but is undone, no City but is undone; none but the knavish Committee-Men, Parliament-Men, Excise-Men, and their Vermin, the Soldiers, thrive in these days; they get, and grow rich, whosoever looses..." ex The Parliament Arraigned, Convicted; Wants nothing but Execution... Written in the Year of Wonders, being the Eighth Year of the Lords and Commons dissembled at Westminster; by Tom Tyranno-Mastix; alias, Mercurius Melancholicus... Printed for the Public View of all His Majesty's faithful Subjects; and are to be sold at the old Sign of You may go Look (1648) : 23 12 undexical index, pointing unwhere; and und ex und 1895, and elsewhere. to unsay, to make unknown 13 undure : unhard, i.e., soft, crumbled "quyk erth" ex Palladius on husbandrie (Barton Lodge, ed., 1879) to impart artificial flavours, ca. 1420 14 from Latin iniūria (“injustice; wrong; offense”), from in- (“not”) + iūs, iūris (“right, law”) unjure, what, to de-legalize? to un-law something? unright it? 15 to be anunscape is to be in a fidgety, uneasy state... Lit., it means "on the wish," i.e., very eager or desirous about a thing; cf. Dan önske, to wish. ex C. Clough Robinson, A Glossary of Words Pertaining to the Dialect of Mid-Yorkshire; with others peculiar to Lower Nidderdale... (London, 1876) : 93. 16 sular water, waters, of waters, to waters ex J. Dyneley Prince, "Tatar Materials in Old Russian," in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (1919) unwater : to free a mine of water, to drain of water, to carry off water from OED that reports the word to have appeared as a mistranslation in a1300 E.E. Psalter — and watres outran, and scaldand and unwatred... 17 unwatered : not so watered OED, see water, vb. 9 to produce a moiré or wavy lustrous finish on (silk or other textile fabrics) by sprinkling them with water and passing them through a calendar. 1708 No two pieces were ever water'd alike OED the term came up (25 October 2018) in Jennifer Roberts her talk on "The Moiré Effect: Robert Rauschenberg, Print, and Interference" 18 unsum, an OCR misread here and there, among them a passage in what appears (from imperfect scan) to be "Aanmerkingen op de Javaansche spraakkunst" in Tijdschrift voor Nederlands Indië 6 (Batavia, 1844) : 22 unsong : Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964 *) on opera soprano Mary Garden (1874-1967 *), in The Merry-go-round (1918) : 115 (there's a Gertrude Stein connection to Garden and Van Vechten) unsong there were very few ex B. C. De Lissa, "British North Borneo" in Proceedings of the Geographical Society of Australasia (1884) here 19 unsion an OCR misread for unction that I would pass over in silence (or delete entirely), save that it occurs in Joseph Bellamy, his True Religion Delineated; Or, Experimental Religion, Distinguished from Formality on the one hand, and Enthusiasm on the other, set in a Scriptural and Rational Light, in Two Discourses. With a preface by Mr. [Jonathan] Edwards (Second Edition, London, 1788) : 73 why? a detour into experimental reading led to experimental preaching and religion, and — for the latter — a brief intersection with experimental science. a long-ago asfaltics post — comfortlesse, swimming notions — provides a hint of (and entrance point to) some diversions on experimental religion and experimental reading. 20 unwards most frequently found as OCR misread for "upwards" 21 unwordy, a dialect form of unworthy (Wright, English Dialect Dictionary; unword, obs., rare, to make speechless (OED) 22 ...the un—un—under, no, the un—under—un—no... ex "Harry’s Secret." Two Scenes. Four Characters: One Boy and Three Girls. in Robert St. John Corbet, his Uncle Grumpy : And Other plays for juvenile actors and actresses (London, 1880) : 26 23 un on in en on is several-wheres, including Bastiaan Cramer, his De geheel vernieuwde en verbeterde Trap der jeugd... Spel-Lees-Schrift en Taal-Kunst... (1804; 1862) :5

—

method — initially, extrapolate from existing forms, to others; without euphony, nothing; no attempt at completion; started with sound, in fact... but got waylaid (by sourcings); sound remains.

among sources or, more often, looks to see if a particular form existed, were — the OED, the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, and — most importantly — Joseph Wright his English Dialect Dictionary Volume VI. T-Z (1905), where the prefixed un doesn't always mean "back" or to "undo" a thing or action.

—

...a bad linguist, tangling my words at will. — Jessica J. Lee, turning, a swimming memoir (2017) : 212

—

all tagged un all tagged excess