dhampyresa

When I posted Sea Change (Star Wars AotC canon-divergent AU) I mentionned that "this is the third fic I've written with a title from The Tempest, but the first one posted".

Here's one of those two other fics titled after quotes from Billy Shakes' Tempest. I wrote this originally in 2014 -- there was a discussion about people with the same name switching places, and so I started thinking about Hannibal Sefton and Hannibal Barca.

Dukedom Large Enough (6211 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ancient History RPF, Benjamin January Mysteries - Barbara Hambly
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Rose Vitrac January, Hannibal Barca
Additional Tags: Time Travel, Case Fic, Implied Hannibal/Scipio, Implied Rose/Hannibal, Implied Rose/Ben/Hannibal
Summary:

It was a long, long way from Carthage to New Orleans.

I'm starting to go for my black-out of all three cards ofhamsterwoman's reading bingo, so I'll be noting for which square I'm counting each book. (I'm being somewhat lax with my definition of "book", I think, but whatever. If it's original fiction and you have to pay to read it, it counts.)


What did you finish reading

Hagar, by Barbar Hambly: In which Rose goes to a Mardi Gras ball and solves a murder with the help of Livia. I loved this! Rose is, as always, a great narrator and she even got to be science!Rose for a bit! SCIENCE!ROSE IS BEST ROSE, OKAY. And Livia was a lot nicer than she usually is, which was a strange, but nice, change. Witness this exchange with Hannibal:

"The man could talk anybody into anything, I've heard. Like most good-for-nothing men."
"I stand chastised," Hannibal bowed his head.
"Get along with you. You're the worst of the lot." But her voice softened as she spoke, in a way that made Rose smile.

as well as the bit where it almost sounds like she's glad no one murdered hannibal during his laudanum days in Paris. I was also surprised by how pronounced Livia's opinion of Shaw's French was -- or, rather, how detailed it was. I mean, she's always trying to avoid him and yet she has Opinions on his French? Something's off. And then she was complimentary towards him? "Now that someone's pointed out to him the direction in which to look, I doubt that even he could go astary." It's complimentary by Livia standards, but still what.

I'm counting this for "rec from friend or media (CHALLENGE MODE: book from the rec list compiled by CSRB participants)" including challenge mode (because it's part of the Benjamin January mysteries series and that's on the list under "Books with protagonists of color") for the Random card.


Célestin et l'enfant étoile, by Romain Niveleau (art and scenario): This is very tonally reminiscient of Le Petit Prince. Visually, as well. It's therefore extremely adorable while touching on some very serious subjects (what freedom means, bullying and imagination, at the very least). It's more of an illustrated/picture book than a comic though, but the layout is excellent. And I have to say that the writing is so good that I could hear the accent in the mouflons' dialogue. A++ South-East/Marseillais accenting.

I'm counting this as "book heavily featuring kids -- kids, not teenagers, so, 12 and under. (CHALLENGE MODE: book from a child's POV, once again, child, not teen)" on the Random Card, and counting the challenge mode as well.


Eve sur la Balançoire: Un conte cruel de Manhattan, by Nathalie Ferlut (art and scenraio): It's about Eve Nesbitt's early life and the first "Trial of the Century". It's super interesting! Although it does feature sexual assault/rape, if that's something you'd rather avoid. It's not graphic and pretty well sign posted, I thought, so easy to avoid, but it is a major plot point. Anyway, Eve was very sympathetic and I loved that she got to have as much of a revenge as she could! Not that anyone but her and the person the revenge was on realised that was what was happening, but I really didn't expect her to even get that much. I like the way Eve is presented in an unflattering light but is still very sympathetic. She's very cleraly not a good person, but she's not a bad one either (and terrible tings happen to her, so that doesn't help). The art is kind of dreamlike and so very fitting to the subtitle of "A cruel (fairy)tale of Manhattan" and there was a nice call back to her name and the Biblical symbolism of it in at least one place. I had no idea what the trial that sort of serves as a framing device was, so I spent the whole book trying to guess and when I figured it out, everything started to feel very Greek Tragedy like. This is a compliment.

I'm going to count this as "a book heavily featuring food" for the Random Card, because of the narrative weight given to, in particular, the chocolate cherries.


Victor Hugo, by Bernard Swysen (art and scenario): A bibliography of, you guessed it, Victor Hugo! It's extemely well-done and well-researched. And I eneded up feeling like an idiot at one point, because even though I knew the dates for both, it had never occured to me that Hugo and Dumas could be friends. Also, Hugo is a Chateaubriand fanboy. It's adorable.

I loved the way Hugo's writing was incorporated in the text and I'm not too proud to admit I cried.

Another very cool thing is that since Hugo was born in 1802 (Ce siècle avait deux ans...) and died in 1885 and was very involved politically, you get to have a front row seat to the insane game of political musical chairs that is French history in the 19th century. To wit: the Consulate, First Empire, First Restauration (monarchy), the Hundred Days (Napoléon's come-back), Second Restauration (monarchy, again), July Monarchy, Second Republic, Second Empire, Third Republic. So that's 2 Empires, 3 Republics and 3 Monarchies (plus the Hundred Days) in 83 years. OMG FRANCE JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND ALREADY

I could have done without the framing device of Adèle in the mental institution, but for abook that's roughly 80 pages long, it manages to pack in a spectacular amount of information about Hugo, his work and his context without ever sacrificing clarity and good art. Amazing.

I don't know if I like Hugo better having read this, but I certainly understand him a lot better.

Counting this as "book by an author you've never read", still for the Random card.


Which brings me at 0/25 for the Serious card, 0/25 for the Mix 'n' Match card and 4/25 for the Random card.



What are you reading

The Daylight War, by Peter V. Brett: I'm not entirely sure why I'm reading this, actually. I mean, I opened the file because it was on my phone, but I don't remember enjoying either The Painted Man or The Desert Spear all that much. Well, okay, no. That's a lie. There were things I really liked about those novels and these were unfortunately not the things the author wanted me to like and there were things that I REALLY HATED, like, oh, say, the way that as of the end of book 2, both main female characters were rape victims. I hated that. I viciously hated that with the kind of rage I didn't know I could feel towards a book. And my favourite part of the books so far was the first third or so of The Desert Spear, set in Krasia, because it might be full of Islamophobic clichés, but at least it wasn't fucking pseudo-medieval Europe take n°11364873436437409.

And so now I'm reading this book, because I apparently hate myself.

I'm about 25% of the way in and I'm not sure how to feel? So far the author has remembered that LGBT people exist! There's been a grand total of one (1) gay man and two (2) lesbians as minor characters. And if you're curious, no, none of them are from pseudo-medieval Europe.

So far my favourite bits are the Inevera flashbacks, because there's politics! And it's not pseudo-medieval Europe.

You know, I've nothing against pseudo-medieval Europe as a setting, but at least do something with it. This is just so bland and bleh. I mean, you'd think having fucking demons rise up from the earth at night to kill you if you're out of a protective circle would have some sort of impact on society, but not really. At least over in Krasia, it does.

(I'm reminded of how much better Stained Glass Monsters did the "demons rise up to kill you if you're out of a protective circle" thing.)

The problem with the Inevera flashbacks is that they're full of foreign words in italics (which trips up my synesthesia something fierce), sometimes for no damn reason. There's no point in calling them alagai hora when demon bones would work just as well, ffs. But, hey, at least the not-English words are sign-posted with the italics here.

Over in Boring Fake Europe, they're not. Our ~hero~ Arlen and Renna don't say "isn't". Oh no. They don't say "ain't" either, which would have made sense and would have been an actual word to convey what I'm assuming is trying to be conveyed here (ie: they're backwater hicks). But nooooo. They say "ent". Yes, like Treebeard and the rest from Tolkien. And somehow they find the way to shove it into every single line of dialog they have and it is SO FUCKING ANNOYING. (My synesthesia is starting to recognise a lot of the foreign italics as words, but ent is where the line is drawn, apparently.)

And another thing! Everyone in these books apparently suffers from Too Fucking Stupid To Live Syndrome. Why the hell haven't people been making their cities into the shape of wards for decades already? Why do the Krasians keep up with that ridiculous maze business when it does more harm than good?

Honestly, at this point I'm reading for the following reasons: 25% wanting to know more of Inevera (and her queer entourage. the lesbians definitely stick around, but who knows if the gay man, her brother, will come back), 10% wanting to find out what's happened to a few of the characters I liked that still haven't fucking showed up on page yet, wtf, at least two were major characters last time, 10% wanting to get a closer look at the "synesthesia recognising words" process, 5% vague curiosity for the plot of the book and 50% bile fascination for how much more boring or generic or offensive this whole thing can get.

(But, hey, It's a good thing to read bad books every once in a while. Here I was, feeling insecure over my writing. Not any more!)

I'm probably going to keep reading, both because I'm a stubborn fuck and because bile fascination.


No progress was made on: The Art of War, Darshan, The Kick-Ass Writer, La véritable histoire de Carthage et de Hannibal, Gustav Adolf Mossa: L'oeuvre symboliste: 1903-1918.


Les Fleurs du Mal, by Charles Baudelaire: I continue to love this, despite Baudelaire being Baudelaire. Okay, that sounds bad. Here's the thing about Baudelaire: he had a terrible life and was awfully depressed. A lot of his poetry is magnificent, but it's beautiful, heart-breaking writing on pain and death and despair.

My favourite it from this week is from Le Masque

- Mais pourquoi pleure-t-elle? Elle, beauté parfaite
Qui mettrait à ses pieds le genre humain vaincu,
Quel mal mystérieux ronge son flanc d'athlète?

- Elle pleure, insensé, parce qu'elle a vécu!
Et parce qu'elle vit! Mais ce qu'elle déplore
Surtout, ce qui la fait frémir jusqu'aux genoux,
C'est que demain, hélas! il faudra vivre encore!
Demain, après-demain et toujours! - comme nous!

With translation

But why is it she weeps, whose loveliness outranks
All others, and who binds all humans by her laws?
What hushed mysterious ill gnaws at her athlete flanks?

She weeps because, O madman, she has lived, because
She must live on. But her most pitiful misgiving —
What chills her very knees and turns her tremulous —
Is that alas! tomorrow she must go on living —
Tomorrow and tomorrow — evermore — like us!

What are you reading next? (aka the to-read list)

A to-read list that is properly formatted, so I don't forget about books I wanted to read! Now updated with books I should have put on it a long time ago AND with recent recs I got.

Books that I have already: Prisoner (Echo's Wolf, Book 1) (Werewolf Marines 2) by Lia Silver, Darkness Over Cannae by Jenny Dolfen, Taking Stock by Scott Bartlett (yuleswap book 1), February by Lisa Moore (yuleswap book 2), The Demigod Diaries by Rick Riordan

Books that are out and that I haven't got: Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen, by Garth Nix, Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie, Melting Stones and Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce, The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay, The Beginning Place by Ursula Le Guin, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex, The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, Hostage by Sherwood Smith and Rachel Manija Brown, the last two books of Kate Eliott's Spiritwalker trilogy and whatever's out of the Craft Sequence series.

Books that aren't out yet (and when they're out): The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan (Autumn 2015), The Sleeping Life (Eferum, #2) by Andrea K. Höst (2015), Benjamin January #14 by Barbara Hambly (no idea), Empire Ascendant by Kameron Hurley (Summer 2015? Still unsure if I'm even going to be reading this one), the Tris book by Tamora Pierce (2015), whatever Jenny Dolfen's next project is (THAT ART!) and probably Robert Jackson Bennett's next book.

Also, comics. I will probably also be reading some comics.

I'm late, but on the plus side, I'm no longer living in an Edgar Allan Poe story and have found the source of the noise. There was a smoke detector that needed new batteries. It was stuck to the ceiling, above a shelf that blocked it from view. Have had to ask for help from someone taller than me to turn it off. But, hey, at least it's off now. (It seems to have taken my internet with it, though. Dammit, neighbour's wifi! The internet is being denied my brilliance.)

I wrote four fics this yuletide, for a total of 10 132 words, both of which are less than last year, but I'm okay with that. I think I did okay.


Twelve Days of Mad Science (6456 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: X-Club (Comics)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Kavita Rao, James Bradley | Dr Nemesis
Additional Tags: Crack Treated Seriously
Summary: Prank wars at the Office of Pure Empirical Science!

This was my assignment and it was such an absolute joy to write! I've had the basic idea of "prank wars with the X-Club" for ages and when it turned out that my recipient loved pretty much everything I did about canon, I figured it was time to write it. Except I had no idea what the pranks where going to be and here I drew a lot on their letter for ideas. I couldn't quite fit everything in or fit it in perfectly, but I'm still really proud of what I came up with. The hardest part was probably finding quotes that could work, ngl. I also enjoyed coming up with a lot of the background details as ways of showing friendship/closeness between Kavita and some of the other characters (sharing food and drink with Jeffries, her certainty that Danger wouldn't drop her, her having seen the numbers on the inside of Magneto's arm, asking Illyana for help, Rogue helping her pull off a prank, etc). I like it when there's more to the story than just what's on the page.


Five moments in the life of Augustus Mayerling (1176 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Benjamin January Mysteries - Barbara Hambly
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Augustus Mayerling
Additional Tags: Backstory, Yuletide Treat
Summary: Becoming Augustus Mayerling is a process.

The first treat I wrote this year! I went a little outside of the prompt, seeing as it probably referred to the beginning of Madeleine and Augustus' relationship and instead I made it about the beginning of Augustus as a person. It's not as polished it could have been, but I did manage to pull a trick I like to do, sometimes, where most of the dialogue is indirect and only specific lines/people get direct dialogue. It's no coincidence that the only actual line of dialogue in the fic is "Augustus." (I briefly considered referencing Joan of Arc or le Chevalier d'Eon on top of La Maupin, but then I decided I was being French enough.) A lot of people seem to have picked up on despite what France might think, the world is bigger than France, too. It's totally my favourite line from that fic.


A Terrible Weakness (1247 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Glittering Cloud - Imogen Heap (Song)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Narrator (Glittering Cloud (song)), Original Characters
Additional Tags: Superheroes, Yuletide Treat
Summary: None of this was Paladin's idea.

I think this one can be read without canon knowledge, but in any case, here's the song it was based on.

I had great fun writing this! I really enjoyed writing Paladin, her snark and her naming herself after a D&D character class. (Hey, it worked for Rogue.) Writing Overseer without once referencing gender was fun. In retrospect, the hand eyes might be inspired a bit by a plot point from Masqué (aka the "nearfuture Paris does superheroes" comic, as opposed to "WW2 Paris does superheroes" which is La Brigade Chimérique) but only insofar as what they look like. Their power is quite different and besides, hand eyes have been a thing for a while. Wasn't there some in Pan's Labyrinth? I really like A 'is Paladin going to lose her fucking shit in the next twenty minutes?' dog. as a line.


Seas Would Rise (1253 words) by sevenofspade
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Characters: Original Characters
Additional Tags: Yuletide Treat
Summary: Dead, mortal and gone, the gods went and left behind the world.

Canon knowledge for this one is also unnecessary.

I wrote this for my main recipient last year, because their prompt was something I'd often wondered about the song myself. It's also the story where I had to retype about 2/3 of it because I done fucked up, but I like it despite (because?) of that. It ended up more mythic than I first thought it would, but I really like the picture that's created by the juxtaposition of the mythic segments and the interrogation transcript. There's a running theme throughout of Sea laughing. It's somewhat of a remix/retelling of the story of the city of Ys and the worldbuilding is definitely based on the traditional breton conception of the world, in particular with "Sea. Wind. Earth. What more do you need to make a world? Nothing." (those three elements are what the three branches of the triskell stand for, btw. Sea's the wave-like one, Air's the top one and Earth's the last one, if memory serves).

Overall, I had a great time on the writing side of this yuletide and have I told y'all about the amazing amazing AMAZING fic I got as a gift?

Another Opportunity (2903 words) by Alasse_Irena
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Ancient History RPF
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Hannibal Barca, Scipio Africanus
Additional Tags: Reincarnation
Summary: In which it takes several lifetimes for Hannibal and Scipio to arrange a dinner date. Reincarnation AU.

So yeah. I pretty much won yuletide this year.

(I swear I posted this yesterday evening, but since the post only appeared when I clicked the link in the "Croopost successful" Dreamwidth email, I've deleted that entry and reposted. Idk what's going on.)

What did you finish reading

Blood of Olympus, by Rick Riordan: It was really good and a fitting ending to the series(es), I thought. My favourite parts were the Nico+Reyna roadtrip. And my favourite bit from that was

‘My dad gave me a present once,’ Nico said. ‘It was a zombie.’
Reyna stared at him. ‘What?’
‘His name is Jules-Albert. He’s French.’
‘A … French zombie?’
‘Hades isn’t the greatest dad, but occasionally he has these want to know my son moments. I guess he thought the zombie was a peace offering. He said Jules-Albert could be my chauffeur.’
The corner of Reyna’s mouth twitched. ‘A French zombie chauffeur.’
Nico realized how ridiculous it sounded. He’d never told anyone about Jules-Albert – not even Hazel. But he kept talking.
‘Hades had this idea that I should, you know, try to act like a modern teenager. Make friends. Get to know the twenty-first century. He vaguely understood that mortal parents drive their kids around a lot. He couldn’t do that. So his solution was a zombie.’
‘To take you to the mall,’ Reyna said. ‘Or the drive-through at In-N-Out Burger.’
‘I suppose.’ Nico’s nerves began to settle. ‘Because nothing helps you make friends faster than a rotting corpse with a French accent.’

Because Jules-Albert. Fucking Jules-Albert, y'all. I was laughing so hard, both because the dialogue's hilarious and because "oh, Riordan, you really have no idea, do you?". Because a chauffeur named Jules-Albert, lmao what. (This isn't to say there's no one named Jules-Albert -- I don't know any, but I did go to summer camp with a François-Guillaume once --, but come on. They wouldn't be chauffeurs. This kind of compound name, especially uncommon as compounds or compound of uncommons, is a pretty specific class marker for BCBG/petite bourgeoisie.) /tangent!

We have a reference to "Leo's feels", so I'm just going to assume that Leo's on Tumblr. That, combined with him referring to Percy as "Aquaman" makes me think Leo and Jason get into intense Marvel vs DC comics fights/wankery. 5i've talked before about my headcanon of Jason Grace being a GIANT COMICS NERD, right?)

Also, they met Asclepius! I have such a soft spot for Asclepius. Shame we didn't (really) get to see Hygieia, though (second favourite goddess, after Athena).

Okay, no, but seriously, Nico and Reyna were my favourites and I want all the fic about their future adventures together as BFFs. Look at Nico!

[Nico] hated working with other people. They were always cramping his style, making him uncomfortable.

Isn't he adorable?

Look at Reyna!

Accept my aegis, Reyna Ramìrez-Arellano, said [Athena]. For today, you have proven yourself a hero of Olympus.

ISN'T SHE AWESOME? (Seriously, she is the best. Also, I ship her with Thalia.)

Look at Nico and Reyna!

[Reyna] gave Nico a big hug and the crowd roared with approval. For once, Nico didn't feel like pulling away. He buried his face in Reyna's shoulder and blinked the tears out of his eyes.

Aww.

And this point I could do the whole rest of this by going "Look at...!" and providing quotes (Look at Percy being a dork! "'Greeks!' Percy yelled. 'Let's, um, fight stuff!'") so I'll just skip over that and say it's great book and I vastly enjoyed reading it.

I loved Annabeth's reaction to Nico telling her and her boyfriend that he had had a crush on said boyfriend: "She raised her hand for a high five". (Annabeth was amazing in this book. She is my favourite.)

I loved the little glimpses of/references to various minor characters we had (Luke! Clarisse! Rachel! Omg, RACHEL!) although I wished we had more, especially Rachel, because argle bargle, that thing with Apollo? Yeah, what's up with that? (Rachel and Hazel should totally bond over art stuff.)

And Thalia Getting Shit Done while Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter are at each other's throats.

The whole Will Solace/Nico thing felt a bit rushed, but the fact that they don't get together in the book makes it better, like Will isn't the ~love of Nico's life~ but just the first cute guy Nico's noticed since he got over his crush on Percy. Wich reminds me! I greatly appreciated that Reyna ended the series single. No offense to anyone, but the whole "everyone is together with their (heterosexual) soulmate/lifepartner at sixteen (except for the gay kid, who is sad and angry)" thing was really bothering me, so this is better. (Tangent: I like Piper, but her powerset creeps me out. There. I've finally said it. Tbh, it creeps me out even more that it isn't adressed in text. Then again, that sort of thing never is.)

And of course I continued to enjoy the characterisation of the Romans as being a bunch of failboats ("'The Romans aren’t big on navies. They had, like, one rowboat. Which I sank.'"). Idk, I derive great joy out of people taking the piss out of the Roman Empire.

TL;DR: IT WAS GREAT. Fitting end to the series. And nobody died! (Permanently.)


Crimson Angel, by Barbara Hambly: This was AMAZING! (I'm reading so many great books lately, it's awesome.) It was absolutely terrific and very OT3-y, but I still need time to process it. I expected many things reading this book, but "actually, it's about ethics in video game medicine journalism" was not one of them.

The issue that's brought up is one I've given a lot of thought to, because... Okay, I don't know if I've ever told y'all this, but I spent some time in (French) medschool, because I'd wanted to be a doctor ever since I stopped wanting to be a dinosaur. I am no longer in medschool, but everything that's got to with medicine still impacts me more than other stuff. And this issue? It's one I don't have an answer to and I don't know that I agree with the conclusion that's presented in the text. I don't know that I disagree either and I wish I could talk about the book without getting bogged down with this shit, but I can't. I can't. I realise on some level that making us think about this was probably part of Hambly's intent, but gdit, I don't read these books to be reminded of medschool and how fucking miserable I was there. (Ben being a doctor (the best doctor!) is all good, though. ILU, Ben.)

Hopefully I'll be able to manage a more coherent review later on, but in the mean time: it's a really, really, genuinely good book. It's amazing and one of the most powerful books I've read recently.


Canon review for my yuletide assignment: I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS SO MUCH (Still don't have the physical copy, though /sadface) I am so happy to be writing them.


What are you reading now

It's time to play "dhampyres is tired, so all the books are getting read" again!

StoryKiller, by Kelly Thompson: Am enjoying it so far, but LEARN TO USE A FUCKING COMMA! Yeah, Thompson's completely disregard for the use of commas (inclusing the vocative comma, which, come on, that one's not hard) continues. I'm not sure why it bother me more her than it did in The Girl Who Would Be King, maybe because the story hasn't gripped me as much or maybe it's because it's the second book of hers I've read. Look. I have nothing against self-published books, but if you expect me to pay money for your book, it better have had at the very fucking least been copy-edited/proof-read. Seriously.

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu:I've decided to stop reading the translator's fucking stupid translation notes. (Again, dude, if another word would work better, use that, don't talk about how much better it is for half a page instead.) So now I read about 5 lines per page, lmao.

Darshan, by Jade Baudain: It's still weird reading in french (and slow-going), but I am still enjoying this.I do think that having the officers of your spy network be recognisable from the way the dress is kind of missing the point, though. Pretty sure Morquendi's not dead. Still think whoever left the Darshan shrine to the other country on the island is an idiot and should be fired. Also, calling it now, the king is not Lliane's father (it was pretty obvious since the beginning, but it's REALLY obvious now, to the point where if we don't get cnfirmation soon, I will assume I missed it).

La véritable histoire de Carthage et de Hannibal, de Jean Malye: Still super interesting! (Did you know that Hannibal probably had people from India to deal with his elephants? And did you know that that species of elephants was hunted to extinction by the Romans? Fucking Romans, man.) Still, also, a very massive book.

Gustav Adolf Mossa: L'oeuvre symboliste: 1903-1918 (exposition catalogue for a 1992 exposition at the Pavillon des Arts): This is a loan from a friend, mostly so I can look at the art and see what other people have done with watercolours. It's pretty interesting, although, WOW dude had problems, like, for real. There's commentary on one of the piantings that goes "the artist's mysogyny..." so yeah. (It's kind of funny how obvious it is that several people have written the commentary, because one them talks about "the castrating power of Woman" (yes, with a capital) as though this is not only a thing, but a perfectly acknowledged, normal and obvious thing.)The art can be very striking, though.

( Here's my favourite so far. )
(Also, despite the dude's art pretty much ending in 1918, he didn't die in WW1. I feel like I should specify that.)

The Kick-Ass Writer, by Chuck Wendig: I'm not giving the whole title, because shit is long. I'm a couple of pages in. It's okay and in line with the rest of Wendig's stuff I've read. idk, sometimes I like to read someone shouting at me to "ART HARDER, MOTHERFUCKER!"?


What are you reading next

Darkness Over Cannae, by Jenny Dolfen: I would be reading this now, except I keep staring at the pretty (so pretty!) pictures and not paying any attention to the text. this is kind of a problem, because there are pictures on every pages. (They're so pretty, though!)

A to-read list that is properly formatted, so I don't forget about books I wanted to read!

Books that I have already: City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett, Prisoner (Echo's Wolf, Book 1) (Werewolf Marines 2) by Lia Silver (so apparently my phone doesn't recognise this as a real book, which is why I completely forgot I had it. fuck you, phone. It is too a real book.)

Books that are out and that I haven't got: Clariel: The Lost Abhorsen, by Garth Nix, Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (I told _profiterole_ i would and also several other folks have said it's good)

Books that aren't out yet (and when they're out): The Sword of Summer, by Rick Riordan (Autumn 2015), Benjamin January #14, by Barbara Hambly (no idea), Empire Ascendant, by Kameron Hurley (Summer 2015? Maybe? IDK if I'm even going to read it, tbh, her behaviour during the whole WF/RH/BS thing is leaving a bad taste in my mouth and honestly, I've vastly cooled on the book since I've finished it.)

Hi! If you're writing for me, you clearly have excellent taste in media and I will love anything you write for me. I mean that. I'm not picky at all. There are exactly three things I would rather not get as a gift and those things are: incest (including adopted), underage and child abuse. That's it. If that's all you wanted to know, feel free to stop reading now. If you'd like a better idea of my likes and dislikes as well as prompts for various fandoms, keep reading.

My previous letters are here and my Ao3 account is here.

( General info )

Please ignore or use any and all parts of this letter you want to.

Spoilers for each series abound below this point. I will assume you are as far as along in each as it is possible to be at this time (Good Man Friday for the Benjamin January series, the completed series for Bloodhound Files, Demon Knights and Locke & Key, issue 3 for Loki: Agent of Asgard and episode 1 of season 2 for Orphan Black).

( Benjamin January Mysteries - Barbara Hambly )


( The Bloodhound Files - D. D. Barant )


( Demon Knights )


( Locke & Key )


( Loki: Agent of Asgard )


( Orphan Black )
Thank you so much for writing for me! I hope you enjoy writing your fic as much as I'll enjoy reading it.

I am operating on about 3 brain cells right now because of this thing that has pretty much reduced me to tears, so apologies if this incoherent.


What did you finish reading

Good Man Friday, by Barbara Hambly: I see what you did there by comparing Poe to a raven. I liked it, overall, but I missed Hannibal and Rose terribly. I really liked Mede so :( for that. I did like that his brother loved him and what he did for him (sure, it was a terrible thing, but she sold Dominique and Charmian and Thérèse into slavery so I can't feel bad for her). Poe as Ben's sidekick was pretty cool, as was BASEBALL, but still no Rose or Hannibal. I feel like a lot of the politics went right over my head as evidenced by my LOL JOHN ADAMS reaction every time he was mentionned. He's a US president? I think? Idk what was going on here aside from there being graverobbers and baseball matches and stuff.


What are you reading now

The Benjamin January short story, Libre, Hannibal's Odyssey and the incomplete first draft of a friend's novel. It's slow going, because I keep making notes such as "we're not even on page 10 yet there are 5 locales and over a dozen characters i like none of them because I have no idea who they and also idk waht is going and another fucking flashback already omg what is wrong with you".


What are you reading next

The other Benjamin January short stories and after that idk.

What did you finish reading

The Shirt on His Back, by Barbara Hambly: I missed Rose but omg, this is so great! Hannibal is sober and clean! Shaw has a family and a baby named after him! And shaw needs ALL THE HUGS after this book, seriously.The murder of the mysteriously naked old man! Hannibal got married, hahaha what. MORNING STAR! She's so great, I love her. (I note that Ben considers 'without the slightest intention of remaining married to Hannibal' one of her qualities.) I'm kind of shipping Hannibal/Morning Star. Not in a true love forever kind of thing, but in a friends with benefits way. they certainly do care a lot about each other. Frankenstein allusions! Hannibal quoting the Tempest, because of course he is, and being manhandled a lot, because of course he is. I loved the inclusion of Morning Star's cousin the winkte (in general, I love the casual inclusion of LGBT characters in these books). Also, Ben calls Hannibal his partner! I have to admit I laughed every time people called Ben 'white man', because could this be more opposed to what he's called in New Orleans? And Hannibal being all 'no, you go ahead and leave me here, I will only slow you down' and Ben having none of it and saying he'll carry him if he has to? Amazing. And this bit broke my heart:

The tribes were dying. There weren't even buffalo to be seen. Only dry wind, and heat.

In conclusion, waugh! (I've no idea what it means, but everyone seems to be saying it and it looks like great fun to say. Waugh!)


What are you reading now

Ran Away, by Barabara Hambly: WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME AYASHA WAS IN THIS BOOK? Because she is and she is so great. (Still weird to go, 'Hey I know that place!', haha) Also Science!Rose is the best Rose. Please keep making all the experiments Rose. Idk what's up with Hannibal's hair but I'm not sure I like it. UNDERGROUND RAILWAY OMG! These books. These books. Gabriel and Zizi-Marie and Willie living with Ben and Rose! Shaw defending Ben from whatshisname the journalist being an asshat. The Lady Jamilla!

Hannibal's Odyssey, by William Mahaney: Had to renew my loan at the library. I've been very busy lately and haven't had time to read it.


What are you reading next

Good Man Friday, by Barbara Hambly, then the short stories, then all the fic. And after that... OMG WHAT WILL I READ NEXT? I think I was considering Kameron Hurley's God's War way back when I started the Benjamin January books, so probably that.

I'll be waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book (Crimson Angel, I predict it will be very OT3-y). I will also be waiting on the edge of my seat for Darkness Over Cannae, not only because Hannibal (although I ♥ Hannibal), but also because how gorgeous is the art? (Depending on things, I might even get my brother a copy of it.)

What did you finish reading

Wet Grave, by Barbara Hambly: Chloe and Dominique call each other sweetheart/darling! Artois! Is brilliant and adorable and then heartbreak, oh no. (As a sidenote, I absolutely love love the treatment of grief in these books, like the way Ben marvels at missing Ayasha still, but loving Rose anyway and neither of these taking anything away from the other.) I'm not sure if it's a good or a bad thing that I don't own these books as paperbooks. If I did, there are so many bits I would be drawing hearts around, like when Shaw hugs Ben. (Aw, Shaw ❤.) I laughed for ages at the bit where Ben is all grumpy at Shaw trying to be a hero, literally minutes after Ben himself risked his life to save Shaw's. Pretty sure I ship Ben/Shaw, but then again Ben/ALL THE SHIPS is pretty much my OTP for the series, just after Ben/Rose/Hannibal. Also, the resolution of the St Chinians. Did not expect that one. I love the care in the depiction of illnesses, even accounting for the limited information Ben has compared to today. Shaw is incredibly badass and kind of frighteningly intense in his pursuit of justice, but that's okay. And then! Pirate treasure, ho! And then! Minou had a baby and then BEN AND ROSE GOT MARRIED!!! And Hannibal wasn't there. :(

The Eagle of the Ninth, by Rosemary Sutcliff: I don't have much more to add from last week. Cub's reunion with Marcus was adorable! I really wish we could have seen more of Cottia. She deserves so much more than to be tacked on at the end the way she was, but hey, at least now Esca's a Roman citizen; you could be more happy about that Esca. Marcus isn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, is he? (Also, there's a bit where Uncle Aquila and the Legate adress each other as "my Claudius"/"my Aquila" and now we know why Uncl Aquila is unmarried, I guess.)

Days of the Dead, by Barbara Hambly: WOW. I think this just might be my favourite of the series so far. It is so so so good, omg. I just love all of it. I love how relieved Hannibal is that Ben and Rose come to the rescue. I love how Ben never for one moment believes Hannibal did it, despite all the evidence to the contrary. I fucking love the resolution of the crime plot: murderous accident! I don't think Ben would have been able to prove any of it in a court of law, so probably the DASHING CROSSDRESSING ESCAPE was for the best. And Hannibal is totally the damsel-in-distress of these books, it is great. There are so many great Hannibal moments (I missed him in Wet Grave, okay?), like the one where he's quoting Shakespeare, with a broken leg, down an unclimbable hole, with 4+ dead bodies down there with him, or the one where he takes care to note the edition of the book he was clubbed over the head with, but my favourite just might be:

"Fernando [...] took Hannibal by the throat, and thrust him up against the wall and snarled, 'Know that when I am master here you will pay dearly for your perfidy, Norteamericano bastard.'
And of course Hannibal replied 'My dear Fernando, you're as mistaken about my intentions as you are about my nationality and the circumstances of my birth."

And Don Prospero was quite something. Stop hating on Helen of Troy, dude! (Btw, this is the second novel of the series with maybe-maybe-not-but-probably supernatural elements: there is no earthly way for Don Prospero to have known about those details of the death.) And good on Valentina! And omg, the climax was so badass. Hannibal! Ben! Rose! Omg, Rose she was brilliant, I loved it. The moment where she talks to the madman hugging the pillar really stuck with me, don't know why. And of course her evil twin sister Elena was brilliant and totally slept with Ben, come on. Happy ending for Consuela! I actually liked Ylario, for all that he was one of the antagonists. I think he'd get along great with Shaw. Also, is it me, or is Hannibal trying to give up opium?


What are you currently reading

Hannibal's Odyssey, by William Mahaney: I may not get out this book alive.


What are you reading next

Dead Water, by Barbara Hambly:I literally just finished Days of the Dead and I've been raving at people about it because it is honestly so so good, I swear. I think two of them might have been convinced to try it. You've no idea how excited I am to start on this one tonight. I hope it has hannibal and Rose and Shaw and Olympe and Minou and Marie Laveau and Ayasha in it! And that Rose opens her school again.

What did you finish reading

Sold Down the River by Barbara Hambly: OMG THIS BOOK I want to hug everyone, except Robert and Simon Fourchet. Ben! Ben, Ben Ben! Ben, I love you, but willow bark is not something you should giving someone in Kiki's situation. Still, you're 9000% of a better doctor than anyone else, because wtf bleeding the dude with a heart condition? Yeah, that makes sense. Ben thinking Hannibal had  forgotten about him broke my heart, but then Hannibal! "Not much for the derring-do", he says, saves children from burning building, he does! Also, great thinking with rendering the guns useless. Also, Shaw to the rescue! Shaw continues to hand Ben weapons. And then! And then! The scene at the end with Ben and Mohamed about Ben's dad! "My son's a free man. He can't learn that from a father who's a slave." Oh, my heart.


What are you reading

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff: Romans! And Britons! And I'm pretty sure the book wants me to be shipping Marcus/Cottia(/Esca?), but she's thirteen, idk if I can do this. Also, wow, reading this alongside the Benjamin January books really highlights the how different the conception of slavery is between 1830s New Orleans and Roman Britain. Also also, Cub is a very imaginative name for a wolfcub, Marcus.

Hannibal's Odyssey: The Environmental Background to the Alpine Invasion of Italia by William Mahaney: Still working through this one. It's not a very practical format, but it's very interesting. (It probably says a lot about me that my reaction to the possibility of finidng frozen Carthaginian soldiers in the Alps was "THAT WOULD BE SO COOL!")


What are you reading next

Die Upon A Kiss by Barbara Hambly. I finished Sold Down the River last night and haven't had time to start this one yet, but I am so excited to start reading it tonight.


I got my first blank kudo email from Ao3 today! I feel oddly accomplished.

Internet fixed, hopefully.

What did you finish reading

Fever Season, by Barbara Hambly: It was amazing and the climax gave me chills down my spine. (Knowing it was based on historical events made it all the worse.) Rose is the greatest and I really love her drive to LEARN ALL THE THINGS! And I can totally see Ben/Hannibal/Rose devellop into an OT3. Also, and idk maybe this is just that I was reading this while talking about Augustus Mayerling with wordsofastory but there's a bit in one of the chapters where Hannibal is described as doing or being 'like a woman' and I think I accidentally convinced myself that Augustus isn't the only crossdresser Ben knows. Sorry not sorry.

Theoreme Vivant, by Cédric Villani: I haven't finished this, but I won't be reading it for the next four months, so. I did figure out why I was thinking of superheroes, though. I was confusing Villani with Lavillenie.


What are you reading

Graveyard Dust, by Barbara Hambly: My reaction so far is split pretty evenly between "oh no, Olympe!" and "yay, Rose and Augustus!". Also, I hope Ben moves out of Livia's house soon, because she's really not helping.


What are you reading next

More Benjamin January, most likely. I've also picked up Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin and Hannibal's Odyssey: The Environmental Background to the Alpine Invasion of Italia by William Mahaney from the library, so those two as well.