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#Dedicated to the best friend that was murdered by a demon when they were 17
cfsupernovcs · 4 years
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It ain't fair you died too young Like a story that had just begun But death tore the pages all away God knows how I miss you All the hell that I've been through Just knowing no one could take your place Sometimes I wonder who you'd be today
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rizlowwritessortof · 3 years
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Riz’s Master List
Just updated my master list (finally) - haven’t added anything new for a few months, unfortunately, but I’m working on it! Links below the cut. HUGE THANKS to @firefly-graphics for the dividers, you are a GIFT, my friend! 
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Never Look Back
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 21 chapters
Bethany Rae Cooper didn’t realize when she met the Winchesters in her family’s bar and grill that her life would never be the same. But she’s always believed that everything happens for a reason, even if it’s not exactly what you were expecting…
The Shadow’s Edge
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 17 chapters
Sequel to Never Look Back. When the demon Dameon was killed, Dean and Beth thought their son was safe from the prophecy. But when Cas brings them news of the new battle for Hell, they realize that their war has just begun.
The Fine Line
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 34 chapters
An unexpected tragedy sends Devon down the dark path of hate and vengeance, but she will learn that things are not always what they seem…
Scars
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 10 chapters
Sequel to The Fine Line. Dean and Devon’s relationship has always been stormy - but can they work through the scars of their past to find each other again?
Stars In the Darkness
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 8 chapters
A crushing loss brings Dean and Sam to Sioux Falls, and ghosts from the past and present bring them across the path of Tiara, a girl they haven’t seen since childhood.
Dreaming
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 5 chapters
Dean Winchester has always been a bit of a thorn in Kelsey’s side - a very attractive thorn, but still… A visit at her uncle Bobby’s reunites her with the boys, and she begins having vivid dreams - about Dean. Is it just her subconscious trying to tell her something? Or is there more to it than that?
My Unimportant Little Life
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 11 chapters
Season 5 timeline. Dean gets yanked from 2009 to 2014, so he can see the ‘consequences’ of saying no to Michael. At Camp Chitaqua he meets Reggie, and is surprised to find that she comes from 2009 as well…
Back In the Saddle
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 10 chapters
Dean and Sam are back in the old west again - in answer to a cry for help from Samuel Colt. And if Dean just happens to get tangled up with the spirited redhead that owns the saloon… what’s the harm, right?
Sweet Escape
Dean/Female Reader, 2 parts
What happens when a friend jokingly does a spell at your birthday party to bring your cardboard standup of Dean Winchester to life? This one’s dedicated to my friend, Liz, who gave me the idea. If only…
Sweet Escape Part 1
Sweet Escape Part 2
Shut Up and Drive
Dean/Female Reader, 2 parts
Reader teases Dean while he’s driving, so - he gets even
Part 1 - Keep Your Eyes on the Road
Part 2 - Or We Could Park - Parking Is Good Too
Take the Long Way Home
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 8 chapters
A look at Dean and Rusty’s relationship, in the present and through their memories. Flashbacks/memories are in italics.
Black Velvet
Demon!Dean/Female Reader, Dean/Female Reader, 9 chapters
You and Sam are broken after Dean’s death. Nobody expected him to come back with black eyes…
Fade to Black
Dean/Female Reader, 11 chapters
Sequel to Black Velvet. Dean is no longer a demon, but he’s still cursed with the Mark of Cain, and the lure of that darkness grows stronger as time goes on.
Dean and Toby Series
Part 1 - The Meet-Cute (Actually Rescue but Whatever)
Part 2 - The Emergency Bed-Share/Move In With Us Combo
Part 3 - The Hit and Then Run Like Your Ass Is On Fire
Part 4 - The FINALLY Admit Your True Feelings and Get Busy
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GENERIC
I’m Good
This is the story that was published in the Seasons - Supernatural Short Story Anthology in 2017. Bobby sharing some memories.
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Combo Shot
Dean/Female Reader
June 2015 GIEPP (Girl In Every Port Project) entry. Prompt: Pool/Poker hustler competitive chick. Pretty much pure smut.
A Hunter Walks Into a Bar
Dean/Female OC
Prowling hunter, sassy bartender
Shelter
Dean/Female Reader
Dean providing comfort
That’s How It Should Be
Sheriff!Dean/Female Reader
They have to make a fast escape, but Dean won’t let being on horseback stand in the way of showing a lady a good time
The Storm
Dean/Female Reader
You’re terrified of storms, and Dean is concerned, feelings get shared
Pest Control
Dean/Female Reader
You think you’ve got mice. The exterminator that shows up is Dean Winchester. He’ll just let you believe that, and take care of the problem. And you.
Happy Birthday, Baby
Dean/Female OC (KK)
Fluffy, smutty birthday fic written for a friend
Gunpowder and Dean
Dean/Female Reader
You’re pissed off at Dean, taking it out on the firing range, but he just won’t leave you alone…
Juicy and Delicious
Dean/Female Reader
My entry for Dean’s Flavor of the Month fic challenge - Peach Pie. You bake some peach pies for Dean, and he’s very grateful…
Lost In You
Dean/Female Reader
A casual flirtation leads to a violent encounter, and Dean’s reaction is a little more than you expected. Warning for brief description of attempted (unsuccessful) assault. Protective Dean.
What You Need
Dean/Female Reader
You’re watching as Sam and Dean prepare to interrogate a demon. Dean knows you’re watching him, and he knows exactly the kind of effect it’s having on you…
Santa Claus Is Coming Tonight
Dean/Female Reader
Dean’s really getting into the Christmas spirit…
I Need You
Dean/Female Reader
You screwed up, Sam got hurt, Dean’s pissed and you aren’t handling it very well.
Snow Day
Dean/Female Reader
You and Dean, stuck in a motel room in a blizzard
Frisk Me
Dean/Female Cop Reader
You’re a cop, in hot pursuit of a murderer, and guess who crosses your path?
Comfort
Dean/Female Reader
Dean had a rough hunt, and he’s beating himself up as usual. You take his mind off things for a little while…
When I Think About You
Dean/Female Reader
It was a wild hunt, and you’re both a little high-strung. Surely there’s some way to blow off some steam…
One Finger
Dean/Female Reader
Dean Winchester has never been one to back down from a challenge
What Makes You Feel Alive
Endverse!Dean/Female Reader
The world is bleak, the struggle endless after Croatoan. You and Dean do what you have to do to keep going.
Sweet Misery
Dean/Unnamed Female OC
My entry for Bev’s Song Challenge - song prompt was Cryin’ by Aerosmith, lyrics at the beginning
Winchesters Don’t Giggle
Dean/Female Reader
A friend and I were having this discussion about giving Dean a back rub, and whether he might be ticklish…
Confession
Dean (Priest!Dean)/Female Reader
When Dean returns from some undercover work, you discover a fantasy you never realized you had
The Bait
Dean/Female Reader
This was written for @jessica-bones-winchester’s (now on her 100th url as @cavillanche - Love you, Jess!) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. The prompt was ‘dressing up as an anime character for his birthday.’ And I have to admit, I really enjoyed this one… Reader dresses as Sailor Mars (from Sailor Moon) for Dean’s birthday.
Hey, Man - Nice Shot
Dean/Female Reader
This is for @jessica-bones-winchester’s ( @cavillanche ) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. The prompt was ‘competitiveness in the shooting range (loser cleans the kitchen for a week) No smut.
Take the Pain Away
Dean/Female Reader
This was written for @jessica-bones-winchester’s ( @cavillanche ) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. Prompt was ‘him taking care of you when you’re sick.’ Reader falls victim to a migraine, and Dean helps her through it. No smut.
Lose Yourself
Dean/Female Reader
Smut, pure and simple… Just imagine having Dean tied up, at your mercy while you worship those perky nipples…
The Contest
Dean/Female Reader
Dean loves to give you a hard time, and one night he pushes things a little too far… Flashback in italics. All’s well that ends well.
Slow Ride
Dean (Bullriding!Dean) /Reader
Yeah, after 12x11, y'all should have known this was coming - they don’t call me Cowgirl for nothing… Written (coincidentally - timing is everything!) for the Smut Apocalypse (Smut Appreciation Day) on Tumblr.
The Photo Booth
Dean/Unnamed Female OC - Dean’s POV
This was written for @winchestersandwordprocessors SPN Valentine’s Fic Challenge. Prompt was Semi-public/Risk of getting caught.
Make You Mine
Dean/Female Reader
Dean’s jealousy gets the best of him, which is not a bad thing…
Take a Chance
Dean/Unnamed Female OC - Dean’s POV
In 7x04, Dean gives himself a little pep talk before his planned hook-up with the bartender. That scene is what inspired me. This one is more important than the usual one-nighters, and it’s making him a little nervous…
If We Don’t Make It
Dean/Female OC
This fic was written for @whispersandwhiskerburn Angel’s 2K Follower Celebration. My song prompt was “Broken” by Lifehouse, and the dialogue prompt was “If we don’t make it out of this, I need you to know…” No smut.
My Deliverer
Dean/Female Spirit - Her POV
Dean is hunting a vengeful spirit. But another spirit is in this place, and she is drawn to him…
Friendly Advice
Dean/Female Reader - Dean POV, Reader POV
This was written for @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog Mimi’s RomCom Fluff Challenge. The fluff got a little smudged into smutty fun… oops! Two POV’s, Dean’s thoughts are in italics and Reader’s are in regular font.
Old Times
Dean/Female OC
Sequel a few years down the road from A Hunter Walks Into a Bar. Tiara goes back to the bar for a visit, and who should show up the next night but Dean Winchester… Flashback in italics.
You Can Leave Your Hat On
Dean/Female Reader (nicknamed Taz)
Inspired by the sexy AF Cowboy!Dean we were treated to in 13x06 Tombstone. Helped along by Joe Cocker’s rendition of “You Can Leave Your Hat On.“
Wish Her the Best
Dean/Female OC - Dean’s POV
This is an angsty li'l fic inspired by Thomas Rhett’s ‘Marry Me,’ tore at my heart until I finally wrote it. No smut.
A Matter of… Time?
Dean/Female Reader
This is the crackiest piece of work I’ve ever written - for @percywinchester27 Ana’s PJO Quotes Challenge. Prompt was “Don’t you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?” - “Umm - no. Me running the world would be kind of a nightmare.”
Demon Seed
Demon!Dean/Female Reader
Demon!Dean stops in for a drink and decides he wants you. He’s very persuasive. Written for @evansrogerskitten’s Hottest Dean Challenge.
Not Wasted Now
Dean/Female Reader
When you all decide to get drunk in the aftermath of a bad hunt, lines get a little blurred. Or crossed. Or fucking erased. Fluffy, smutty, comforting, sweet and sexy Dean.
Bad Guy
Demon!Dean/Female Reader
This was written for @eyes-of-a-disney-princess Rapunzel’s Tangled Up With Supernatural Challenge. My Tangled quote was “You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, now I’m the bad guy.”
Shiny
Trucker!Dean/Female OC
Trucker!Dean AU. Breaker, breaker, got your ears on? 67 Midnight Rider, put that hammer down…
Some Kind of Hero
Dean/Female OC
Written for Tiff’s WTF Challenge. Dean’s just filling up Baby, minding his own business, when he hears an argument and gets involved. Protective Dean, no smut, left that to your imagination.
Crave
Dean/Female Reader
So, have some ‘Riz is craving some sexy Dean action with a big ol’ side of schmoopy fluff’ stuff. Because I was, and I’m sharing with you - the smut and all the sickenly sweet cuddly that I just need sometimes. If y'all are in the mood for that kind of thing.
Perchance to Dream
Dean/Female OC
Using African dream root on a case leads to an awkward situation, and Karlie can’t handle the tension between her and Dean any longer
Ruined
Dean/Female Reader
Dean comes home from a hunt, and he’s had something on his mind…
Going Home
Dean/Female Reader
Written for @crispychrissy’s Gif It To Me Challenge. Overhearing only part of a conversation sends her running, but jumping to conclusions without the whole story isn’t the best decision. No smut.
Not the Smartest Thing
Dean/Female Reader - Reader POV
Only Dean Fucking Winchester could turn taking a swig of beer into pornography. Cocky bastard. But two can play at that game.
Suzy Q
Dean/Female OC - OC POV
Written for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan’s Multi-fandom Follower Celebration Challenge. Prompt - “I think I’m having a feeling. How do I make it stop?”
Invisible Touch
Dean/Unnamed Female OC
Rowena teaches Dean something new, and he gets inspired. I have no idea where this came from, but here it is…
Maybe I’m Amazed
Dean/Unnamed Female OC
An accident leaves her unconscious and fighting for her life in the hospital, drifting in and out of awareness and memories as Dean refuses to leave her side. Written for @rockhoochie’s 1K Love Supernatural Style Writing Challenge.
Reunion
Dean/Female OC
Passing through town, Dean runs into an old high school classmate. Fluffy and smutty, no angst here!
Playing With Fire
MOC!Dean/Unnamed Female OC
Late Season 10 MOC!Dean smut fic that just wouldn’t leave me alone…
Uninvited
Michael!Dean/Dean/Unnamed Female OC
Michael gives Dean a choice, because sometimes Michael likes to watch…This one is darker than my normal, PLEASE heed the warnings.
What Happens At the Roadhouse…
Early-Season Dean/Female OC
Bailey’s just looking for a couple days post-hunt R&R at Harvelle’s - and then he shows up. Cocky bastard.
Unleashed
Post-Purgatory Dean/Female OC
She’s still struggling to cope a year after Dean disappeared in the explosion that killed Dick Roman.
The Pool House
Dean/Unnamed female OC
Inspired by a dream - one I will never forget!
The Break-In
Dean/Tara (female OC)
One night I started thinking about what it would be like using mics and earbuds and having Dean’s voice RIGHT IN YOUR EAR. And then this fic happened. Hope you enjoy!
Tired of Missing You
Dean/Journey (female OC)
This is one of those times when my story yanked the wheel out of my hands and I just went along for the ride. So if you’re in the mood for a fluffy, angsty cookie with a smutty, creamy middle - here ya go!
Compelled
Dean/Brandi (female OC)
Have you ever had a really bad day at work? I’ve never had a day quite as bad as Brandi’s - but damn, I’d love to use this method to relieve the stress…
The Devil Made Me Do It
Demon!Dean/Shea (Female OC)
Shea is in a reckless mood. Demon!Dean is happy to help her indulge that mood.
Driving Miss Baby
Dean/Reader
Dean decides you need a driving lesson in Baby.
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Just a Little Story About Lou and Sam
Sam/Female OC
Lou and Sam walk into a bar… written for a friend who’s a Sammy girl
Doctor-Patient Relations
Sam/Female OC
One-shot inspired by The Born-Again Identity - sick Sammy and Dr. Nicole. Written for another Sammy-girl friend
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Head vs. Heart
No title
Fourth of July
Working Saturday Isn’t So Bad
11x17 Drabble
Some Nights He Dreams
Most of the Time
The Name Game
God Bless America
Stress Relief
Dean Hurt/Comfort Drabble
@mrs-squirrel-chester ‘s Album Fanfic Writing Challenge Drabbles
    Dangerous
    For My Brother
    In Chains
    Kiss and Tell
    The End of Me
    Choices
    Hero
    Pure
    In the End
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aion-rsa · 3 years
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Top New YA Books in January 2021
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
The YA genre is still booming, providing romance, adventure, and more for teens and adults alike. Here are some of the YA books from January 2021 we’re most looking forward to…
Top New Young Adult Books January 2021
You Have a Match: A Novel by Emma Lord
Type: Novel Publisher: Wednesday Books Release date: Jan. 12
Den of Geek says: Theres something quintessentially charming about summer camp stories, where kids trade their day-to-day for the wilderness. But this protagonist can’t escape everything at camp, and she’ll need the help of her sister to figure out the story of more than one family.
Publisher’s Summary: When Abby signs up for a DNA service, it’s mainly to give her friend and secret love interest, Leo, a nudge. After all, she knows who she is already: Avid photographer. Injury-prone tree climber. Best friend to Leo and Connie…although ever since the B.E.I. (Big Embarrassing Incident) with Leo, things have been awkward on that front.
But she didn’t know she’s a younger sister.
When the DNA service reveals Abby has a secret sister, shimmery-haired Instagram star Savannah Tully, it’s hard to believe they’re from the same planet, never mind the same parents — especially considering Savannah, queen of green smoothies, is only a year and a half older than Abby herself.
The logical course of action? Meet up at summer camp (obviously) and figure out why Abby’s parents gave Savvy up for adoption. But there are complications: Savvy is a rigid rule-follower and total narc. Leo is the camp’s co-chef, putting Abby’s growing feelings for him on blast. And her parents have a secret that threatens to unravel everything.
But part of life is showing up, leaning in, and learning to fit all your awkward pieces together. Because sometimes, the hardest things can also be the best ones. 
Buy You Have a Match: A Novel by Emma Lord.
Lore by Alexandra Bracken
Type: Novel Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Release date: Jan. 5, 2021 Den of Geek says: A twist on Greek mythology from an accomplished author promises creative world-building and fantasy adventure. Publisher’s summary: Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality. 
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.
Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.
The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.
Buy Lore by Alexandra Bracken.
Siege of Rage and Ruin by Django Wexler
Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Teen Release date: Jan. 5, 2021 Den of Geek says: This month’s high fantasy installment is the finale in a popular series, and one that makes us want to see how the characters arrived and where they go from here. Ghost ships! Mind control!  Publisher’s Summary: Isoka has done the impossible―she’s captured the ghost ship Soliton.
With her crew of mage-bloods, including the love of her life Princess Meroe, Isoka returns to the empire that sent her on her deadly mission. She’s ready to hand over the ghost ship as ransom for her sister Tori’s life, but arrives to find her home city under siege. And Tori at the helm of a rebellion.
Neither Isoka’s mastery of combat magic, nor Tori’s proficiency with mind control, could have prepared them for the feelings their reunion surfaces. But they’re soon drawn back into the rebels’ fight to free the city that almost killed them.
Buy Siege of Rage and Ruin by Django Wexler.
Top New Young Adult Books December 2020
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
Type: Novel Publisher: Delacorte Press Release date: Dec. 1
Den of Geek says: A tale of family and suspense, this novel about uncovering a bloody secret looks like it’s full of atmosphere and a tinge of horror.
Publisher’s summary: Milly, Aubrey, and Jonah Story are cousins, but they barely know each another, and they’ve never even met their grandmother. Rich and reclusive, she disinherited their parents before they were born. So when they each receive a letter inviting them to work at her island resort for the summer, they’re surprised . . . and curious.
Their parents are all clear on one point–not going is not an option. This could be the opportunity to get back into Grandmother’s good graces. But when the cousins arrive on the island, it’s immediately clear that she has different plans for them. And the longer they stay, the more they realize how mysterious–and dark–their family’s past is.
The entire Story family has secrets. Whatever pulled them apart years ago isn’t over–and this summer, the cousins will learn everything.
Buy The Cousins by Karen M. McManus.
A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton
Type: Short story collection Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers Release date: Dec. 8 Den of Geek says: Some of the SF/F genre’s best authors (not to mention YA’s best authors) come together in a collection of fantasy from the We Need Diverse Books initiative. Publisher’s summary: From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best own-voices children’s authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), V. E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).
In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.
AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Jenni Balch, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, V. E. Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone
Buy A Universe of Wishes by Dhonielle Clayton.
This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano
Type: Novel Publisher: Philomel Books Release date: Dec. 15 Den of Geek says: It wouldn’t be a geek rec list without this grab bag of high school coming-of-age and Quidditch. Whether you’re a current or recovering Harry Potter fan or looking for a unique setting, this might have something for you.
Publisher’s summary: 17-year-old vegan feminist Ellen Lopez-Rourke has one muggy Houston summer left before college. She plans to spend every last moment with her two best friends before they go off to the opposite ends of Texas for school. But when Ellen is grounded for the entire summer by her (sometimes) evil stepmother, all her plans are thrown out the window. 
Determined to do something with her time, Ellen (with the help of BFF Melissa) convinces her parents to let her join the local muggle Quidditch team. An all-gender, full-contact game, Quidditch isn’t quite what Ellen expects. There’s no flying, no magic, just a bunch of scrappy players holding PVC pipe between their legs and throwing dodgeballs. Suddenly Ellen is thrown into the very different world of sports: her life is all practices, training, and running with a group of Harry Potter fans. 
Even as Melissa pulls away to pursue new relationships and their other BFF Xiumiao seems more interested in moving on from high school (and from Ellen), Ellen is steadily finding a place among her teammates. Maybe Quidditch is where she belongs. 
But with her home life and friend troubles quickly spinning out of control–Ellen must fight for the future that she wants, now she’s playing for keeps. 
Buy This is How We Fly by Anna Meriano.
Top New Young Adult Books November 2020
The Way Back by Gavriel Savit
Type: Novel  Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Release date: Nov. 17
Den of Geek says: A shimmering historical fantasy brings its heroes on a journey through worlds of demons and the dead based on Jewish folklore. 
Publisher’s summary: For the Jews of Eastern Europe, demons are everywhere: dancing on the rooftops in the darkness of midnight, congregating in the trees, harrowing the dead, even reaching out to try and steal away the living. 
But the demons have a land of their own: a Far Country peopled with the souls of the transient dead, governed by demonic dukes, barons, and earls. When the Angel of Death comes strolling through the little shtetl of Tupik one night, two young people will be sent spinning off on a journey through the Far Country. There they will make pacts with ancient demons, declare war on Death himself, and maybe– just maybe–find a way to make it back alive. 
Drawing inspiration from the Jewish folk tradition, The Way Back is a dark adventure sure to captivate readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust.
Buy The Way Back by Gavriel Savit.
Rebel Sisters
Type: Novel Publisher: Razorbill Release date: Nov. 17
Den of Geek says: Onyebuchi returns to his anime-inspired anti-war series with Afrofuturism in space. 
Publisher’s summary: It’s been five years since the Biafran War ended. Ify is now nineteen and living where she’s always dreamed–the Space Colonies. She is a respected, high-ranking medical officer and has dedicated her life to helping refugees like herself rebuild in the Colonies.
Back in the still devastated Nigeria, Uzo, a young synth, is helping an aid worker, Xifeng, recover images and details of the war held in the technology of destroyed androids. Uzo, Xifeng, and the rest of their team are working to preserve memories of the many lives lost, despite the government’s best efforts to eradicate any signs that the war ever happened.
Though they are working toward common goals of helping those who suffered, Ify and Uzo are worlds apart. But when a mysterious virus breaks out among the children in the Space Colonies, their paths collide. Ify makes it her mission to figure out what’s causing the deadly disease. And doing so means going back to the homeland she thought she’d left behind forever.
Buy Rebel Sisters by Tochi Onyebuchi.
How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff 
Type: Novel Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: Nov. 10
Den of Geek says: This small stakes high school drama nevertheless feels timely for a world in which it seems like another disaster strikes every day. 
Publisher’s summary: If you knew the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do?
This is the question that haunts Amina as she watches new and horrible stories of discord and crisis flash across the news every day.
But when she starts at prestigious Gardner Academy, Amina finds a group of like-minded peers to join forces with—fast friends who dedicate their year to learning survival skills from each other, before it’s too late. 
Still, as their prepper knowledge multiplies, so do their regular high school problems, from relationship drama to family issues to friend blow-ups. Juggling the two parts of their lives forces Amina to ask another vital question: Is it worth living in the hypothetical future if it’s at the expense of your actual present?
Buy How to Pack for the End of the World by Michelle Falkoff.
Top New Young Adult Books October 2020
Return of the Thief by Megan Whelan Turner 
Type: Novel Publisher: Greenwillow Books Release date: Oct. 6
Den of Geek says: The latest book in this acclaimed, long-running series known for intricate plotting and twists follows the continuing political machinations of Eugenides, the titular thief, in fantasy world-building based loosely on Greek mythology. 
Publisher’s summary: This beloved and award-winning series began with the acclaimed novel The Thief. It and four more stand-alone volumes bring to life a world of epics, myths, and legends, and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Now more powerful and cunning than ever before, Eugenides must navigate a perilous future in this sweeping conclusion. Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and Sarah J. Maas.
Neither accepted nor beloved, Eugenides is the uneasy linchpin of a truce on the Lesser Peninsula, where he has risen to be high king of Attolia, Eddis, and Sounis. As the treacherous Baron Erondites schemes anew and a prophecy appears to foretell the death of the king, the ruthless Mede empire prepares to strike.
The New York Times–bestselling Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations, divine intervention, dangerous journeys, battles lost and won, power, passion, and deception. Features a cast list of the characters in the Queen’s Thief novels, as well as two maps—a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map exclusive to this edition.
Buy Return of the Thief by Megan Whelan Turner on Amazon.
Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker (Seanan McGuire) 
Type: Novel Publisher: Tordotcom Release date: Oct. 6
Den of Geek says: An experimental companion to McGuire’s intricate novel Middlegame, Over the Woodward Wall first came to life as a middle grade story that serves as a pop culture touchstone for the characters in that adult novel. It’s also a story by a master in its own right, although how well it holds up outside the companion novel is yet to be determined.
Publisher’s summary: Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning, to the way he completes his homework – without complaint, without fuss, without prompt.
Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable.
They live on the same street.
They live in different worlds.
On an unplanned detour from home to school one morning, Avery and Zib find themselves climbing over a stone wall into the Up and Under – an impossible land filled with mystery, adventure and the strangest creatures.
And they must find themselves and each other if they are to also find their way out and back to their own lives.
Buy Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker on Amazon.
Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz
Type: Novel  Publisher: Page Street Kids Release date: Oct. 6 
Den of Geek says: This sounds like a sports anime with dragons in book form. A compelling mystery as a tour of a fantastical racing league promises action and ambitious characters. 
Publisher’s summary: Lana Torres has always preferred dragons to people. In a few weeks, sixteen countries will compete in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. Lana longs to represent her native Puerto Rico in their first ever World Cup appearance, and when Puerto Rico’s Runner―the only player without a dragon steed―is kicked off the team, she’s given the chance.
But when she discovers that a former Blazewrath superstar has teamed up with the Sire―a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form―the safety of the Cup is jeopardized. The pair are burning down dragon sanctuaries around the world and refuse to stop unless the Cup gets cancelled. All Lana wanted was to represent her country. Now, to do that, she’ll have to navigate an international conspiracy that’s deadlier than her beloved sport.
Buy Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz on Amazon.
Top New Young Adult Books September 2020
Night Shine by Tessa Gratton 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books  Release date: Sept. 8
Den of Geek says: We’re all about crossovers between fantasy and YA here, and this looks like a good stepping stone for a kid who is just about ready to start reading high fantasy. The prose style is slow and deliberate as the author tells a tale of romance, kidnapping, and friendship.
Publisher’s summary: In the vast palace of the empress lives an orphan girl called Nothing. She slips within the shadows of the Court, unseen except by the Great Demon of the palace and her true friend, Prince Kirin, heir to the throne. When Kirin is kidnapped, only Nothing and the prince’s bodyguard suspect that Kirin may have been taken by the Sorceress Who Eats Girls, a powerful woman who has plagued the land for decades. The sorceress has never bothered with boys before, but Nothing has uncovered many secrets in her sixteen years in the palace, including a few about the prince.
As the empress’s army searches fruitlessly, Nothing and the bodyguard set out on a rescue mission, through demon-filled rain forests and past crossroads guarded by spirits. Their journey takes them to the gates of the Fifth Mountain, where the sorceress wields her power. There, Nothing will discover that all magic is a bargain, and she may be more powerful than she ever imagined. But the price the Sorceress demands for Kirin may very well cost Nothing her heart.
Buy Night Shine by Tessa Gratton on Amazon. 
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
Type: Novel in Verse Publisher: Balzer + Bray  Release date: Sept. 1
Den of Geek says: Authors like Tochi Onyebuchi have taken hold of the moment to write political novels about incarceration in the last few years. This mix of poetry and prose adds to that genre with real world experience from prison reform activist Yusef Salaam. Publisher’s summary: The story that I thought 
was my life 
didn’t start on the day 
I was born  
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white.  
The story that I think 
will be my life  
starts today 
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?  
With spellbinding lyricism, award-winning author Ibi Zoboi and prison reform activist Yusef Salaam tell a moving and deeply profound story about how one boy is able to maintain his humanity and fight for the truth, in a system designed to strip him of both.
Buy Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam on Amazon.
Gold Wings Rising (The Skybound Saga) by Alex London 
Type: Novel Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux  Release date: Sept. 1
Den of Geek says: It’s always nice to see a fantasy series that moves away from the staple creatures, even if I love dragons, and this series replaces them with ghostly birds that give it a horror movie flavor. 
Publisher’s summary: The war on the ground has ended, but the war with the sky has just begun. After the Siege of the Six Villages, the ghost eagles have trapped Uztaris on both sides of the conflict. The villagers and Kartami alike hide in caves, huddled in terror as they await nightly attacks. Kylee aims to plunge her arrows into each and every ghost eagle; in her mind, killing the birds is the only way to unshackle the city’s chains. But Brysen has other plans.
While the humans fly familiar circles around each other, the ghost eagles create schemes far greater and more terrible than either Kylee or Brysen could have imagined. Now, the tug-of-war between love and power begins to fray, threatening bonds of siblinghood and humanity alike.
Buy Gold Wings Rising by Alex London on Amazon.
Top New Young Adult Books August 2020
Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From by Jennifer De Leon 
Type: Novel Publisher: Simon & Schuster Release date: Aug. 18
Den of Geek says: This looks like it could be an incisive and hard-hitting book that speaks to the way American Latinx students experience racism and navigate high school social life. It has gained high praise from authors including Celeste Ng. 
Publisher’s Summary: Liliana Cruz is a hitting a wall—or rather, walls.
There’s the wall her mom has put up ever since Liliana’s dad left—again.
There’s the wall that delineates Liliana’s diverse inner-city Boston neighborhood from Westburg, the wealthy—and white—suburban high school she’s just been accepted into.
And there’s the wall Liliana creates within herself, because to survive at Westburg, she can’t just lighten up, she has to whiten up.
So what if she changes her name? So what if she changes the way she talks? So what if she’s seeing her neighborhood in a different way? But then light is shed on some hard truths: It isn’t that her father doesn’t want to come home—he can’t…and her whole family is in jeopardy. And when racial tensions at school reach a fever pitch, the walls that divide feel insurmountable.
But a wall isn’t always a barrier. It can be a foundation for something better. And Liliana must choose: Use this foundation as a platform to speak her truth, or risk crumbling under its weight.
Buy Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From By Jennifer De Leon on Amazon.
Lobizona by Romina Garber 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Wednesday Books (Macmillan)  Release date: Aug. 4 
Den of Geek says: Described as a Hogwarts-style fantasy world with werewolves, this fantasy doesn’t flinch from the real world effects of ICE and deportation. 
Publisher’s summary: Some people ARE illegal. 
Lobizonas do NOT exist.
Both of these statements are false.
Manuela Azul has been crammed into an existence that feels too small for her. As an undocumented immigrant who’s on the run from her father’s Argentine crime-family, Manu is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. 
Until Manu’s protective bubble is shattered. 
Her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, and finally without shackles, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past―a mysterious “Z” emblem―which leads her to a secret world buried within our own. A world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong. 
As Manu uncovers her own story and traces her real heritage all the way back to a cursed city in Argentina, she learns it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal. . . .it’s her entire existence.
Buy Lobizona by Jennifer De Leon on Amazon.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Levine Querido Release date: Aug. 25 
Den of Geek says: Charming illustrations and a ghost story deeply tied to a family’s history promise a richly textured tale from this Lipan Apache author. 
Publisher’s summary: Imagine an America very similar to our own. It’s got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.
There are some differences. This America been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.
Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered, in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.
Darcie Little Badger is an extraordinary debut talent in the world of speculative fiction. We have paired her with her artistic match, illustrator Rovina Cai. This is a book singular in feeling and beauty.
Buy Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger on Amazon.
The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska
Type: Novel Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire  Release date: Aug. 4
Den of Geek says: Described as atmospheric and salt-soaked, this F/F romance might be a good introduction to readers who want to switch from post-apocalyptic YA to dark fantasy. 
Publisher’s summary: A gripping, dark LGBT YA fantasy about two girls who must choose between saving themselves, each other, or their sinking island.
Every year on St. Walpurga’s Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking. 
Lina Kirk is convinced her brother is going to be taken this year. To save him, she enlists the help of Thomas Lin, the boy she secretly loves, and the only person to ever escape from the palace. But they draw the queen’s attention, and Thomas is chosen as the sacrifice. 
Queen Eva watched her sister die to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won’t make the same mistake. She’s willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.
When Lina offers herself to the queen in exchange for Thomas’s freedom, the two girls await the full moon together. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, they find themselves falling for each other as water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice.
Buy The Dark Tide by Alicia Jasinska on Amazon.
Top New Young Adult Books In July 2020
Feathertide by Beth Cartwright 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Del Rey  Release date: July 30 
Den of Geek says: This has won a lot of praise for its prose. While some fairy tale adaptations can come off as empty, not actually adding anything to the context of the tradition they’re supposedly writing in, this one’s specificity seems like it might set it apart and add detail to the central metaphor about a young girl’s search for her family. 
Publisher’s summary: Born covered in the feathers of a bird, and kept hidden in a crumbling house full of secrets, Marea has always known she was different, but never known why. And so to find answers, she goes in search of the father she has never met.
The hunt leads her to the City of Murmurs, a place of mermaids and mystery, where jars of swirling mist are carried through the streets by the broken-hearted.
And Mara will never forget what she learns there.
Buy Feathertide by Beth Cartwright on Amazon.
Running by Natalia Sylvester 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Clarion Books Release date: July 14 
Den of Geek says: A political novel of a different type. This fantasy of being part of a presidential campaign seems like it has a lot to say about family and change. 
Publisher’s summary: In this authentic, humorous, and gorgeously written debut novel about privacy, waking up, and speaking up, Senator Anthony Ruiz is running for president. Throughout his successful political career he has always had his daughter’s vote, but a presidential campaign brings a whole new level of scrutiny to sheltered fifteen-year-old Mariana and the rest of her Cuban American family, from a 60 Minutes–style tour of their house to tabloids doctoring photos and inventing scandals. As tensions rise within the Ruiz family, Mari begins to learn about the details of her father’s political positions, and she realizes that her father is not the man she thought he was.
But how do you find your voice when everyone’s watching? When it means disagreeing with your father—publicly? What do you do when your dad stops being your hero? Will Mari get a chance to confront her father? If she does, will she have the courage to seize it? 
Buy Running by Natalia Sylvester on Amazon.
A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Dutton  Release date: July 7 
Den of Geek says: YouTube sensation Hank Green’s science fiction debut, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, kicked off this series about alien robots. The sequel shows the aftermath, and continues to engage with the author’s internet in internet culture and science. 
Publisher’s summary: The Carls disappeared the same way they appeared, in an instant. While the robots were on Earth, they caused confusion and destruction with only their presence. Part of their maelstrom was the sudden viral fame and untimely death of April May: a young woman who stumbled into Carl’s path, giving them their name, becoming their advocate, and putting herself in the middle of an avalanche of conspiracy theories. 
Months later, April’s friends are trying to find their footing in a post-Carl world. Andy has picked up April’s mantle of fame, speaking at conferences and online; Maya, ravaged by grief, begins to follow a string of mysteries that she is convinced will lead her to April; and Miranda is contemplating defying her friends’ advice and pursuing a new scientific operation…one that might have repercussions beyond anyone’s comprehension. Just as it is starting to seem like the gang may never learn the real story behind the events that changed their lives forever, a series of clues arrive—mysterious books that seem to predict the future and control the actions of their readers—all of which seems to suggest that April could be very much alive. 
In the midst of the search for the truth and the search for April is a growing force, something that wants to capture our consciousness and even control our reality. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is the bold and brilliant follow-up to An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. It is a fast-paced adventure that is also a biting social commentary, asking hard, urgent questions about the way we live, our freedoms, our future, and how we handle the unknown.
Buy A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green on Amazon.
Top New YA Books June 2020 
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow 
Type: Novel Publisher: Tor Teen Release date: June 2 
Den of Geek says: After reading The Deep, I’m on board with the idea of black mermaids meeting YA fantasy world-building. The friendship at the center of this novel sounds cute and sweet. 
Publisher’s summary: In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. 
Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year.
But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.
Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.
Buy A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow on Amazon Read our interview with Bethany C. Morrow
Hood by Jenny Elder Moke 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Disney-Hyperion  Release date: June 9
Den of Geek says: An adventure in which a young girl joins Robin Hood’s adventures, this one reminds me of fanfic in the best way. A re-examination of legendary characters with the pacing of contemporary YA could be cinematic fun. 
Publisher’s summary: You have the blood of kings and rebels within you, love. Let it rise to meet the call.
Isabelle of Kirklees has only ever known a quiet life inside the sheltered walls of the convent, where she lives with her mother, Marien. But after she is arrested by royal soldiers for defending innocent villagers, Isabelle becomes the target of the Wolf, King John’s ruthless right hand. Desperate to keep her daughter safe, Marien helps Isabelle escape and sends her on a mission to find the one person who can help: Isabelle’s father, Robin Hood. 
As Isabelle races to stay out of the Wolf’s clutches and find the father she’s never known, she is thrust into a world of thieves and mercenaries, handsome young outlaws, new enemies with old grudges, and a king who wants her entire family dead. As she joins forces with Robin and his Merry Men in a final battle against the Wolf, will Isabelle find the strength to defy the crown and save the lives of everyone she holds dear?
In Hood, author Jenny Elder Moke reimagines the world of Robin Hood in lush, historical detail and imbues her story with more breathless action than has ever come out of Sherwood Forest before. This novel is a must-read for historical-fiction fans, adventure lovers, and reluctant readers alike!
Buy Hood by Jenny Elder Moke on Amazon
Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross 
Type: Novel Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: June 23
Den of Geek says: A sisterly bond provides the heart at the center of this story of magic and war. The Ancient Greece-inspired world and the promise of magic and battles look good, but the emphasis on characterization and familial love raise this one above the rest. 
Publisher’s summary: After eight years, Evadne will finally be reunited with her older sister, Halcyon, who has been serving in the queen’s army. But when Halcyon unexpectedly appears a day early, Eva knows something is wrong. Halcyon has charged with a heinous crime, and though her life is spared, she is sentenced to 15 years. 
Suspicious of the charges, brought forth by Halcyon’s army commander, as well as the details of the crime, Eva volunteers to take part of her sister’s sentence. If there’s a way to absolve Halcyon, she’ll find it. But as the sisters begin their sentences, they quickly learn that there are fates worse than death.
Buy Sisters of Sword and Song by Rebecca Ross on Amazon 
Top New YA in May 2020 
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 
Type: Novel  Publisher: Scholastic Press  Release date: May 19 
Den of Geek says: It’s arguable whether a new Hunger Games book from the point of view of the man who will become the despotic President Snow is really what readers wanted, but it’s here. Inevitably this one will spark a lot of conversation after the runaway success of the original series. 
Publisher’s summary: It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.
The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.
Buy The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.
House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess  
Type: Novel  Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers Release date: May 12 
Den of Geek says: This YA fantasy distinguishes itself primarily by a varied cast of five characters, making it a good introduction to epic fantasy plus the “fun group of friends” appeal of a superhero squad. Also, there are dragons and a frightening fantasy job interview, two of my favorite things. 
Publisher’s summary: When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year these five outcasts will answer the call. . . .
THE LIAR: Emilia must hide her dark magic or be put to death.
THE SOLDIER: Lucian is a warrior who has sworn to never lift a sword again.
THE SERVANT: Vespir is a dragon trainer whose skills alone will keep her in the game.
THE THIEF: Ajax knows that nothing is free–he must take what he wants.
THE MURDERER: Hyperia was born to rule and will stop at nothing to take her throne.
Buy House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 
Type: Novel 
Publisher: Quill Tree Books 
Release date: May 5 
Den of Geek says: This looks like it could be both a tearjerker and a sweet story of sisterly love. The tragic death of their father brings Camino and Yahaira Rios into each other’s lives in a new way. 
Publisher’s summary: Camino Rios lives for the summers when her father visits her in the Dominican Republic. But this time, on the day when his plane is supposed to land, Camino arrives at the airport to see crowds of crying people…
In New York City, Yahaira Rios is called to the principal’s office, where her mother is waiting to tell her that her father, her hero, has died in a plane crash.
Separated by distance—and Papi’s secrets—the two girls are forced to face a new reality in which their father is dead and their lives are forever altered.
And then, when it seems like they’ve lost everything of their father, they learn of each other. 
Buy Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo.
Top New YA in April 2020
Little Universes by Heather Demetrios
Type: Novel  Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.  Release date: April 7 
Den of Geek says: It’s not often that YA books focus on family, and the sisterly relationship at the heart of Little Universes looks well-crafted and heart-wrenching. When tragedy strikes, each sister will need to find a way to move on. 
Publisher’s summary: One wave: that’s all it takes for the rest of Mae and Hannah Winters’ lives to change.
When a tsunami strikes the island their parents are vacationing on in Malaysia, it soon becomes clear that their parents are never coming home. Forced to move to Boston from their sunny California home for the rest of their senior year, each girl struggles with secrets their parents’ death has brought to light and with their uncertainty about the future. Instead of getting closer, it feels like the wave has torn them apart.
Little Universes explores the powerful bond of sisters, the kinds of love that never die, and the journey we all must make through the baffling cruelty and unexpected beauty of human life in an incomprehensible universe.
Buy Little Universes by Heather Demetrios on Amazon.
What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter
Type: Novel  Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Release date: April 7 
Den of Geek says: YA romance, and digital age romance in particular, can easily come off as cheesy or derivative. But this ‘love triangle between two people’ looks like a twist on relationships and online identity, plus the coziness of a crush story. 
Publisher’s summary: There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.
He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…
Except who she really is.
Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.
That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.
Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.
If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels. 
Buy What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter on Amazon.
Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost 
Type: Novel Publisher: Disney-Hyperion Release date: April 14 
Den of Geek says: It’s an interesting time for historical fantasy, and this looks a bit like a YA cousin of Upright Women Wanted, with more robots and monsters. Check out the crunchy mechanical horses on that cover. 
Publisher’s summary: In this sweeping Dust Bowl-inspired fantasy, a ten-year game between Life and Death pits the walled Oklahoma city of Elysium-including a girl gang of witches and a demon who longs for humanity-against the supernatural in order to judge mankind.
When Sal is named Successor to Mother Morevna, a powerful witch and leader of Elysium, she jumps at the chance to prove herself to the town. Ever since she was a kid, Sal has been plagued by false visions of rain, and though people think she’s a liar, she knows she’s a leader. Even the arrival of enigmatic outsider Asa-a human-obsessed demon in disguise-doesn’t shake her confidence in her ability. Until a terrible mistake results in both Sal and Asa’s exile into the Desert of Dust and Steel.
Face-to-face with a brutal, unforgiving landscape, Sal and Asa join a gang of girls headed by another Elysium exile-and young witch herself-Olivia Rosales. In order to atone for their mistake, they create a cavalry of magic powered, scrap metal horses to save Elysium from the coming apocalypse. But Sal, Asa, and Olivia must do more than simply tip the scales in Elysium’s favor-only by reinventing the rules can they beat the Life and Death at their own game. 
Buy Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost on Amazon.
Top New YA Books in March 2020 
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Type: Novel Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers Release date: March 3, 2020 Den of Geek says: To put a twist on historical fantasy, author Marie Lu focuses just to the side of a world-changing life. Nannerl Mozart was a real person, and has appeared in fiction before with the aim of bringing some recognition to the famous musician’s talented but forgotten sister. The fairy tale element sounds like it will provide strong atmosphere in this musical novel. Publisher’s Summary: Born with a gift for music, Nannerl Mozart has just one wish–to be remembered forever. But even as she delights audiences with her masterful playing, she has little hope she’ll ever become the acclaimed composer she longs to be. She is a young woman in 18th century Europe, and that means composing is forbidden to her. She will perform only until she reaches a marriageable age–her tyrannical father has made that much clear.
And as Nannerl’s hope grows dimmer with each passing year, the talents of her beloved younger brother, Wolfgang, only seem to shine brighter. His brilliance begins to eclipse her own, until one day a mysterious stranger from a magical land appears with an irresistible offer. He has the power to make her wish come true–but his help may cost her everything.
In her first work of historical fiction, #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu spins a lush, lyrically-told story of music, magic, and the unbreakable bond between a brother and sister.
Buy The Kingdom of Back on Amazon.
The Fire Never Goes Out by Noelle Stevenson
Type: Illustrated memoir  Publisher: HarperTeen Release date: March 3 Den of Geek says: Stevenson’s cute illustrations and enthusiastic storytelling have delighted me in her adaptation She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, so a look into her life and career sounds like an interesting look into the business of art, the animation industry, and living as a creative person. Publisher’s Summary: From Noelle Stevenson, the New York Times bestselling author-illustrator of Nimona, comes a captivating, honest illustrated memoir that finds her turning an important corner in her creative journey—and inviting readers along for the ride.
In a collection of essays and personal mini-comics that span eight years of her young adult life, author-illustrator Noelle Stevenson charts the highs and lows of being a creative human in the world. Whether it’s hearing the wrong name called at her art school graduation ceremony or becoming a National Book Award finalist for her debut graphic novel, Nimona, Noelle captures the little and big moments that make up a real life, with a wit, wisdom, and vulnerability that are all her own.
Buy The Fire Never Goes Out on Amazon.
A Phoenix First Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell
Type: Anthology Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers Release Date: March 10
Den of Geek says: A grab-bag of some of the best writers of color in the YA space today,this anthology faces challenges head-on to tell stories of Black women and gender-non-conforming people. It looks like a good mix of realistic and fantastical stories, set past, future, and present.
Publisher’s summary: Evoking Beyoncé’s Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler’s heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. You will never forget them.
Buy A Phoenix First Must Burn on Amazon.
Top New YA Books in March 2020 
Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland
Type: Novel (Second in series) Publisher: Balzer + Bray Release date: 2/4/20
Den of Geek says: Justina Ireland’s Dread Nation was a buzzy historical zombie novel with a keen awareness of racial dynamics in Civil War-era America. The sequel looks to be just as intense as the first. 
Publisher’s summary: The sequel to the New York Times bestselling epic Dread Nation is an unforgettable journey of revenge and salvation across a divided America.
After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene hoped her life would get simpler: Get out of town, stay alive, and head west to California to find her mother.
But nothing is easy when you’re a girl trained in putting down the restless dead, and a devastating loss on the road to a protected village called Nicodemus has Jane questioning everything she thought she knew about surviving in 1880s America.
What’s more, this safe haven is not what it appears—as Jane discovers when she sees familiar faces from Summerland amid this new society. Caught between mysteries and lies, the undead, and her own inner demons, Jane soon finds herself on a dark path of blood and violence that threatens to consume her.
But she won’t be in it alone.
Katherine Deveraux never expected to be allied with Jane McKeene. But after the hell she has endured, she knows friends are hard to come by—and that Jane needs her too, whether Jane wants to admit it or not.
Watching Jane’s back, however, is more than she bargained for, and when they both reach a breaking point, it’s up to Katherine to keep hope alive—even as she begins to fear that there is no happily-ever-after for girls like her.
Buy Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland on Amazon.
Cast Away: Poems for Our Time by Naomi Shihab Nye 
Type: Poetry Publisher: Greenwillow Books Release date: 2/11/2020
Den of Geek says: This unique book of poetry seems perfectly suited to today’s environmental and humanitarian issues. What happens to the things we throw away? What happens to the people who aren’t wanted? The metaphor is rich.
Publisher’s summary: Acclaimed poet and Young People’s Poet Laureate Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to those less fortunate, in this collection of more than eighty original and never-before-published poems. A deeply moving, sometimes funny, and always provocative poetry collection for all ages.
“Nye at her engaging, insightful best.”―Kirkus (starred review)
“How much have you thrown away in your lifetime already? Do you ever think about it? Where does this plethora of leavings come from? How long does it take you, even one little you, to fill the can by your desk?”―Naomi Shihab Nye
National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Poet Laureate, and devoted trash-picker-upper Naomi Shihab Nye explores these questions and more in this original collection of poetry that features more than eighty new poems. “I couldn’t save the world, but I could pick up trash,” she says in her introduction to this stunning volume.
With poems about food wrappers, lost mittens, plastic straws, refugee children, trashy talk, the environment, connection, community, responsibility to the planet, politics, immigration, time, junk mail, trash collectors, garbage trucks, all that we carry and all that we discard, this is a rich, engaging, moving, and sometimes humorous collection for readers ages twelve to adult.
Buy Cast Away: Poems for Our Time on Amazon.
Rebelwing by Andrea Tang 
Type: Novel Publisher: Razorbill Release date: 2/25/20
Den of Geek says: Robot dragons? What more to say? The fantastical war story setting and high-energy cast of characters looks like it’ll make this one a good read for fans of Pacific Rim.
Publisher’s summary: Things just got weird for Prudence Wu. 
One minute, she’s cashing in on a routine smuggling deal. The next, she’s escaping enforcers on the wings of what very much appears to be a sentient cybernetic dragon. 
Pru is used to life throwing her some unpleasant surprises–she goes to prep school, after all, and selling banned media across the border in a country with a ruthless corporate government obviously has its risks. But a cybernetic dragon? That’s new. 
She tries to forget about the fact that the only reason she’s not in jail is because some sort of robot saved her, and that she’s going to have to get a new side job now that enforcers are on to her. So she’s not exactly thrilled when Rebelwing shows up again. 
Even worse, it’s become increasingly clear that the rogue machine has imprinted on her permanently, which means she’d better figure out this whole piloting-a-dragon thing–fast. Because Rebelwing just happens to be the ridiculously expensive weapon her government needs in a brewing war with its neighbor, and Pru’s the only one who can fly it. 
Set in a wonderfully inventive near-future Washington, D.C., this hilarious, defiant debut sparkles with wit and wisdom, deftly exploring media consumption, personal freedoms, and the weight of one life as Pru, rather reluctantly, takes to the skies.
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medea10 · 4 years
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Medea’s Top 20 Animes of the Decade
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Hey all! Disappointed in some “best of” lists of this past decade? Well…prepared to be possibly disappointed some more because I’m doing one now! Here’s a top 20 list of my favorite animes that came out in the 2010’s. I seriously couldn’t do 10 this time due to how many awesome animes came out this decade. Unlike my anime superlative list, I’m going to be stricter here. Anything that aired in Japan before January 2010 is stricken from the list (which sucks because that means Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood & InuYasha: The Final Act are disqualified). And these are going to be MY favorites from this decade. Be aware that there will be popular animes I leave off the list due to my own personal opinions and the fact that some of them I have not watched yet. So I’m just going to tell you right now, don’t expect My Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter, or Demon Slayer on this list because I have not watched any of that shit! Let’s get cracking!
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20. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (2018)
After nearly 20 years since the end of the first series, Cardcaptor Sakura returns with a sequel no one asked for and no one expected to come back. But it definitely brought back the nostalgia for those who grew up watching CCS. This story gives a continuation where Sakura is in middle school and ends up collecting a whole new set of mysterious cards. And the series is what you would expect with the cutesy feel whenever Sakura is with Li or it gets really intense when Sakura’s up against a really powerful card. While the ending leaves us on a bit of a cliffhanger with no continuation in sight, this series was one of the best reboots I’ve watched in recent years.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu Coming soon to home video
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19. The Rising of the Shield Hero (2019)
This is my first (modern) Isekai and I gotta say I really enjoyed the story. Unlike other anime characters that travel to another world, the main character Naofumi is not praised as a savior nor put on a golden pedestal. Quite the opposite, this guy has to fight for even a shred of respect from anybody. Because after watching past protagonists like Miaka Yuuki, Kagome, and Kirito, that trope gets boring. Despite many of these episodes making me physically ill as I watched Naofumi being shit on by the other heroes and everybody else, it was great to watch this struggle with Naofumi to become a great shield hero.
P.S. Myne is still a raging cunt!
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & FUNimation
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18. My Love Story!! (2015)
One of the BEST rom-com animes out there! The story of a gentle giant boy named Takeo falling in love with a sweet, petite girl named Yamato and their story as a couple. Yeah, the big difference between this anime and a bunch of other anime rom-coms is that Takeo and Yamato reveal their love for each other in episode 4 in a 24 episode series! By anime standards, that’s unheard of because most love stories want to wait until the finale for something like that. This anime is just a cute story of watching Takeo and Yamato bloom with their budding relationship. Yeah, I admit some of the stories can be a little boring. Sometimes the beginnings of romances have a slow-start before we get to the good stuff. But even when they’re doing little things, they’re just so cute to watch.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, HI-DIVE & Hulu Available for home video
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17. Durarara!! (2010, 2015-2016)
This story is a complete cluster-fuck, but I don’t care. The stories that come from this anime and the characters make this one of my favorites. Durarara follows the strange stories that happen around the town of Ikebukuro with a headless motorcycle rider, super-human strengthed men, an internet troll who loves to mess with humans, otakus, a mad scientist, a parasitic carrier, and gangs of different sorts. But if you would ask me what’s my favorite thing about Durarara (because there’s a lot of random things for anyone to choose), it would of course be any time Shizuo Heiwajima is on the screen. This guy is just pure rage in a bartender’s outfit. He’s able to casually pick up and throw a vending machine at a person, he can punch the clothes off a guy’s body, and even kick a mid-sized car down the street.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu & Netflix Available for home video
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16. Daily Lives of High School Boys (2012)
If you’re looking for something random and hilarious to watch, look no further with this one. Each episode has random segments, mostly featuring three boys, Tadakuni, Hidenori, and Yoshitake in some of the most absurd moments ever showcased in an anime. Just to name a few fun moments; being caught experimenting with women’s underwear, finding a clever way to kill a hornet (indirect kiss), intellectual talk with a cute girl, using your jacket as a soccer ball replacement, and how to unzip your fly without using your hands! That last one still confounds me. But the show also expands to other characters around school and town. I know this series is severely random to have a coherent plot, but sometimes I prefer randomness. And that’ll continue with the next entry!
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll Available for home video
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15. Nichijou (2011)
Yet another random segment anime (only this time with girls)! I know the official title is “My Ordinary Life”, but there is nothing ordinary about an anime where you have a six year old professor, a talking robot girl that was created by the six-year old professor, a talking black cat, high school girls capable of body-flipping police officers, a young boy who rides a goat to school, a high school girl capable of firing a bazooka, and a principal who fights a deer. That last one is just epic! If for no other reason to watch Nichijou, just watch the scene where the principal fights a deer! Much like Daily Lives of High School Boys, this series relies more on the random shenanigans of many of these characters (but mostly the main three girls, Mio, Yuuko, and Mai). It’s silly and fun! Check it out and give this anime a little love. Because there’s no way it’s getting a second season (Japan showed no love for this one)!
Available to watch on: FUNimation Available for home video
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14. ERASED (2016)
I don’t care what manga readers say, this was a fine anime, you anal-rententive fuck-wipes (soooo not sorry for that statement)! This murder-mystery captured my attention when it first aired. The story is about a man named Satoru who has this ability to go backwards in time (usually a few seconds or minutes) to prevent a tragedy from occurring. But after an incident involving his mother, he ends up going all the way back to his ten-year old body in 1988 in order to prevent a tragedy from his childhood. This included saving his classmate, Kayo from her premature demise. It was a catchy time-leaping mystery that would enthrall me week after week…up to a certain point. Yeah, you can already guess who the culprit was early on. But all the suspense leading up to this was still a great tale.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Hulu Available for home video
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13. Panty & Stocking w/ Garterbelt (2010)
GAINAX, you wishy-washy, crazy-ass, can’t give a full conclusion to a story to save your life, leaving us on a decade-long cliffhanger bastards, YOU’VE DONE IT AGAIN!
So this bizarre-ass anime is about two bitch-angels kicked out of Heaven, named Panty and Stocking. One likes to fuck men and the other gorges herself on sweets! In order to get back into Heaven, they must exterminate ghosts with the help of a black priest named Garterbelt, a fanboy named Briefs, and an Invader Zim knock-off named Chuck. And did I mention Panty and Stocking use their own lingere as weapons to take down ghosts? This story is balls-to-the-wall insane! And it gets crazier when you pop in the English dub! Dick jokes, fart jokes, and a whole lot of fucks! As any superhero show will do, this anime does stay to the villain of the episode trope with a few leeways here and there. This included a segment dedicated to the late Satoshi Kon and a music video. All of this leading to an ending NO ONE expected to happen leaving us on a cliffhanger that is now going on 10 years. Regardless, this absurdity in a thong is a treasure to behold. I would also advise not doing a drinking game whenever one of them says “Fuck”. You’d be dead by the end of the first episode!
Available to watch on: FUNimation Available for home video
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12. Attack on Titan (2013, 2017-2019)
*singing incoherent Japanese*
YEAGER!!!
Get ready to get hooked on two of the catchiest opening themes of all time! I thought it was just about a young boy taking revenge on a race of titans for the death of his mother. No one expected there to be a twisted, messed-up origin to the titan race where the main character is connected to everything! That’s all my messy thoughts coming out after witnessing the climax portion. As for the rest of you, Eren Yeager’s world is turned upside-down when the town he lived in is demolished by titans. As a result, the entire town is demolished and left for dead and Eren watched as his mother is eaten by a titan. Eren ends up joining the Survey Corps along with his friends Armin and Mikasa to take down titans and prevent another town to suffer the same fate as Eren’s home.
Going into this anime, I SERIOUSLY thought this was going to be a comedy. You would too if you were going off of all the memes that emerged in 2013. But this anime takes a sharp left turn when Eren discovers a horrifying secret involving his own body. After that, this lead to more unbelievable discoveries involving people we all initially thought was the supporting cast. And this is as cryptic as I can be without delving into severe spoilers. The only way to get my meaning is if you watch this series. It’s just…WOW!
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu, & Toonami Some seasons are available for home video
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11. Kill la Kill (2013-2014)
A girl with a giant pair of scissors picking a fight with the main bitch at school, all the while wearing a sailor suit that talks to you! That is the balls-to-the-wall insanity Studio Trigger gives you in a show like this. Ryuko Matoi enrolls in Honnouji Academy in search of the person who murdered her father. There, she comes face-to-face with the potential murderer, Satsuki Kiryuin. Satsuki rules over Honnouji as she has a special uniform capable of giving her super-human strength. But what Satsuki doesn’t know is that Ryuko is about to get a special uniform to give her that as well. A talking sailor uniform named Senketsu helps Ryuko in her journey of finding her father’s murderer. Yeah, this series goes all-out with the special powers brought on by certain clothing. Then again, it’s Japan and fanservice is a must in at least 75% of animes! I mean, there are moments where Senketsu gets skimpier on Ryuko, not leaving much to the imagination. As absurdly off the wall this anime was, I enjoyed every frame of it and it’s easily one of Studio Trigger’s best works.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Netflix
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10. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma (2015-2019)
You’d think with my picky-ass, I would have never watched an anime about cooking (and if my family is reading this, close this page now and play a wholesome game of shutting your gobs). But Food Wars never fails to increase my appetite. Yukihira Soma ends up in Japan’s most elite cooking school (with a 10% graduation rate) where he finds himself up against Japan’s and even the world’s greatest up and coming chefs. And every now and then, he ends up having to go up against one of these chefs in a cook-off known as a Shokugeki. If it wasn’t for the food orgasms, I would easily tell my cooking-show obsessed family members to watch this. I know no normal person would ever strip off all their clothes and have a raging orgasm when eating delicious food. But hey, it’s Japan! Gotta stick in fanservice somewhere! With inventive ways to spice up a regular dish, I may one day broaden my taste-buds into more exotic food-stuffs. Just, keep the peanut-butter squid away from me.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, HI-DIVE, Hulu, & Toonami Some seasons are available for home video
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09. Your Lie in April (2014-2015)
Grab your tissues, children. We follow Kousei Arima as he regains his ability and passion for playing the piano with the thanks of new-found friend Kaori. What can I say about an anime that’s so beautifully animated with likeable characters and music to die for? OHHH…I shouldn’t have said that last thing! Yeah, the main character Kousei goes through quite a bit in his life dealing with the aftermath of his mother’s death and having to relive seeing someone he cares about die the same way. There’s just so much you wish would happen with these characters and watch as it’s dashed away during a Chopin piece. OHHH…I did it again! Well folks, if you’re into tear-bait and classical music, definitely watch Your Lie in April!
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, Hulu, & Netflix
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08. The Promised Neverland (2019)
One of the newest entries with one of the most shocking first episodes in recent history! I know in the past decade we got a lot of first episode hookers like Attack on Titan, but if you came in this blind-folded, get ready for a trip. We follow orphan children Emma, Ray, and Norman as they plan to escape their home before they become food for hungry demons. In a weird way, this anime is almost like the 2000 film Chicken Run. I know I’m not the first person to think that up, but yeah, gotta say it here. This was one of my favorite animes of this year and I was hooked week by week with what was going to happen next. It got so intense that immediately after the series ended, I picked up the manga to find out what happens next. And let me tell you, it gets more insane after the events of episode 12. But one thing that always astounded me was watching all of these kids plot an escape so elaborate when all of them range from ages 6-12.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu
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07. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid (2017)
What would you do if you opened the door one morning and found a dragon standing outside? Not just that but what would you do if you were living with more than one dragon and you now find yourself hanging around other dragons?! Kobayashi’s world changes for the better as she meets a dragon (named Tohru) that loves her so much that she would happily become her maid. And given the stigma for eons between humans and dragons, this series we see cute interactions with humans and dragons. Up to a point that it feels like all these characters are becoming family! There’s a dragon named Fafnir who finds humans horrible people, but ends up changing for the better when he finds himself hanging with a human that plays video games and creates manga. But I’m always so drawn to the relationship of Tohru and Kobayashi. Kobayashi was never really close to her family and when she moved away she mostly spends her nights drinking alone. But once Tohru and Kanna move in, it’s always a fun day with their cute shenanigans. It’s definitely brought Kobayashi out of her shell and gave her a family of dragons to live with.
And there’s this cute little dragon named Kanna! She’s so cute and adorable! Look at her nom at just everything she eats. She’s so adorable! Who’s a cute wittle dragon? Yes you are! Yes you are!
As a final note in this particular entry, I want to mention one particular member of the staff. Yasuhiro Takemoto! This man was the director for Miss Kobayashi, as well as many other animes from Kyoto Animation and I feel the need to thank this man for all the hard work he had done. I’m thankful for all of your work in the anime community and we miss you.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & Funimation Available for home video
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06. Pokemon XY (2013-2016)
It might be cheating a bit to put a Pokemon series on this list since they’ve been around since 1997. But it’s not a continuous shot like Detective Conan and One Piece, so I’m counting the XY arc for this list. Even though this series didn’t show me my favorite character and it gave me a shipping that’s worse than Herpes (with a cult for that ship that’s on par with MAGA), this was one of the best arcs to the Pokemon series. And I was excited for this series when it first came out because with the introduction of Mega Evolution, I was hoping for Ash to delve into that. While Ash wasn’t the one using Mega Evolutions, we did see him grow more through a synchronization method with Greninja that brought about so much in terms of battling. Just to name a few awesome moments with these two, he took down an iceburg pokemon, went toe-to-toe with a champion, and even made it all the way to the finals of the Pokemon League. Now did he win that league? That’s not important! What is important is that these were some of the best moments this series had to offer.
But it wasn’t just Ash we followed, but an anime-only character introduced named Alain as we followed his journey to becoming stronger through Mega Evolution. It felt risky following a different person for 5 or more episodes (without mentioning Ash), but it was all worth it when we came to the climax of the series when Team Flare came from the shadows. Listen guys, I know Pokemon has given some disappointing seasons before (especially the arc prior to XY), but if there’s any season you should watch, it’s definitely this one.
Also, Rica Matsumoto sings this one song called XYZ. I don’t know if you all have heard this song, but I think you should. It’s so bad ass and always pops up in some of Ash’s best battles in this series…in the Japanese version! I love it so much that I always feel the need to bring up XYZ whenever I talk about this arc.
Available to watch on: Disney XD, Hulu, & Pokemon TV Available for home video
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05. Puella Magi Madoka Magica (2011)
I will always be a sucker for magical girl animes. Especially since Sailor Moon was the very first anime I watched fully! But Madoka Magica was…different and edgier. The premise is that a cute, white animal asks you to form a contract with it so you can become a magical girl. Magical girls defeat witches that cause havoc! Better read the fine-print on the contract ladies, because what the little rat doesn’t tell you is that you eventually become a witch yourself and will end up dying a horrible death, thus repeating the cycle. This anime would always leave me in a state of awe when watching it, whether it was the shocking deaths or the clever animation used when a witch emerges. But when you’ve got Shaft Studios animating this, expect some trippy moments. I think it’s because episode 3 was a big turning point that many of us were caught off guard by what happened and were scared of what happens next. Although thanks to Madoka, many other magical girl animes are following down the same path and trying to make it edgier. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I gotta say Madoka has definitely set the bar on edgy magical girl shows.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu Available for home video
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04. Violet Evergarden (2018)
Prior to this anime’s release, Kyoto Animation had a reputation for putting out anime that was geared to the “moe” genre. But with recent releases of A Silent Voice, Miss Kobayashi, and Violet Evergarden, their style has evolved into something I can’t describe in just one sentence. This anime is just beautiful to look at. The animation is just stunning, look at it. Now, I was a bit turned-off by the main character of this series, Violet. First of all, she literally looks like Saber from the Fate series and has arms that rival Ed Elric of FMA. Secondly, her almost robotic personality really turned me off. But it wasn’t until later in the series where we watch her interact with the people she was helping in each episode that made me truly appreciate what she’s doing.
Violet was once used as a tool for war and would always obey her commanding officer. But once the war was over, she found herself as an “Auto Memories Doll” where she’s writing letters people want to send to someone. Many of these episodes, we watch her see the world outside of the war and hell she was put through in her past. Her words were able to bring people together, heal two fighting nations, bring a family closer together, give closure to a grieving family member, and so much more. Add to that, this series gave out one of the most heart-breaking episodes I’ve ever watched in anime. It made me ugly-cry and that rarely happens! Not just me, but litereally everyone who ever watched this episode, but also Violet herself. This episode (that’s episode 10) was like the first time where she felt actual human emotions for anyone other than the person she once loved. This episode felt like a turning point in how I felt about Violet as well as the show in general.
I feel I have to say a little more on this entry. This anime is without a doubt, the most beautifully animated anime of this entire decade (despite what OTHERS have to say). And it couldn’t have gotten that way without the talented folks at Kyoto Animation. I can’t express enough how much I’m blown away by this series. Only now when I think about it, I get horribly depresssed due to the recent tragedy that struck KyoAni. Only now, do I appreciate all the hard work to put this masterpiece into action. And I wish it didn’t take me until a tragedy to watch this anime. But I’m glad I was able to watch Violet Evergarden. And I wish for you all to take the time to do the same!
Available to watch on: Netflix
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03. Assassination Classroom (2015-2016)
Stand. Bow. Kill your sensei! Middle school students being trained by professional assassins to take down a yellow-tentacled monster (who is also their teacher)! These students must assassinate their teacher within one year, otherwise the world will blow up. Now I had my reservations watching a cast this big! I mean, we’re watching an entire 28-person class try to shoot their teacher. Thankfully, I didn’t grow to be annoyed by the concept like with Negima. I loved nearly all of the students and remembered many of them. One of the biggest drawing points with me is that, all of these students were seen as the ones to give up on. They were in the lowest-level class where school, family, and society have just given up on these children. Being in a much similar situation in middle school, I can relate. That’s why when I saw someone like Koro-sensei teach these kids so much more in the world of academics, it made me happy to see these kids have someone to look up to. Many of these episodes were fun to watch. Koro-sensei is a laugh-riot sometimes when the class has to do an activity together. Add to that, one of the hardest to watch goodbyes in recent history. For a good laugh and a good cry, Assassination Classroom is the way to go.
Available to watch on: FUNimation & Hulu Available for home video
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02. Yuri on Ice!!! (2016)
AAAAAAHHHHHHH! *random screeching noises*
Why yes I love this series! It is so beautiful. I wish to see more of this in the future. I would like for Viktor to have Yuri’s babies. Don’t at me! I didn’t expect this series to give the female viewers an actual loving relationship between two of the main male characters. But halfway into the series, we get the kiss that cemented the deal. So besides the gay relationship, we’ve also got a beautiful soundtrack, animation that’s stunningly gorgeous, a story about an underdog working his way to receive a gold medal with the help of his hot, Russian coach…God, I just love this anime!
I’m a sucker for a root for the underdog story. And Yuri Katsuki definitely fits that description! Before Viktor came along, he was coming off of a humiliating defeat at a previous competition where he came in dead-last. But throughout the series, we watch Viktor mold Yuri into something audience members have overlooked in this boy. Viktor taught Yuri what love really is in more ways than one. But Yuri isn’t a total zero-to-hero in a span of 12 episodes, but at times he does come damn-near close. Every week, I’m amazed at how much Studio MAPPA put so much effort into this. While the quality did take a slight dip in some of the final episodes, so much has happened before that I’m willing to let that go. Watch Yuri attempt at making history with Yuri on Ice.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll & FUNimation Available for home video
Before I get to my anime of the decade, how about I quickly do my TOP 10 ANIME MOVIES OF THE DECADE? No commentary, just announcing them quickly.
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10. The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)
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09. When Marnie Was There (2014)
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08. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)
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07. Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
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06. Kizumonogatari (2016-2017)
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05. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)
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04. Pokemon: I Choose You (2017)
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03. Your Name (2016)
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02. A Silent Voice (2016)
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01. Wolf Children (2012)
CLOSE CALLS FOR THE LISTS: Black Lagoon – Roberta’s Blood Trail, Sailor Moon Crystal, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Fate/Zero & Fate/stay night: UBW, Angel Beats, The Wind Rises, Parasyte, One Punch Man, Aggretsuko, Steins;Gate, Inu x Boku SS, and Dragon Ball Super.
And now, #1…oh, you should already know what it is by now. One of my favorite animes came back with the vengeance in 2019 that no other anime can touch it. Rightfully so! You know it, I know it, let’s get it over with! So say it with me now, three, two, one…
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01. Fruits Basket: 1st Season (2019)
Thank you! Just…thank you! In a time where I hate reboots, this one was handled with the utmost care. What can I say about this anime that everyone else hasn’t said already? This anime is like warm soup on a cold day. The nice pick-me-up when you had a shitty day on the job! That beautiful rainbow you see after a rain shower!
Coming upon a family with a terrible secret, there’s much hesitation on who (if any) can be let in without being hurt. Tohru Honda accidentally learned of the Sohma family secret, where if one of them is hugged by someone of the opposite sex, they’re turned into an animal from the Chimese Zodiac. These people have had to live with this stigma their entire lives. Because of this, relationships are put in turmoil, obtaining friends was damn-near impossible, and everyone has to be on a constant state of worry in case their secret comes out. But Tohru loves and accepts everyone, no matter what. In many of these episodes, we see Tohru reach out to the members of the Sohma family to tell them that she sees the good in them and that they are loved. To reach out to the hurt, silent tiger, Kisa! To reach out to the mentally-scarred rat, Yuki! To reach out to the heart-broken dragon, Hatori! And to give a hug to Momiji…when his momma won’t!
All of these individual stories always gets to me! Even re-told, these stories have improved 100%! And in some cases like Ritsu’s story, done better than the original! I watched the original story God-knows how many times! But with the remake, I found myself re-watching random episodes in my off-time when I should be watching something else. I always have to go back to watching everything from this series. From the good and the sad! From the ultra-laughable moments, to the jaw-dropping moments! In a time where many of us yearn to be accepted for who we are, an anime like this feels absolutely necessary. I know it might be biased of me to pick something from this year and cheating a bit considering at the beginning of the decade I was heavily into the original series. Regardless, this is still my pick for Best Anime of the 2010’s.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, & Hulu
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Could you do a Naruto fanfiction recommendation? I loved your Sakura one but I was curious if you would do one in general for the series?
1.) serendipity by stirringwinds. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Sasuke had never known Senju Hashirama in person, of course. But he had grown up hearing stories about the First Hokage at his mother’s knee—about the legend who had defeated the most powerful member of their own clan. Enough stories to recognise what he was seeing—and to know he was witnessing his teammate perform the impossible. Or, in the fight against Gaara during Suna’s attempted invasion of Konoha, the Ichibi’s attempt to kill Sakura awakens an unexpected power. It changes the destiny of Team Seven forever.
Yes, this is about Mokuton!Sakura but this is in Sasuke’s pov and, oh boy, is it so interesting in his point of view. There’s not only world building but nods to real life history that makes in the (casual) history nerd in me get really excited. So far we’ve only seen Uchiha clan politics that Sasuke remembers from when his family arrived but if this is ever continued the current politics is one of the main things  I look forward too.
2.) These Moments We Take for Granted by Applepie. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Kakashi dies to Pain’s attack and wakes up in another world. It’s a world where Kakashi hadn’t failed Obito’s final wish and sacrificed himself for Rin’s sake instead. It’s a Konoha too similar, yet so different that Kakashi can’t bear to impose. So he doesn’t – not as ‘Kakashi’, at least.
I’m dying for the next chapter of this. The cliff hanger is partially why the other reason is the story is just that good. 
3.) Yes, my weird depressed half-tree uncle by Aesoleucian. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Sarada is such a lonely kid, and Sakura has such a dissociative disorder. Where are Sakura's parents? Where is the support? Being a single mom is hard and therefore I crafted this AU where Obito survives the war and retires to help restore his clan which he helped murder. 
A good way to get me to love any fic: let characters who go through traumatic situations actually show they’re not okay afterwards. 
4.) your skeleton will carry by theformerone. On ao3. Rated E. Summary: He doesn't want to have children for the clan that murdered his father, or for the village that let it happen.
Neji and Sasuke discover that they are more alike than they think.
I’m so glad the author tagged this Anti Sandaime. That tag is the reason why I found this beautiful fic. 
5.) Just the Usual Habits by Applepie. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Sakumo has no idea where all of these habits of Kakashi's are coming from. In which five-year-old Kakashi forgets the existence of his left eye, loses his ability to lie believably, and is a little too knowledgeable about the Birds and Bees. Still, no matter what oddities went on in Kakashi's head, one thing is certain – the boy will always love his father, through thick and thin.
6.) Get Shisui by DoodlesOfTheMind. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Get Shisui. It was a common refrain throughout the Uchiha compound, though its meaning had shifted a number of times over the years.
Both beautiful and heartbreaking. 
7.) a beating heart of stone by FantasyDeath. On ao3. Rated Not Rated. Summary: During Iruka's first year teaching — on his own, because apparently there is a severe lack of teachers — he loses his curriculum, gets into a low-key fight with Shimura Danzo and accidentally creates an army. To be fair, none of this was planned.
8.) In Sound Judgement by NegativeAperture. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: The main question, she thinks, isn’t her chance at survival or whether she’ll stick to the plot. No, it’s whether she should change the inherently flawed system that has caused every single problem ever. Arguably, she’s in the best position to fix it. People are certainly more willing to listen to you when you threaten them with the giant fox demon in your gut. But what would the cost be? Her morals? Her humanity?
The road to hell is paved with good intentions after all. (In which a human rights lawyer is reincarnated into a world without morality, without logic, and most of all, without laws. Helping the world was easier when people weren’t ninjas.)
Even if self inserts or ocs are not your thing I still strongly suggest you read this.
9.) Mirage by xantissa. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Can be read as stand alone. Itachi's ANBU exam through Kakashi's eyes. Kakashi knew something wasn't right with the whole thing, he just couldn't put his finger on what exactly.
10.) Catch Me (If You Can) by BasicallyAnIdiot. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Five times the ANBU tried to catch Uzumaki Naruto (and that one time someone else did).
Why you should read this: “Knowing Naruto-kun,” Itachi interrupted from his locker as he checked his arm bracers, “If he had more than a hour, the traps were at least 2 layers deep.” He closed the locker door firmly, mask in hand, “But he can be caught.”
“Lies and hearsay.” Neko’s muffled offer came from the women’s shower area. 
“Impossible. Never happened.”
A delicate brow arched, and Itachi continued. “There is one person in the village who can successfully catch Uzumaki Naruto whenever he feels inclined to.”
Inu sat up like a shot, unheeding the bag of ice dropping to his lap with a thud. 
“Who? Is it the Commander? Hokage-sama?”
Shisui snorted, and transitioned smoothly to a new pose, “He means the only chunin in the history of chunin to turn down a full position in ANBU corps, complete with no probation and instant pay raise.”
Inu was silent for a moment. Then he declared, “I will find this chunin and make him my teacher.”
11.) Fish Stew by Masu_Trout. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: There was a bowl of stew in Kisame's lap, a cup of tea on the ground next to him, and a small blank-eyed teenager staring at him from over the rim of his own teacup.
Kisame's new partner is one of the strangest people he's ever met, and that's coming from a man with gills on his face.
12.) What A Big Heart You Have by LullabyKnell. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: In which a little red fox saves the big white wolf.
Bless this fic. 
In which Hatake Sakumo lives.
13): Autonomy by beetlebee. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: "But this Not-Sensei soulmate guy could be anybody," Naruto whines.
Sasuke narrows his eyes. "No. He tried to act like Kakashi, use his techniques. He must be familiar with him already..."
"They could be childhood friends!" Sakura gasps.
"Sensei has friends?" Naruto asks, squinting at Obito.
"Or he's a stalker." Sasuke grips the kunai he still hasn't put away.
"I'm not a stalker," Obito lies, pushing away the kunai edging towards him.
----
(A soulmate bodyswap AU)
I would kill to read a sequel of this where we see Kakashi’s in Obito’s body.
14.) Written with Heart by Brookelocks. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: "Sometimes just sharing your opinion or a conversation about something someone else enjoys, even if you have to grit your teeth through it, can be the little push of support that makes them keep pursuing their passion."
or Kakashi has a strange way of showing his support, Jiraiya doesn't mind.
15.) The Good Life by orphan_account. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: There had to be protocol for this. They were shinobi in a hidden village; there was protocol for everything. Sadly, the authors of the Konoha Mission Administration Office Employee Handbook had committed the potentially fatal oversight of not dedicating a single paragraph to the now more than hypothetical situation of your current Hokage starting a mostly one-sided screaming match with your former Hokage in front of your very desk.
16.) these chains on me won't let me be pg13. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: The first time you ever feel like a shinobi, you are ugly and messy and scared out of your mind and not even wearing your hitai-ate. — implied sakura/ino
Out of all the Sakura centric fics I’ve read - trust me I have read a lot - this is till one of my favorites.
17.) got a boy in the war by Lisse. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: Naruto's parents don't so much fall in love as accidentally trip over it.
18.) sabotage by stirringwinds. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: “Itachi,” His mentor and commanding officer says grimly, his single visible eye angry, the line of his jaw tense under the black of his mask. “You forget that I was the Yondaime’s student. I may not be as politically influential as those old codgers sitting on the council, but there is plenty I can do to try and stop this shitshow.”
The horrible, cold feeling in the pit of his stomach hasn't vanished. But, staring at the firm, unflinching expression on his captain’s face, he feels the tiniest flicker of…hope.
Or: In another universe, Itachi breaks down and ends up spilling the beans to Hatake Kakashi.
Honestly, damn it why couldn’t this have happened? 
20.) Nothing like the storm by Aesoleucian. On ao3. Rated Not Rated. Summary: There's a girl in Kushina's class at the academy, with perfect hair and perfect poise. She's nothing like loud, angry Kushina, but she's not exactly shy either.
21.) Shine Bright, Shine Far, (Oh Sun of Mine) by Applepie. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: This Konoha is not the one Himawari knows; everything is wrong, and everyone is gone. A strange man who's not Papa is claiming to be the Hokage.
22.) i have a girlfriend!? by chadsuke. On ao3. Rated G. Summary: ino wants training from the best genin kunoichi - naturally, that means tracking down tenten.
23.) Eyestealer by nirejseki, robininthelabyrinth (nirejseki). On ao3. Rated Summary: Hashirama really doesn't approve of the thoughtful way his father looks at his younger brother's bright red eyes. He's sure it doesn't mean anything good for anyone.
He's right.
I just binge read this today (I haven’t even bookmarked it yet) and now I’m left wanting for more darker than canon Hashirama.
24.) Unison by Laylah. On ao3. Rated M. Summary: Kakashi knows damn well that it isn't a healthy coping mechanism.
Do read the warnings at the top of the author’s notes. 
25.) Got Nothing to Prove (but I'ma show you how I do) by GuardianMars. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: Civilians and orphans are always used as cannon fodder. Sakura’s not sure where she first came by this phrase. Whether she heard it or read it, she can’t quite remember, but it stuck in her head and it stays in the back of her mind whenever Team 7 takes a mission.
When Sakura and Tenten get placed on a temporary team looking into a series of kidnappings of local village girls, Sakura is naturally worried. She doesn't want to be cannon fodder. When the mission goes to pot, Sakura and Tenten find themselves far away from home and with only each other to rely on. As it turns out being cannon fodder is the least of their worries.
26.) Once Again by pupeez4eva. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: If you asked anyone what they thought of Sasuke Uchiha, they'd say that he was cheerful, overly-hyper, and loved glitter and sweaters WAY too much.
(Mabel Pines is reborn as Sasuke Uchiha. Unsurprisingly, this changes things a lot).
27.) Blame it on the Moon by Tozette. On ao3 (you can only see this if you have logged-in ). Rated G. Summary: Itachi likes cats. In hindsight, that's probably his first mistake.
* * *
Really? Thought Itachi dubiously. He did it anyway. "For love and justice," he deadpanned flatly.
28.) Adoption by Defenestration; or, A Family Can Be A Fox Demon, Its Jinchuuriki, and Three Dozen Highly-Trained Assassins elumish. On ao3. Rated T. Summary: He will not be the ANBU who let the jinchuuriki plummet to his death out a fourth story window. Let that be another ANBU’s legacy.
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ayearofpike · 5 years
Text
Thirst No. 5: The Sacred Veil
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Simon Pulse, 2013 441 pages, 17 chapters + prologue and epilogue ISBN 978-1-4424-6731-6 LOC: PZ7.P626 Thb 2013 OCLC: 795175747 Released March 5, 2013 (per B&N)
With all the bad guys destroyed, Sita and her friends should be safe, right? Not so fast — there’s still a nationwide manhunt going on, enhanced by the computer program that’s already told authorities about Team Vampire. On top of this, the now-headless devil’s advocate had a photo in her suitcase implying that the evils are after a sacred artifact that Sita came into contact with during World War II. To beat them to it, she’ll have to trace a past that she can’t remember in order to cancel a deal she didn’t make.
With this book, it feels like Pike is finding his stride with the modern YA genre. It’s more pages than we strictly need to tell the story, the group is given reasons for existence beyond “Sita likes us,” and the vampires finally fuck. That said, it does use some of Pike’s favorite tropes: flashbacks, Hinduism, the consistent timeline, jumping from high places, muthafuckin lizard aliens. You’re not going to mistake this for someone else’s work, especially if you’ve already read The Wicked Heart.
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Yep! Pike is reusing his old assets again! This time, it’s the evil descendant of Heinrich Himmler ... well, sort of. We’ll get there. I guess it was only a matter of time before Sita had an Adventure With Nazis, considering how the Holocaust is a monster of a humanitarian travesty, relatively prominent in American minds, and it’s natural that Pike would want to explore how she might have tried to fight it. Plus it’s kind of a get-deep-quick card in terms of how your story is going to be received, and it does sell books. (I was recently at my kid’s book fair — at an ELEMENTARY SCHOOL — and was alarmed by the number of books about WWII and the Holocaust.) 
Whatever it is, I am really not into white dudes fictionalizing Nazi Germany. But I read this anyway, because I’m dedicated or something. 
I might as well jump in with the summary, and I’m going to try to be quick about it, even though I pretty much need to re-read the book. But as I said, there’s a lot less action in this story, and we already know Sita and her backstory from the last eight, so I don’t have to be quite as worried about leaving stuff out. Still, this book kind of comes from nowhere, so I’ll do my best to be fast yet thorough.
We pick up where The Shadow of Death left off, with Sita deciding whether or not to return to Earth. Of course she does, because she’s got friends to take care of and a headless demon channeler to bury. But in going through the kid’s effects, she finds a picture of a couple, the woman looking familiar for some reason. When she looks closer at the picture, she sees why: there’s another photo on their table of another couple, and these ones were friends and confidants to Sita in Paris in the 1940s. There are two reasons why the devil might have a picture of these people, and Sita isn’t buying the first, that it’s a link to her. It must be the other: the woman is the most likely owner of the Veil of Veronica, a sacred cloth used to wash Jesus’s face as he carried the cross and now containing some of his essence.
Sita and Immortal Boyfriend want to follow the trail, but CEO is less inclined. She feels that hiding out is going to be better for them, because sooner or later the national law enforcement search for them is going to at least shift to the back burner and it will be safer to move around the country. But when Sita calls the last number dialed on Demon Girl’s phone and gets Satan himself on the line, the decision is made: they have to get the veil before the evil does. So they drive to Vegas (again, fuckin’ Vegas), where CEO has a stash of cash and some fake IDs for everybody, which ... weird. But she buys a jet and they take off for North Carolina, where they’ve traced this couple in the picture.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Sita book if they could just travel unencumbered. They’re targeted by a couple of military jets, which Sita dispatches by jumping out of the plane and forcing one pilot to eject before using his missiles to blow up the other. Everybody parachutes to safety (well, not the military pilots) and hitchhikes with a trucker to Chapel Hill, en route to which Sita has to hypnotize a couple more cops at a roadblock (though the trucker is cool). Then they set the humans up at a hotel while she and Immortal Boyfriend go scope out the address. Right away it’s clear they’re too late: there are two dudes with critical injuries on the floor. One is the husband, and Sita manages to hypnotize him into describing the attackers and what they’ve done with his wife, only she doesn’t understand how they took her into the sky. He doesn’t know where the veil is, but they find a book written in code across four different languages. Sita also finds footprints leading away from the house ... to a charred circle in the grass, glowing with radioactivity.
The other dude on the floor showed up and tried to help, the husband says before he dies, so they decide to take him back to the hotel and see if he has more intel. Back at the hotel, Sita heals his head injury, enough that he wakes up and tells her he knows a little bit about what they’re doing but he can’t explain why or how he got the information. He does maintain that he can disable the tracking program that’s made them wanted criminals, using a mishmash of technology in a bag that they found in what was obviously his watch nest, but Sita insists that he needs to sleep first. She’s not gonna sleep, though: she’s gonna flash back to her experience in Nazi-occupied Paris, breaking a resistance leader out of a torture cell and bringing him to her friends, who are both doctors, for a little underground treatment. This is a prominent memory of the veil and how it can help soothe and calm fears, and maybe even ward off evil, which Sita needed after a long night of infiltrating a Gestapo headquarters and soaking up the terrors within.
She tells this story to Seymour and Immortal Boyfriend the next day, as they fly their new plane to New York. It's the home base of the phone number Sita dialed on their deceased spy's phone, after all, and they've traced it to a monster of a law firm that CEO can tell is shady through her own experience. How did they get the clearance to fly? Well, it seems that our mysterious new spy wasn't lying about his ability to throw a snarl at the Internet program and slow it down long enough to free up Team Vampire to slip through security. Our immortals kidnap the lawyer and get him to admit that his firm was working with the Indian girl on background checks, and also that they funnel dark money to the Pentagon for what is rumored to be military spacecraft. He doesn't get a chance to say more, though — armed mercenaries blow up the entire side of the hotel, taking him out, though Sita and Immortal Boyfriend escape over the roof and down the back stairs.
They did manage to make off with the lawyer's laptop, though, and while New Spy hacks it Sita traces him through his fingerprints, because of course there's a missing persons report out on him. In talking to the dude's wife and son, though, she's confused to learn that he's just, like, some guy. No particular skills, talents, or intelligence, just a decent dude who withdrew ten grand from his bank account and disappeared. Oh, but he did have a passion for astronomy, and in the last month before he took off he could be found staring at one star through a telescope for hours on end.
When she returns, New Spy has news: the military is definitely developing spacecraft, out at Nellis Air Force Base in, yep, fuckin' Vegas again. Seymour makes a connection from this development to the number of early NASA scientists who were reformed Nazis, but Sita warns him to shut the fuck up before he reveals too much. She tells him a little more of the story on the flight out: how she learned about changes in the Germans' military movement plans and swam across the English Channel to inform Allied forces (including a one-on-one meeting with George S. Patton, who insisted he knew her from a past life) but returned to Paris to find her SS informant murdered, her friends taken into custody, and a cold-blooded major waiting with a weird piece of tech that incapacitated her and allowed him to round her up as well. Related to the Telar torture device? Maybe. Seymour is seeing connections all over the place — not just that, but also from Sita's experiences as a prisoner of war to her interactions with the demon duke of Italy, way back when this series was still called The Last Vampire. Both times there was an artifact that supposedly had Christ's blood on it, both times she was tortured and taken prisoner, and both times she couldn't quite remember the end of the story. He might have a plan to help her remember, but we're going to have to wait to find out what it is.
There's a more pressing problem: New Spy is becoming incapacitated by swelling in his cranium. Sita takes him to a hospital as soon as they land, and he makes her swear that as soon as he's done with the procedure she'll take him wherever they go next. Yeah, Vegas isn't it, apparently, though if New Spy knows where is he ain't saying. While he's undergoing brain surgery she reads what he's managed to translate of the coded diary they found. It's a story narrated by Veronica herself, about meeting a Master (you know, one of Pike's favorite enlightened humans) and learning how to step outside both of our own thoughts and of society's restrictions and expectations. Then she goes back to the hotel to see what Seymour has planned and figure out their next steps.
Only first she has to fuck Immortal Boyfriend. Yeah, they talk about lost love and painful loneliness first, and how angry they’ve been at each other, and then they realize they might only have each other for eternity, and so it's time to hop on the meat train to Bone Town. I don't know — maybe it makes more sense than I'm painting here. I was, after all, always the dude who didn't see the intense horniness in Pike books when I read them as a teen. Still, it's felt for a while like neither of them is ready to move past Teri. Besides, Sita herself has become progressively more connected and enlightened through her various absorption of higher-level immortals and maybe gods, so what does she need a boyfriend for? The whole thing doesn't actually feel like love, necessarily ... more like a deep and abiding connection that they've decided must inevitably lead to Naked Time. And maybe I'm OK with a physical and emotional relationship that isn't the be-all and end-all of the storyline, but it still feels a little forced here.
Anyway, they go find Seymour and learn that his plan is to try to go into a mutual hypnotic trance with Sita to help her remember just what happened in that concentration camp. And it works like whoa: she starts flashbacking hardcore, to being kept in a basement cell for forty days without food or water. At the end of it the major shows up with a familiar-looking woman, and they know about her past. Like, a lot of her past, including her role in the battle described in the Mahabharata, where Arjuna called down a divine fire that obliterated a seemingly overwhelming enemy. They want her to tell them what she knows and what she saw during the battle, and torture her when it's not what they want to hear. She's chained to a pole in the courtyard, either to humiliate her or warn the other prisoners, but of course her friends from Paris find her and try to break her out. There's a mass gassing, a visit from Himmler himself, a failed attempt to unlock her shackles, and a promise to hide the improved key in her cell before the next torture session, but this time they're going psychological on her ass: they've captured her resistance leader friend and actually start flaying off his skin before she finally cracks.
As with the Nazi capture, as with the Duke of Death, it's like this part of her memory has been walled off somehow, and it took this pain to unlock it. How inconvenient that Pike took pains way back in 1994 to make it clear that Sita remembered everything that ever happened to her. But anyway, she tells the military dudes about finding Krishna during the battle and hearing him talk about alien observers watching the battle, maybe even having their own that echoes what's happening on Earth. He warns the soldiers to leave it alone, but a couple of them know what Sita is and coerce her into entering a large dome that is not safe for any human, because of an energy source that gives off a glowing heat. That's all the dudes can get out of her with this hypnosis session: she comes to all the way back to present day out of this flashback-within-a-flashback. It's easy to see, though, that the Nazis figured they could win the war with this technology, but how were they going to recreate it? Unless they somehow already had it. Unless they'd found an actual ship in India, on an artifact hunt like the ones ol’ Indiana Jones likes to thwart, and were trying to activate it using the knowledge from their literal link to the past.
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Immortal Boyfriend knows where to go now: Joshua Tree National Park. You remember, where Miracle Baby was conceived, where Sita fought off the muthafuckin lizard aliens to get him back. Apparently it's in the video game that they were warned about, which IB has kept playing and recently beaten but won't describe because he doesn't want to influence Sita's genuine reaction to what he expects to happen. They bust New Spy out of the hospital and steal an ambulance to drive there, and along the way he starts dropping hints that it's not exactly the veil that these folks are after. He makes a phone call, supposedly to his superiors, but somehow Sita knows it's to whoever is trying to find them and is now pissed at this sudden but inevitable betrayal. But there's nothing for it: they have to know this meeting is happening tonight in order to get the veil-keeper back.
Seymour suggests another trance session now that they're in a spiritually powerful place, and they get some more of Sita's past. Using the female doctor friend (the one who had the veil at the time) the Nazis torture Sita into remembering the inside of the ship: the dead men who tried to enter and perished before they could exit, the exposed radioactive power source that she manages to snap back into place. She remembers blacking out and being partially rescued by Original Vampire, only to be taken hostage thanks to the same torture box and reawakening as the craft flies over the battlefield. They broke free and Sita destroyed most of what she now realizes were nuclear weapons (though one fell and incinerated Arjuna's enemies, giving a white person credit for an ancient Indian doctrinal miracle) while Original Vampire killed their captors and somehow shot the ship up above the sky. But when this is all she remembers, the Nazis go to burn her friend alive. It's enough motivation for Sita to strain for the hidden key right in front of everyone and free herself, brutally murdering the major but failing to stop the female torturer from drenching her in gasoline. Her friend smothers the flames with — you got it — the Veil of Veronica. The artifact heals Sita and gives her the strength to break them out, but when she tries to find her resistance leader lover, she's frightened away by the way the female torturer is standing outside the door, soaking up the pain of so many prisoners in bliss. 
I know! It's President Coroner! Enough with the same-same, Pike! This one is even happening NOW!
So that was Sita's mistake: leaving the pain-sucker alive and running away from her fear. And here she comes, walking up the hill toward Team Vampire with her captive and a young man that looks like Himmler fucked this devil woman. Or he might be reanimated or reincarnated; Pike never deigns to explain this dude. He does explain that the evil torturing lady is the same wife of the Demon Duke from way back, even though now she’s fair instead of dark (and, y’know, had her heart ripped out). She explains that they (the Nazis) already know what happened: Sita and Original Vampire flew off into space somehow, were rescued by beings of a higher plane, and found being returned to Earth so mundane and unsatisfying that they asked to have all memories of the spaceships erased. And the ship is still here, disguised as one of the giant trees. However, the damn thing is locked and will only open for someone who's been in it before. And Sita’s the only one alive who’s done so. You see the Nazis' problem. But it doesn't matter what Sita does or tries — she can't get the sumbitch to open. And this is a problem, the woman points out, because they made a deal. And now Sita sees through her dark, evil eyes, and realizes that the devil can probably possess and direct more than one measly human.
If she can't open the thing, Devil Lady says, Sita will have to go with them, or else they'll start killing her friends. She agrees, and in saying her goodbyes learns that New Spy has managed to translate the end of Veronica's journal. It was finished by her brother, it turns out, because she was crucified as a heretic and a woman taking credit for a man's job, but in her final moments she successfully stepped outside her mind and was enlightened, and that hers is the face on the veil. So Sita figures we can all become one with the universal consciousness that drives our higher powers — the same one powering Krishna, Jesus, Miracle Teen — and so maybe she'll be OK. And this is what it takes for the spaceship to appear to everyone. She goes to it, and sure enough it opens, meaning she has control and can save her friends. But before she can go in, Devil Lady shoots her in the inferior vena cava and bails with Young Himmler. And they are never seen again. (See what I meant by "sort of" at the beginning of this article? Dude's role is so small he could have been anyone. He literally doesn’t even have a LINE.)
But now Sita is dying, and New Spy takes charge. If she gets on the ship, he explains, she can transcend time and have as much as she needs to heal. How the shit does he know this? Well, it turns out that our regular dude has been possessed by his ten-thousand-years-in-the-future self, with technological knowledge beyond anyone in the present. He’s grown up in a timeline where Germany won the war, and so there is no mysticism left, only hard science. So when he discovered a loophole through this ancient technique of viewing the past, an ability to alter his own world and bring some magic to it, he leapt at the chance. This moment — Devil Lady and Baby Himmler escaping — was his fork in the road, the way he could alter his own future. And while he’s explaining, this magical ship does all the work, healing Sita and chasing the bad guys and blowing them up. Or at least that’s what he says. We don’t see it, because we know how much Pike readers hate action sequences (good.thing the entire first half of the book wasn’t one). And now they can set back down in the timeline, wherever they want to be.
So Sita ... 
goddamn, this is infuriating ...
Sita goes BACK TO ANCIENT INDIA TO KILL THE ORIGINAL VAMPIRE AGAIN. Only this time she’s gonna do it when he’s an adult, when he comes to whisk her away from her family.
Only he somehow knows about it. He knows everything. He knows about her plans, her ideas, her potential future. But he also knows that Sita’s greatest regret is that she was never able to live her normal human life with her truest love and her child, and is willing to accept his own death if she carries it out. And she realizes: Immortal Boyfriend came back too. And he’s inside his father, somehow. And she’s not sure she can kill him.
And that is where this mother fucking vampire saga, spanning eight books and almost twenty years, leaves us hanging.
According to Wikipedia (which, take it with a grain of salt; there’s no citation and I’ve already deleted two entries for books that don’t exist), Pike is working on three more Sita books, and plans to self-publish when they are done. He said that two and a half years ago. Are we ever going to see such a thing? Is the eleventh book in this series, as promised, the actual DEFINITIVE END of the Sita saga? Will we ever find out? Is he just gonna George Martin us until he dies? I say don’t hold your breath for another Thirst book. But I also thought Pike was done with YA when Alosha trailed off, and I thought he was done with YA when The Blind Mirror came out after a three-year absence, AND I thought he was done with Sita when she stabbed her dead best friend in the uterus and killed the unborn demon. So how much does what I say matter?
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lievbios · 5 years
Text
Angel || Cordelia Chase
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Name: Cordelia Chase
Age: 18
Relationship: Single [Verse depending]
Sexuality: Bisexual
Job: Student
Faceclaims: Charisma Carpenter
Cordelia Chase was an agent of the Powers That Be. She attended Sunnydale High School as a teenager, where she was a popular cheerleader known for her standoffish “Queen Bee” personality and attitude. Since the school was situated on a Hellmouth, Cordelia also became familiar with demons and mystical occurrences, even helping to fight them as part of the “Scooby Gang.” After graduating high school, Cordelia moved to Los Angeles where she joined supernatural detective agency Angel Investigations and gained the power of the visions. These visions gave Cordelia great insight into the pain of others, stripping her of her selfishness and forging her into a dedicated and powerful warrior in the fight against evil. However, they also allowed her to fall victim to the machinations of the goddess Jasmine. Cordelia died in 2004, using her last moments on Earth to aid her friend and love, Angel, and put the disillusioned hero back on his heroic path. After death, Cordelia legitimately became a higher being in the service of the Powers That Be.
Cordelia was the only daughter of a wealthy family in the small town of Sunnydale, California. She has a cousin named Timmy which she practiced cutting hair on.[6] She was a very beautiful and popular girl, whose fashionable clique was nicknamed the “Cordettes” and included Cordelia’s best friend, Harmony Kendall. She was a spoiled, stuck-up brat who enjoyed ridiculing those she saw as inferior and dismissed her classmates Xander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, and Jesse McNally as “losers.” In ninth grade, she and Harmony took remedial Spanish together, where a boy named Donnie Wray developed a crush on her and wrote an embarrassing song about her.[7] Cordelia was among the many students and teachers at Sunnydale High who ignored unpopular student Marcie Ross so completely that she literally faded out of sight.[8] At one point, Cordelia had a crush on senior student Daryl Epps, an all-star champion football star, until his untimely death in a rock-climbing accident.[9]
In her sophomore year, Cordelia immediately befriended Buffy Summers, a new girl who transferred from Los Angeles. Cordelia, in a nutshell, was the embodiment of who Buffy was before becoming the Slayer, and became the chief foil at school for Buffy. Buffy could not stand Cordelia’s snobby behavior towards her less popular classmates and instead became friends with Willow, Xander, Jesse, and the new librarian, Buffy’s Watcher Rupert Giles. When Buffy mistakenly attacked Cordelia with a stake, Cordelia made it her mission to make Buffy as much of an outcast as possible,[10] despite the fact that Buffy later saved her life on several occasions.[10][11] When Cordeila ran for May Queen, her boyfriend Mitch Fargo was beaten up, Harmony was pushed down a flight of stairs, and Cordelia’s favorite teacher was nearly suffocated. Realizing the attacks must have been about her, Cordelia swallowed her pride and contacted Buffy for help. She discovered that invisible student Marcie Ross was responsible for terrorizing her, and Buffy saved her life when Marcie tried to mutilate her as revenge for ignoring her.[8] Despite her tendency to rationalize strange events, Cordelia was forced to finally accept the existence of dark forces in Sunnydale when she was attacked by vampires on the night of the Spring Fling. Learning that Sunnydale was on a Hellmouth and that Buffy was the Slayer, Cordelia became a reluctant ally to the “Scooby Gang.”[12]
The two dated for the rest of their junior year going into the senior year. When Spike returned to Sunnydale and kidnapped Willow and Xander, Cordelia and Oz searched for the two, both falling witnesses to Xander and Willow’s kiss. Running away, she fell through weak flooring and was impaled by a large piece of rebar. While in the hospital, a heartbroken Cordelia confronted Xander for his cheating and broke up with him. When she returned to school, she attempted to regain her standing with the Cordettes but was rebuffed and insulted by Harmony.
After being shunned by her friends and severing ties with the Scooby Gang, Cordelia befriended a new student, Anya[17] Blaming Buffy for everything that was wrong in her life, Cordelia wished that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale. Anya, who was really Anyanka, a vengeance demon, granted this wish. At first, Cordelia was pleased with her circumstances, but soon came to realize that Sunnydale, was really worse off without Buffy upon discovering that The Master had risen and both Xander and Willow were vampires and her hometown, a wasteland overrun by bloodsuckers. She went to Giles for help but was killed by Willow and Xander, however Giles was able to destroy Anyanka’s power and change things back to normal.[18]
Despite her intelligence and having been accepted to the likes of Columbia University, Cordelia found herself unexpectedly unable to afford college due to her family’s sudden financial reversals, and therefore, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Meeting Angel at a Hollywood party, she pretended to be successful, when she was, in fact, nearly penniless, renting a dilapidated apartment and stealing food from such parties. Her agent was ignoring her calls, and she had no family to turn to, having severed ties. Desperate, Cordelia met with Russell Winters, believing that he would be able to relieve her of her meager financial situation. However, with her experience as a member of the “Scooby Gang”, Cordelia immediately recognized that Winters was actually a vampire.[21]
As Angel’s link to The Powers That Be, Cordelia grew more sensitive to the feelings of others as she experienced the pain of the subjects of each vision. The visions became increasingly more frequent and intense, and began to physically damage her brain. For months, she secretly took powerful painkillers and underwent CAT scans and MRI’S that indicated the slow deterioration of her brain tissue. Yet, when presented with the opportunity to pass her visions to the heroic Groosalugg (through the act of sexual intercourse) during a short trip to the demonic dimension Pylea, Cordelia refused, stating that the visions were a part of her and made her who she was, a Champion.[24]
During this time, Cordelia developed romantic feelings for Angel as did he for her, but when the Groosalugg arrived in Los Angeles after being dethroned, Cordelia decided to put her feelings for Angel on hold and began a passionate relationship with Groo, going so far as to use a spell to allow the two to have sex without Cordelia losing her visions, and even giving him a makeover to resemble Angel right down to the hairstyle and wardrobe. Tormented by this, and gripped by a growing fear and jealousy that Groo would eventually replace him as the team’s primary fighter, Angel gave the two money to take an extended vacation. Upon their return, they discovered that numerous horrific events had occurred, including the kidnapping of Angel’s infant son, Connor, at the hands of vengeful vampire hunter Daniel Holtz. In response to this, Cordelia immediately shifted her attention to Angel, and Groo eventually realized that she truly loved Angel, proceeding to depart Los Angeles after a final farewell.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Cordelia’s transformation also set in motion a major chain of events: her body became suitable for use by powerful forces. Cordelia’s transformation gave her the power, not entirely under her control, to cleanse evil influence with a white glowing light.[26][27]
For three months, Cordelia was stuck on a higher plane and expressed extreme feelings of boredom, unable to talk to her friends or do any good. She was, however, able to watch her friends on Earth as well as all of Angel’s past deeds as an evil vampire. When Angel’s destiny was stolen in Las Vegas, Cordelia used her power of divine intervention to help Angel out by making him win at a rigged slot machine so he could get into the right place at the right time.
Cordelia somehow finally returned to Earth, though with a fallen power piggy backing right along with her. Because of this, the Powers That Be’s safeguard was triggered and Cordelia’s memories were wiped clean and the fallen power made dormant. When the amnesiac Cordelia found herself at Angel Investigations, Angel and the others hid the bizarre reality of their situation from Cordelia, fearing it would be too much for her to handle. Confused and suspicious of Angel Investigations and those who worked there, Cordelia sought the truth and was horrified by what she discovered about her life as a Champion. After being attacked by a violent demon and several Wolfram & Hart operatives, Cordelia was rescued by Connor, Angel’s now teenage son and, feeling safe with him, decided to live in his loft because she appreciated Connor’s honesty about the supernatural.
While pregnant and under Jasmine’s possession, “Cordelia” horribly murdered the last sun totem, Manjet, Lilah Morgan, and the Svear family to serve Jasmine’s plans. Along with these things, she brought forth a nearly invincible demon called The Beast, and convinced Angel and his team to take away Angel’s soul and bring forth Angelus to distract them in order to keep her plans secret as well as attempting to have Angelus be her minion. Cordelia stole Angel’s soul so that he could not return and continually told Connor that they were special, deceiving him into believing that the rest of the group hated them and would kill their baby.
After several months in the hospital, Cordelia seemingly awoke from her coma and was shocked by the events that had transpired in her absence. What apparently woke her was a vision from the Powers That Be. She learned that Angel Investigations no longer worked as a detective agency at the Hyperion Hotel, but had taken over the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart with Angel as CEO. Angel explained that the team was attempting to use Wolfram & Hart’s near-infinite resources to fight against evil, but Cordelia was unconvinced, describing what he had done as a “deal with the devil.” She learned that the real reason for Angel’s decision was that Wolfram & Hart agreed to erase Connor’s memories so he could live a normal, happy life with another family; the rest of the team’s memories of Connor had been similarly erased. Cordelia apologized to Wesley for killing Lilah, but he assured her he did not hold her responsible for Jasmine’s actions. When Angel learned that their old foe Lindsey McDonald had returned and was planning to activate Wolfram & Hart’s failsafe to eliminate him, Cordelia helped him defeat Lindsey, being enraged to discover that Lindsey had taken Doyle’s identity. Afterwards, she confessed to Angel that her return was only temporary and that it was time for her to leave much to his chagrin. They shared a kiss before Angel received a phone call telling him Cordelia had died in her coma, having never awoken. He turned to look at Cordelia, since he just kissed her, but she was gone.[31] Later that night, Angel received a vision—given to him via Cordelia’s kiss—that granted him the knowledge he needed to bring down the Circle of the Black Thorn and prevent the apocalypse.[32] Upon her death, Cordelia became a legitimate higher power.
Angel succeeded in defeating the Circle, but the Senior Partners banished all of Los Angeles to hell as a result. In the ensuing chaos, Angel was rendered human and Gunn was turned into a vampire. Wesley, who had died in the battle against the Circle and was a ghost, attempted to contact Cordelia in the hopes of getting the assistance of the Powers That Be, but they were unable to help as they had no influence in the Senior Partners’ hell dimension. However, Cordelia managed to muster a slight breeze to let Wesley know she was listening.[33] Later, when Angel was fatally injured by Gunn, Cordelia was able to appear to him to help ease his transition into death. She was heartbroken by what had become of her friends, but was nevertheless amused to learn that Angel had accidentally named his dragon after her. Angel and Cordelia watched helplessly from another plane as Wesley revealed that Angel’s role in the Shanshu Prophecy would be one where he would massacre many people.[34] As Angel chose to succumb to death, not wanting such events to transpire, Connor appeared and inspired his father to keep fighting. Cordelia urged Angel to go back to his son before fading away, assuring him before she left that he could never be what he saw in the vision.[35] After the restoration of Los Angeles, Angel came to recognize Cordelia’s presence in the gentle breeze, often trying to dissuade his pessimism, such as when he was brooding about whether Wesley and Fred would be united in the afterlife.
Cordelia evolved dramatically throughout her years working in the Scooby Gang and Angel Investigations. She changed from an egocentric snob to a person whose life was increasingly dedicated to helping others. When first introduced, Cordelia felt no burning desire to become a better person, but suffered rejection and mockery from her original friends as she outgrew their shallowness. She was vain, often self-absorbed, and appeared to care more about clothes than people. Buffy and her friends often found Cordelia’s shallowness annoying and off-putting, so it took some time for them to warm up to her (however, Buffy and Cordelia still held somewhat of a bickering friendship during her time in the Scooby Gang).
After moving to Los Angeles, Cordelia inherited visions that allowed her to feel the pain of others, which changed her future from being a famous actress to “helping the helpless.” Cordelia was similar to Buffy, in that they both started as shallow and vapid but gradually became more dedicated to others and their own duty. Additionally, like Buffy, Cordelia matured after being put in a position of being a hero. Similarly, while Buffy matured after caring for her sister Dawn, Cordelia became more nurturing while caring for the infant Connor. In actuality, despite never being very close to Buffy, Cordelia was actually a lot like her in personality (which may have been partly the reason Angel loved her as well).
Cordy died with a grounded confidence and compassion for those in need, which replaced the arrogance and vanity of her adolescent self. Since Cordelia’s first appearance, she has had a passionate love of clothes, which remained unchanged up through her final day on earth; in fact,[7] she quickly forgave Angel for his prior actions after discovering that he had bought her an entire set of designer clothes as an apology, similar to how she made peace with Xander when he paid for her prom dress.[19]
Originally a normal human, Cordelia began receiving prophetic visions from The Powers That Be.[41] The visions usually consisted of ambiguous imagery of forthcoming attacks on innocents or various demonic disasters. Cordelia used this imagery to help Angel prevent them from happening.
Cordelia was the mother of a brood of Haxil Beast spawn.[42] When pregnant with them, she gained a telepathic connection with the children and their father, who used it to control her. Cordelia was forced to be the host of an unborn Skilosh Demon, which granted her a working third eye in the back of her skull until it was removed.[43]
Cordelia claimed that as a cheerleader, she need only be shown a move once before being able to mimic it, and demonstrated this by successfully copying a series of combat moves Angel is teaching her, and manages to corner him as a result.[44] She continued to learn how to fight under the instruction of Connor.[45]
After her death, Cordelia was promoted to become a Higher Being by the Powers That Be as a reward for all her sacrifices, and especially for helping Angel one last time in his war against the Senior Partners and Circle of the Black Thorn.
As a higher being, Cordelia was shown to possess the powers of:
Telekinesis: Cordelia used this ability to help Angel win a game to save people’s souls.
Retro-cognition: Cordelia witnessed Angel’s history of misdeeds as Angelus through this ability.
Aerokinesis: To let Angel know that she was hearing him, Cordelia created a cool breeze of air.
Premonition: When Angel was dying, Cordelia sent a vision of herself in his mind to provide him with both encouragement and hope. When she was in doubt of her feelings for Angel, she was also shown what was to come through this ability.
Time-Manipulation: Before she ascended to the higher plane, Cordelia’s powers of light-manipulation advanced to the point where she was able to stop time itself, allowing Skip to explain to her that she had become a higher power.
VERSES
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Week 6: I chose my own topic to write about. I wanted to talk about a character I created.
I created a character named Sirane Laurenette. She is one of the more sad characters I have created. So be warned when you read through her story.
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She grew up in nobility and had a best friend who was a little boy named Cyrelle. As Sirane became older, she became increasingly more disturbed by her thoughts and dreams. The deeper into madness that she fell into, the more restrictive her parents became often locking her in the house. They did this to preserve their noble name and prevent the common folk from making up rumors about witchcraft in their family. Sirane spent most of her childhood and teen years in her house with only the company of Cyrelle. 
When Sirane became the age of 17, she finally gave into her insanity. In the middle of the night, she couldn’t resist the urge to leave her bed. A thought kept pounding in her head that kept saying the word freedom over and over again. Sirane was compelled to do whatever she could to be relieved of this hell of a life. She was constantly bombarded by disturbing voices, hallucinations, and the prestigious toward her mental illness by her family. She just wanted it all to stop and be normal. The torment in her mind finally stopped and Sirane felt a weird sensation on her knees as she knelt on the ground. It was warm and reflective from the moonlight creeping in from the curtained window. A loud howl expelled from her as she gripped her head causing the rapiers from her hands to fall and clank against each other in the warm puddle she now stood up from. Quickly she tore down the currents from the window to reveal both of her parents dead in their bed and a grinning Cyrelle beside the bed staring at her. 
His eyes started bleeding and he opened his mouth with his tongue out to catch it until it was overflowing and dripping down his torso. Sirane realized that the pool she was standing in was drained and her parents looked withered as if they were raisins left in the sun. Cyrelle now fully engulfed in blood all over his body and the blood dripping from his finger tips morphed into talons. A pair of horns elevated from his head and wings of translucent red stretched out from his back.
Distraught, Sirane screamed, “Cyrelle”! His skin and features became black and started to break off his body as if he was made of dust until only his face was left. A low murmur rumbled and he slowly opened his glowing yellow mouth and made a gesture as if he was blowing on something. A loud wind erupted in the room carrying the dust that was his body. It roared over her body cutting into her outstretched hands and blasting out the glass window. And like that, the voices she heard, the hallucinations she saw, her family, and life was gone. 
She knew the kingdom would never believe a demon had tormented her so intensely that she was possessed to murder her parents. She took her parents rapiers from the floor and slipped on her mother’s cloak. With her supplies packed into a bag, she fled into the nearby forest and there she lived for ten years among the animals and nature. She was waiting for the case to blow over before she would rejoin society in a different kingdom. 
In those ten years, she dedicated to hunting down Cyrelle for all the pain he caused her. She even learned how to speak to demons and devils to find leads to where he might be. She won’t feel fulfilled until Cyrelle is dead. He owes her his life for taking her parents’ and ruining her’s as far as she is concerned.            
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This is Cyrelle when he gains his full power from the blood of several royals.
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If you ever wanted to learn how to make a character in DnD, I have shared a link below of instruction showing you how to do it. Then you can start playing too!
https://www.instructables.com/id/DD-5E-Character-Creation/ 
Written Reflection:
This blog was fun to make. I got to share a character that is very personal to me. I feel that Sirane is one of my more favorite characters and she has a rich backstory. I could write for days about her, but I think I’m going to keep it as that for now. I very much enjoy role playing as Sirane because she is fallen royalty who has been isolated from society for a long time. So she has older royal customs that she does and clothing that she tries to hide so no one can figure out what her true identity is because of her past. So there is a fun game of cat and mouse. She also plays a lute and sings songs of her time in the forest and what it is like to be an outsider looking in. So she is really entertaining for other characters.
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freddyjoncs · 7 years
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JUDY REEVES | 17 | GABRIELLA WILDE
”my wave, my shark, my demon in the dark. the blue tied pulling me under."
wake up kids we’ve got the dreamers disease
Living in Coolsville, Ohio meant that life was never normal. The town on it own had it secrets - deadly secrets. Judy Reeves never thought she would get mixed up in all but that all changed her junior year of high school. Judy, the perfect daughter. A straight A student and popular girl at school. Not for her money, but for her kindness. you see Judy might have come from wealth but her parents were a bit more on the hippier side of things. Their daughter was intelligent, in the top percentage of her class and never used her power to traffic terror or intimidation. Instead, she used it to help others. Which is why Judy volunteer to tour others to help them with school. That’s where she met Brad Chiles. The boy needed help with math, at least she thought he did. In reality Brad was perhaps one of the smartest kids from the wrong side of the tracks. He only used tutoring as an excuse to get close to Judy. After all a girl of her stature would surely never fall for someone like him but she did. Judy fell hard for Brad. There was a connection there that she had never experience with anyone else before. He understood her better than she understood herself sometimes and that meant a lot considering she often felt invisible in her opulent lifestyle. 
In no time Judy and Brad began dating, much to her father’s dismay. But she didn’t care. She was happy and that’s what mattered most. So, when the time prom rolled around it was a no brainier that the two went together. The only thing is the town was on high alert. The night that prom was supposed to be taking place was the 20th anniversary of the Coolsville murders.  In 1974 a string of murders took place in the small town. At the center of these murders was Rodney Loomis, an outcast who was pushed too far one day and took his revenge out on the student body. The murders finally stopped little did Judy know she was somehow tied to the town's dark past. No one thought anything of the anniversary but Judy’s mom was wry of the entire thing. She tried to reason with her daughter, begging her not to go to prom that night. Except Judy didn’t listen. She wanted to spend the night with her boyfriend. If only Judy had heeded her mother’s warning because that night someone came to a prom in a Rodney Loomis mask and next thing you know the gymnasium was covered in red. There was a total of five people dead at the end of the night. The horror that happened twenty years ago had come back to haunt them. Judy and Brad barely made it out alive. It wasn’t until later Judy found out that her mother grew up with Rodney. The two were best friends and Rodney was even in love with her mother. Of course her father had gotten in the way and which pushed Rodney to his crime.  With that lingering over her head Judy knew she had to leave.
Brad had already had a love for the paranormal so together the two decided to decided to hop in Brad’s van and travel the U.S ghost hunting. In a way it gave Judy closure. Ghosts she could deal with. She always believed in them too, after all coming from Coolsville the first thing you’re taught is the haunted history of the town. But real people? They were the real monsters. That was the one thing she couldn’t face. From that day on she vowed never to return to Coolsville unless she absolutely had to now. Now Judy dedicated her life to helping others in this life and the next. 
PERSONALITY ;
+ : gentle, captivating, intelligent
- : stubborn, too trusting ,haunted
RELATIONSHIPS ;
brad chiles: the boyfriend
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rizlowwritessortof · 4 years
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Riz’s Master List
Master List under the cut, updated 3/14/2020 - in case y’all are bored or anything... :)
CHAPTER FICS
Never Look Back
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 21 chapters
Bethany Rae Cooper didn’t realize when she met the Winchesters in her family’s bar and grill that her life would never be the same. But she’s always believed that everything happens for a reason, even if it’s not exactly what you were expecting…
The Shadow’s Edge
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 17 chapters
Sequel to Never Look Back. When the demon Dameon was killed, Dean and Beth thought their son was safe from the prophecy. But when Cas brings them news of the new battle for Hell, they realize that their war has just begun.
The Fine Line
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 34 chapters
An unexpected tragedy sends Devon down the dark path of hate and vengeance, but she will learn that things are not always what they seem…
Scars
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 10 chapters
Sequel to The Fine Line. Dean and Devon’s relationship has always been stormy - but can they work through the scars of their past to find each other again?
Stars In the Darkness
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 8 chapters
A crushing loss brings Dean and Sam to Sioux Falls, and ghosts from the past and present bring them across the path of Tiara, a girl they haven’t seen since childhood.
Dreaming
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 5 chapters
Dean Winchester has always been a bit of a thorn in Kelsey’s side - a very attractive thorn, but still… A visit at her uncle Bobby’s reunites her with the boys, and she begins having vivid dreams - about Dean. Is it just her subconscious trying to tell her something? Or is there more to it than that?
My Unimportant Little Life
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 11 chapters
Season 5 timeline. Dean gets yanked from 2009 to 2014, so he can see the ‘consequences’ of saying no to Michael. At Camp Chitaqua he meets Reggie, and is surprised to find that she comes from 2009 as well…
Back In the Saddle
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 10 chapters
Dean and Sam are back in the old west again - in answer to a cry for help from Samuel Colt. And if Dean just happens to get tangled up with the spirited redhead that owns the saloon… what’s the harm, right?
Sweet Escape
Dean/Female Reader, 2 parts
What happens when a friend jokingly does a spell at your birthday party to bring your cardboard standup of Dean Winchester to life? This one’s dedicated to my friend, Liz, who gave me the idea. If only…
Sweet Escape Part 1
Sweet Escape Part 2
Shut Up and Drive
Dean/Female Reader, 2 parts
Reader teases Dean while he’s driving, so - he gets even
Part 1 - Keep Your Eyes on the Road
Part 2 - Or We Could Park - Parking Is Good Too
Take the Long Way Home
Dean Winchester/Female OC, 8 chapters
A look at Dean and Rusty’s relationship, in the present and through their memories. Flashbacks/memories are in italics.
Black Velvet
Demon!Dean/Female Reader, Dean/Female Reader, 9 chapters
You and Sam are broken after Dean’s death. Nobody expected him to come back with black eyes…
Fade to Black
Dean/Female Reader, 11 chapters
Sequel to Black Velvet. Dean is no longer a demon, but he’s still cursed with the Mark of Cain, and the lure of that darkness grows stronger as time goes on.
Dean and Toby Series
Part 1 - The Meet-Cute (Actually Rescue but Whatever)
Part 2 - The Emergency Bed-Share/Move In With Us Combo
Part 3 - The Hit and Then Run Like Your Ass Is On Fire
Part 4 - The FINALLY Admit Your True Feelings and Get Busy
GENERIC FICS
I’m Good
This is the story that was published in the Seasons - Supernatural Short Story Anthology in 2017. Bobby sharing some memories.
ONE-SHOTS - DEAN
Combo Shot
Dean/Female Reader
June 2015 GIEPP (Girl In Every Port Project) entry. Prompt: Pool/Poker hustler competitive chick. Pretty much pure smut.
A Hunter Walks Into a Bar
Dean/Female OC
Prowling hunter, sassy bartender
Shelter
Dean/Female Reader
Dean providing comfort
That’s How It Should Be
Sheriff!Dean/Female Reader
They have to make a fast escape, but Dean won’t let being on horseback stand in the way of showing a lady a good time
The Storm
Dean/Female Reader
You’re terrified of storms, and Dean is concerned, feelings get shared
Pest Control
Dean/Female Reader
You think you’ve got mice. The exterminator that shows up is Dean Winchester. He’ll just let you believe that, and take care of the problem. And you.
Happy Birthday, Baby
Dean/Female OC (KK)
Fluffy, smutty birthday fic written for a friend
Gunpowder and Dean
Dean/Female Reader
You’re pissed off at Dean, taking it out on the firing range, but he just won’t leave you alone…
Juicy and Delicious
Dean/Female Reader
My entry for Dean’s Flavor of the Month fic challenge - Peach Pie. You bake some peach pies for Dean, and he’s very grateful…
Lost In You
Dean/Female Reader
A casual flirtation leads to a violent encounter, and Dean’s reaction is a little more than you expected. Warning for brief description of attempted (unsuccessful) assault. Protective Dean.
What You Need
Dean/Female Reader
You’re watching as Sam and Dean prepare to interrogate a demon. Dean knows you’re watching him, and he knows exactly the kind of effect it’s having on you…
Santa Claus Is Coming Tonight
Dean/Female Reader
Dean’s really getting into the Christmas spirit…
I Need You
Dean/Female Reader
You screwed up, Sam got hurt, Dean’s pissed and you aren’t handling it very well.
Snow Day
Dean/Female Reader
You and Dean, stuck in a motel room in a blizzard
Frisk Me
Dean/Female Cop Reader
You’re a cop, in hot pursuit of a murderer, and guess who crosses your path?
Comfort
Dean/Female Reader
Dean had a rough hunt, and he’s beating himself up as usual. You take his mind off things for a little while…
When I Think About You
Dean/Female Reader
It was a wild hunt, and you’re both a little high-strung. Surely there’s some way to blow off some steam…
One Finger
Dean/Female Reader
Dean Winchester has never been one to back down from a challenge
What Makes You Feel Alive
Endverse!Dean/Female Reader
The world is bleak, the struggle endless after Croatoan. You and Dean do what you have to do to keep going.
Sweet Misery
Dean/Unnamed Female OC
My entry for Bev’s Song Challenge - song prompt was Cryin’ by Aerosmith, lyrics at the beginning
Winchesters Don’t Giggle
Dean/Female Reader
A friend and I were having this discussion about giving Dean a back rub, and whether he might be ticklish…
Confession
Dean (Priest!Dean)/Female Reader
When Dean returns from some undercover work, you discover a fantasy you never realized you had
The Bait
Dean/Female Reader
This was written for @jessica-bones-winchester’s (now on her 100th url as @cavillanche - Love you, Jess!) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. The prompt was ‘dressing up as an anime character for his birthday.’ And I have to admit, I really enjoyed this one… Reader dresses as Sailor Mars (from Sailor Moon) for Dean’s birthday.
Hey, Man - Nice Shot
Dean/Female Reader
This is for @jessica-bones-winchester’s ( @cavillanche ) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. The prompt was ‘competitiveness in the shooting range (loser cleans the kitchen for a week) No smut.
Take the Pain Away
Dean/Female Reader
This was written for @jessica-bones-winchester’s ( @cavillanche ) Dating Dean Writing Challenge. Prompt was ‘him taking care of you when you’re sick.’ Reader falls victim to a migraine, and Dean helps her through it. No smut.
Lose Yourself
Dean/Female Reader
Smut, pure and simple… Just imagine having Dean tied up, at your mercy while you worship those perky nipples…
The Contest
Dean/Female Reader
Dean loves to give you a hard time, and one night he pushes things a little too far… Flashback in italics. All’s well that ends well.
Slow Ride
Dean (Bullriding!Dean) /Reader
Yeah, after 12x11, y'all should have known this was coming - they don’t call me Cowgirl for nothing… Written (coincidentally - timing is everything!) for the Smut Apocalypse (Smut Appreciation Day) on Tumblr.
The Photo Booth
Dean/Unnamed Female OC - Dean’s POV
This was written for @winchestersandwordprocessors SPN Valentine’s Fic Challenge. Prompt was Semi-public/Risk of getting caught.
Make You Mine
Dean/Female Reader
Dean’s jealousy gets the best of him, which is not a bad thing…
Take a Chance
Dean/Unnamed Female OC - Dean’s POV
In 7x04, Dean gives himself a little pep talk before his planned hook-up with the bartender. That scene is what inspired me. This one is more important than the usual one-nighters, and it’s making him a little nervous…
If We Don’t Make It
Dean/Female OC
This fic was written for @whispersandwhiskerburn Angel’s 2K Follower Celebration. My song prompt was “Broken” by Lifehouse, and the dialogue prompt was “If we don’t make it out of this, I need you to know…” No smut.
My Deliverer
Dean/Female Spirit - Her POV
Dean is hunting a vengeful spirit. But another spirit is in this place, and she is drawn to him…
Friendly Advice
Dean/Female Reader - Dean POV, Reader POV
This was written for @deansdirtylittlesecretsblog Mimi’s RomCom Fluff Challenge. The fluff got a little smudged into smutty fun… oops! Two POV’s, Dean’s thoughts are in italics and Reader’s are in regular font.
Old Times
Dean/Female OC
Sequel a few years down the road from A Hunter Walks Into a Bar. Tiara goes back to the bar for a visit, and who should show up the next night but Dean Winchester… Flashback in italics.
You Can Leave Your Hat On
Dean/Female Reader (nicknamed Taz)
Inspired by the sexy AF Cowboy!Dean we were treated to in 13x06 Tombstone. Helped along by Joe Cocker’s rendition of “You Can Leave Your Hat On.“
Wish Her the Best
Dean/Female OC - Dean’s POV
This is an angsty li'l fic inspired by Thomas Rhett’s ‘Marry Me,’ tore at my heart until I finally wrote it. No smut.
A Matter of… Time?
Dean/Female Reader
This is the crackiest piece of work I’ve ever written - for @percywinchester27 Ana’s PJO Quotes Challenge. Prompt was “Don’t you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?” - “Umm - no. Me running the world would be kind of a nightmare.”
Demon Seed
Demon!Dean/Female Reader
Demon!Dean stops in for a drink and decides he wants you. He’s very persuasive. Written for @evansrogerskitten’s Hottest Dean Challenge.
Not Wasted Now
Dean/Female Reader
When you all decide to get drunk in the aftermath of a bad hunt, lines get a little blurred. Or crossed. Or fucking erased. Fluffy, smutty, comforting, sweet and sexy Dean.
Bad Guy
Demon!Dean/Female Reader
This was written for @eyes-of-a-disney-princess Rapunzel’s Tangled Up With Supernatural Challenge. My Tangled quote was “You want me to be the bad guy? Fine, now I’m the bad guy.”
Shiny
Trucker!Dean/Female OC
Trucker!Dean AU. Breaker, breaker, got your ears on? 67 Midnight Rider, put that hammer down…
Some Kind of Hero
Dean/Female OC
Written for Tiff’s WTF Challenge. Dean’s just filling up Baby, minding his own business, when he hears an argument and gets involved. Protective Dean, no smut, left that to your imagination.
Crave
Dean/Female Reader
So, have some ‘Riz is craving some sexy Dean action with a big ol’ side of schmoopy fluff’ stuff. Because I was, and I’m sharing with you - the smut and all the sickenly sweet cuddly that I just need sometimes. If y'all are in the mood for that kind of thing.
Perchance to Dream
Dean/Female OC
Using African dream root on a case leads to an awkward situation, and Karlie can’t handle the tension between her and Dean any longer
Ruined
Dean/Female Reader
Dean comes home from a hunt, and he’s had something on his mind…
Going Home
Dean/Female Reader
Written for @crispychrissy’s Gif It To Me Challenge. Overhearing only part of a conversation sends her running, but jumping to conclusions without the whole story isn’t the best decision. No smut.
Not the Smartest Thing
Dean/Female Reader - Reader POV
Only Dean Fucking Winchester could turn taking a swig of beer into pornography. Cocky bastard. But two can play at that game.
Suzy Q
Dean/Female OC - OC POV
Written for @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan’s Multi-fandom Follower Celebration Challenge. Prompt - “I think I’m having a feeling. How do I make it stop?”
Invisible Touch
Dean/Unnamed Female OC
Rowena teaches Dean something new, and he gets inspired. I have no idea where this came from, but here it is…
Maybe I’m Amazed
Dean/Unnamed Female OC
An accident leaves her unconscious and fighting for her life in the hospital, drifting in and out of awareness and memories as Dean refuses to leave her side. Written for @rockhoochie’s 1K Love Supernatural Style Writing Challenge.
Reunion
Dean/Female OC
Passing through town, Dean runs into an old high school classmate. Fluffy and smutty, no angst here!
Playing With Fire
MOC!Dean/Unnamed Female OC
Late Season 10 MOC!Dean smut fic that just wouldn’t leave me alone…
Uninvited
Michael!Dean/Dean/Unnamed Female OC
Michael gives Dean a choice, because sometimes Michael likes to watch…This one is darker than my normal, PLEASE heed the warnings.
What Happens At the Roadhouse…
Early-Season Dean/Female OC
Bailey’s just looking for a couple days post-hunt R&R at Harvelle’s - and then he shows up. Cocky bastard.
ONE-SHOTS - SAM
Just a Little Story About Lou and Sam
Sam/Female OC
Lou and Sam walk into a bar… written for a friend who’s a Sammy girl
Doctor-Patient Relations
Sam/Female OC
One-shot inspired by The Born-Again Identity - sick Sammy and Dr. Nicole. Written for another Sammy-girl friend
DRABBLES
Head vs. Heart
No title
Fourth of July
Working Saturday Isn’t So Bad
11x17 Drabble
Some Nights He Dreams
Most of the Time
The Name Game
God Bless America
Stress Relief
@mrs-squirrel-chester ‘s Album Fanfic Writing Challenge Drabbles
    Dangerous
    For My Brother
    In Chains
    Kiss and Tell
    The End of Me
    Choices
    Hero
    Pure
    In the End
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eyeofhorus237 · 6 years
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Victor Frankenstein is the main character in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. He is an Italian-Swiss scientist (born in Naples, Italy) who, after studying chemical processes and the decay of living beings, gains an insight into the creation of life and gives life to his own creature, often referred to as Frankenstein's monster, or often colloquially referred to as simply "Frankenstein". Victor later regrets meddling with nature through his creation, as he inadvertently endangers his own life, as well as the lives of his family and friends, when the creature seeks revenge against him. Some aspects of the character are believed to have been inspired by 17th-century alchemist Johann Conrad Dippel. Certainly, the author and her environment where aware of the experiment on electricity and dead tissues by Galvani and his nephew Aldini or, perhaps, Alessandro Volta at the university of Pavia.
Origin of the character
One of the characters of François-Félix Nogaret [fr]'s novella Le Miroir des événements actuels ou la Belle au plus offrant, published in 1790, is an inventor named "Wak-wik-vauk-an-son-frankésteïn"[1], then abridged as "Frankésteïn", but there is no proof Shelley had read it.[2]
History
The character of Victor Von Frankenstein was born in Naples, Italy (according to the 1831 edition of the Shelley's novel) with his German-Swiss family. He was the son of Alphonse Frankenstein and Caroline Beaufort, who died of scarlet fever when Victor was 17. He describes his ancestry thus: "I am by birth a Genevese; and my family is one of the most distinguished of that republic. My ancestors had been for many years counsellors and syndics; and my father had filled several public situations with honour and reputation."[3] Frankenstein has two younger brothers—William, the youngest, and Ernest, the middle child. Frankenstein falls in love with Elizabeth Lavenza, who became his adoptive sister (his blood cousin in the 1818 edition) and, eventually, his fiancée.
As a boy, Frankenstein is interested in the works of alchemists such as Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus Magnus, and he longs to discover the fabled elixir of life. He loses interest in both these pursuits and in science as a whole after seeing the remains of a tree struck by lightning; however, at the University of Ingolstadt in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, Frankenstein develops a fondness for chemistry, and becomes obsessed with the idea of creating life in inanimate matter through artificial means, pursuing this goal for two years.
Assembling a humanoid creature through ambiguous means, Frankenstein successfully brings it to life, but he is horrified by the creature's ugliness. He flees from his creation, who disappears and, after several negative encounters with the locals, swears revenge on his creator. When William is found murdered, Frankenstein knows instantly that his creation is the killer, but says nothing. The Frankensteins' housekeeper, Justine, is blamed for the boy's death and executed; Frankenstein is wracked with guilt, but does not come forward with the truth because he thinks no one will believe his story, and he is afraid of the reactions such a story would provoke.
The creature approaches Frankenstein and begs him to create a female companion for him. Frankenstein agrees, but ultimately destroys this creation, aghast at the idea of a race of monsters. Enraged, the creature swears revenge; he kills Henry Clerval, Frankenstein's best friend, and promises Frankenstein, "You have denied me my wedding night - I will be with you on yours!" The creature keeps his promise by strangling Elizabeth on her matrimonial bed. That same night, Frankenstein's father dies of grief. With nothing else left to live for, Frankenstein dedicates his life to destroying the creature.
Frankenstein pursues the "fiend" or "Demon" (as he calls his creation) to the Arctic, intending to destroy it. He ultimately fails in his mission, as he falls through an ice floe and contracts severe pneumonia. Although he is rescued by a ship attempting an expedition to the North Pole, he dies after relating his tale to the ship's captain, Robert Walton. His creature, upon discovering the death of his creator, is overcome by sorrow and vows to commit suicide by burning himself alive in "the Northernmost extremity of the globe"; he then disappears, never to be seen or heard from again.
Characterisation
While many subsequent film adaptations (notably the 1931 movie Frankenstein and the Hammer Films series starring Peter Cushing) have portrayed Frankenstein as the prototypical "mad scientist", the novel portrayed him as a tragic figure.
Percy Shelley, Mary's husband, served as a major influence for the character. Victor was a pen name of Percy Shelley's, as in the collection of poetry he wrote with his sister Elizabeth, Original Poetry by Victor and Cazire.[4] There is speculation that Percy was one of Mary Shelley's models for Victor Frankenstein; while a student at Eton College, he had "experimented with electricity and magnetism as well as with gunpowder and numerous chemical reactions", and his rooms at Oxford University were filled with scientific equipment.[5] Percy Shelley was the first-born son of a wealthy, politically connected country squire, and a descendant of Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet of Castle Goring, and Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel.[6] As stated in the novel, Frankenstein's family is one of the most distinguished of the Genevese republic and his ancestors were counselors and syndics. Percy had a sister named Elizabeth; Frankenstein had an adopted sister, named Elizabeth. On 22 February 1815, Mary Shelley delivered a baby two months premature; the child died two weeks later.[7] The question of Frankenstein's responsibility to the creature – in some ways like that of a parent to a child – is one of the main themes of the book.
Obsession plays a major role in the development of Frankenstein's character. First, as a child, he is obsessed with reading books on alchemy, astrology, and many pseudo-sciences. Later, as a young man, he becomes enthralled with the study of life sciences - mainly dealing with death and the reanimation of corpses. Finally, after the monster is created, Frankenstein is consumed with guilt, despair, and regret, leading him to obsess over the nature of his creation.
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drunkbooksellers · 7 years
Text
Ep 12 Amy Stephenson, Booksmith & Shipwreck
Epigraph
On this episode we becomes best friends with Amy Stephenson, Events Director at Booksmith in San Francisco and co-creator/host of Shipwreck, a competitive literary erotic fan fiction live show.
Our theme music, Bitches in Bookshops, comes to us with permission from the brilliant Annabelle Quezada.
This episode is sponsored by Books & Whatnot, the newsletter dedicated to books, bookselling, and bookish folk. We were too excited about hosting Books on the Nightstand to mention Books & Whatnot on air, but you should definitely check out the newsletter archive here. Follow Books & Whatnot on Twitter at @booksandwhatnot.
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  Introduction
In Which We Discuss Sad Sociology Books and Amy’s Twitter Life Coach, and Furiously Take Notes On the Books We’re Recommending Each Other (but oh wait look, show notes!)
We’re drinking Manhattans—Amy’s go-to, “I’m fancy on a Friday night” drink—and making jokes about robotripping.
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  (image from Mike Is Bored)
We’re Reading:
Amy is reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (and Kim & Emma are SO excited) and Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin.
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  Kim is reading Necessary Trouble by Sarah Jaffe, The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis, and The Revenge of Analog by David Sax—which is her favorite book of 2016.
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  (stylized cover from Book Designers)
Emma is reading My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris (out from Fantagraphics Feb 14) and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. 
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  Also mentioned: Shirley Jackson’s memoir(ish) essay collections Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons and the new biography on Jackson, Shirley Jackson: a Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin. She recommends all the Shirley Jackson book. Because Shirley Jackson is a #bosswitch
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  Emma’s favorite book of 2016 is Trainwreck by Sady Doyle. Amy’s is Evicted by Matthew Desmond (paperback out Feb 28). If Kim were allowed to pick two favorites, her other favorite would be While the City Slept by Eli Sanders (paperback out Feb 7).
We’re Excited About:
Amy is looking forward to so many books in 2017, but, when pressed, narrowed it down to these six:
All Grown Up by Jami Attenberg (out March 7)
All the Lives I Want: Essays about My Best Friends Who Happen to Be Famous Strangers by Alana Massey (out Feb 7)
Alana Massey is Amy’s “Twitter life coach,” so you should probably follow her too: @alanamassey
The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn (out April 11)
Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki (out May 9)
And We’re Off by Dana Schwartz (out May 2) 
Dana Schwartz is also the creator of Guy In Your MFA. Amy says, “She’s so talented it makes me angry.”
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  Emma is excited about
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (out Feb 14)
Seriously. Read this book. It’s his debut novel and it’s amazing. Or listen to the record-breaking audiobook.
What We Do Now: Standing Up for Your Values in Trump's America edited by Dennis Johnson and Valerie Merians 
shout out to Melville House for putting this out with a quickness.
Always Happy Hour by Mary Miller
the cover is done by the amazing painter Lee Price.
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  And Kim is looking forward to The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker because she’s pretty sure it’s queer.
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  Chapter I [19:50]
In Which We Discuss How Kids Book Authors Write The Best Erotic Fan Fic, Dick Jokes, and Shipwreck in Seattle
Amy works at Booksmith in San Francisco, California. She is their Events Director, does all their social media, and is their de facto HR dept. Because bookstores. 
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  Booksmith recently celebrated their 40th anniversary and they’re opening a new store called The Bindery—a sort of wine bar/living room space/events annex—across the street.
Amy is also the co-creator and host of Shipwreck, “a competitive literary erotic fan fiction live show,” which began in June 2013 and runs once a month at Booksmith (and sometimes travels to Comic Cons). They record ALL the shows so you can enjoy crazy dick jokes from the comfort of your own headphones.
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  They were inspired by the competitive reading series Write Club, which also has  a podcast!
Shipwreck is such an amazing concept, that Grand Central Publishing wanted to collect the stories in a book: Fanfiction Parodies of Great (and Terrible) Literature from the Smutty Stage of Shipwreck edited by Amy Stephenson and Casey A. Childers
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  Hey, Seattleites, does this sound awesome? You too can enjoy live erotic fan fiction at Emerald City Comic Con this year on March 2nd.
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  The line-up includes: 
Seanan McGuire (whose most recent book is Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day and who wrote for the very first Shipwreck) Peter Mountford (author of The Dismal Science) Scott Westerfeld (who has a graphic novel called Spill Zone coming out May 2nd)  Matt Fraction (who writes Sex Criminals, so you know his erotic fanfic will be excellent). 
They’ll be writing fan fiction for Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman comics. And their San Francisco performer, Baruch Porras-Hernandez, will be reading for both shows.
Buy tickets here. There will be two shows, one at 7pm and another at 9:30pm. BONUS: we, the Drunk Booksellers, will be there selling books and representing Elliott Bay Book Co.
Chapter II [40:00]
In Which We Reveal Bookseller Secrets and Are Super Supportive of Each Other
The book description guaranteed to get Amy reading is: “strong female character written by a women involved in a murder somehow and you won’t believe the twist… bathtub gin reading.”
If you need a gateway mystery, Amy recommends Tana French, specifically The Likeness.
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  Her desert island pick is The Comedians by Graham Greene because she already reads it every year.
Her Station Eleven pick (aka the world is falling apart, which it kind of is) is Erich Fromm: The Sane Society (NOTE: this is still in print, despite what we say in the episode) and On Disobedience by Eric Fromm
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  Her Wild pick: something Didion “because Didion teaches you how to see the world.” 
Bonus bookseller confession: neither Kim or Emma have read Didion. So where do you start with Didion?
If you want to read something that’s going to make you cry: The Year of Magical Thinking
If you want astute cultural commentary: Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Amy’s bookseller confession: she can’t get into Ferrante
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  Go to handsells:
Tana French
Margaret Atwood’s contemporary fiction: Cat’s Eye and The Robber Bride
Fred Vargas, who writes police procedurals that are weirdly witty, funny, and entertaining; her newest book, A Climate of Fear is out March 7th
go to non-fiction: A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres (who also wrote a memoir called Jesus Land
The book Amy wants to champion to other booksellers: Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Griffin, which she describes as “a modern, feminist telling of Frankenstein, sort of”
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  Chapter III [50:40]
In Which Our List of Bookstores to Visit and Sites to Check Out Grows Almost As Long As Our List of Books to Read
Bookstore Crushes
WORD Bookstores  (in Brooklyn, NY and Jersey City, NJ) 
Skylight Books (in Los Angeles, CA)
Title Wave Books (in Anchorage, AK)
Favorite Literary Media:
website: 
Book Riot—“I think they’re doing the lord’s work out there.”
podcasts:
Let’s Not Panic: podcast by bookseller Maggie Tokuda-Hall who is spending the year traveling around South America in a Jeep with her husband Adam Wolf. WARNING: it will make you want to quit your job and travel the world.
Boars, Gore, and Swords: Game of Thrones-y pop culture podcast by stand-up comics Ivan Hernandez and Red Scott
other:
Alana Massey’s twitter @alanamassey
Maris Kreizman’s tinyletter
Drafts, a writing prompt newsletter by Joe Wadlington
you can send him what you’ve written and he’ll send you back validation. How awesome is that??
Epilogue [56:39]
Amy can be found on the internet as @losertakesall​—a Graham Greene reference, in case you were curious.
her personal website
Twitter
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Instagram
You can also follow Shipwreck on Tumblr and Facebook. And keep up with ALL the hilarity and eroticism by subscribing to their podcast. Having a bad day? Listen to an old episode. Mood = instantly transformed.
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  You can find us on Twitter at @drunkbookseller and everywhere else as DrunkBooksellers (plural).
Emma tweets @thebibliot and writes bookish things for Book Riot.
Kim tweets occasionally from @finaleofseem, but don’t expect too much.
Check out this episode!
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