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#Harriet Lovecraft
cactusspatz · 1 year
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February recs
Fandoms are all over the place this month since I finished my Yuletide trawl, so lots of small fandoms + Star Trek + Star Wars, sorted into thematic clusters for your reading pleasure.
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ALTERNATE UNIVERSE ADVENTURES
Another Life by @LullabyKnell (Star Trek AOS, gen)
In one moment, James T. Kirk is the acting captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, on his way home to Earth after stopping the Narada. In the next moment, without explanation, James T. Kirk is an Academy cadet on academic probation again, barely a day before Nero will destroy Vulcan.
He dares himself to do better. And with a planet on the line and no proof but his own memories, he knows that "better" means he'll need some help.
Classic time-travel fix-it elevated by a mid-story TOS-flavored twist! A wonderful adventure.
Commander Fox's Ultimate Bucket List by blackkat/ @blackkatmagic​ (Star Wars, Fox/Mace)
Fox has a second chance, a to-do list, a stolen lightsaber, and a complete willingness to give everyone around him grey hairs. Plus a Jedi Master to seduce. It's going to be a ride.
*cackles* Fox deserved this SO MUCH! Hilarious and satisfying.
Magic Casements by @edwardianspinsteraunt​ (A Little Princess, gen)
Becky is the one who rescues Mr Carrisford's monkey, and so the one whom the Magic happens to instead.
Captures the sweet magic and friendship of the original while making some sharp points about its class issues.
INVESTIGATIONS
The Striped Leg by wildwestwind (A Study in Emerald, gen)
The Adventure of The Speckled Band, set in the world of A Study In Emerald.
This author really knows their Lovecraft, which brings a rich and creepy new dimension to this very classic case. Mmm, pastiche perfection.
A Country Mile by @bropunzeling​ (Think of England, Fen/Pat)
“You want us to go to a house party? Really?”
“I hate to ask it of you,” Daniel said, voice muffled in that queer way one got with the telephone. "But I need someone I can trust to look after things there until then. Would you?”
Fen and Pat attend a house party and encounter: poison (pen letters); poison (literal); perilous dinner conversation; potential friendship; and physics.
Danger, espionage, female friendship, a lady scientist, general competence in the face of misogyny, Fen's self-esteem issues vs Pat's unswerving support, and a damn good read: what more could you want?
What It All Comes Down To by phnelt/ @phneltwrites​ (Think of England, canon pairings)
“Those blighters—” strong language from Fen there. Pat has been working on her in regards to fruity language but Fen hasn’t much taken to it. “ —won’t let women shoot at these newfangled Olympics games, despite England boasting some of the best women shooters in the world. Present company very much included.” Fen gets so heated when she advocates. It brings up a healthy colour to her cheeks. Pat smiles at her, helplessly. “So we simply must show them how good women can be by having Pat train you up from nothing so you can trounce them in the name of her club and in front of the eyes of God and the Olympic Committee.” If this wasn’t obviously one of Fen’s schemes it would be clear after her speech.
Charming friendship-centric story, with some light intrigue on the civilian side of things for once.
UNEXPECTED MEETINGS
Poiesis (Making) by ama (Queen's Thief, gen + Costis/Kamet)
Kamet is bewildered by a summons he receives to meet with the King of Sounis. After all, what could they possibly have to discuss?
Post-canon interlude where Kamet and Sophos bond over poetry, with great character writing.
Scene on a Balcony by Mary_West (Lord Peter, gen + Sylvia/Eiluned)
8th October 1935 and it's the wedding of the year - Lord Peter Wimsey and Miss Harriet Vane have finally tied the knot. But the wedding breakfast (served at the Dowager Duchess' London house) is getting a little heated. So the balcony is an excellent place to which to escape.
If anyone ever needed a sensible lesbian auntie, it's Jerry - but also this is sweet and funny and well-observed, from the wedding details to the practicalities of being queer at the time.
The Nuclear Option by Tangerine/ @atangeriner​ (From Eroica with Love, Klaus/Dorian)
When Klaus needs help with a family affair, Dorian is more than happy to offer his services.
Superb, satisfying, full of banter and yearning, and I love the slow reveal of wtf is going on with Klaus.
Time Enough by fresne/ @fresne999​ (Ethan of Athos, Ethan/Terrence)
Terrence Cee had spent most of his life feeling like a jumpship caught in the gravity well of a blackhole. Engines on full bore. Only able to keep out of the crushing center, but never able to escape. Now in his new life on Athos, he found himself unsure of how to find a new pace.
Ethan wondered if there was a way to get his love life gestating again. Not frozen like zygotes stored in a bio-freezer against some eventual future.
Sweet get-together for the boys that addresses Terrence's trauma and socially deficient upbringing, plus meet-the-family shenanigans and rich worldbuilding for Athos in all its problematic glory. I am retroactively very pleased with myself for nominating this fandom for Yuletide (even if it took me a few months to get around to this one)!
and remains quiet by marycrawford/ @mcvices​ (Nirvana in Fire, gen)
She picks up her cup and sips delicately of the chrysanthemum tea she brought. It is cooling and calming. She doesn’t need calming, but Mei Changsu might. She is about to administer a medicine that the patient will find disagreeable.
The patient looks fevered, at the moment. “What is wrong with Jingyan?”
The AU divergence point is a little oblique - if I'm reading correctly, the Emperor dies early during the war and Consort Jing takes advantage of her Dowager status to go north to see MCS - but honestly who cares about the premise, because holy SHIT this author writes Consort Jing to perfection, in all her ruthlessly compassionate (or compassionately ruthless?) complexity.
PORN WITH FEELINGS
No Pity, But a Little Love by beautifulduckweed (Will Darling Adventures, Will/Kim)
The author's summary is a mess so I'm leaving it out, but this is a great post-series look at their relationship that captures their banter and mutual delight, plus Will getting exposed to more queer spaces, all structured around Will attempting anal sex again under less fraught circumstances.
Privacy by Resonant (Due South, Fraser/RayK)
“Guess it’s a while since you had a door with a lock on it?”
“I’ve never had a door with a lock on it."
I don't know how long it's been since Resonant wrote new DS fic, but she always nails (heh) their weird and weird-about-each-other charm and this is no exception!
through the desert, repenting by beautifulduckweed (Think of England, Archie/Daniel)
Daniel da Silva comes face-to-face with the deadly consequences of making a mistake and turns to a bad childhood habit to cope—but it's not enough, and Archie Curtis doesn't know how to help.
AKA the one where Archie counters Daniel's self-harm with sex, or as the author's tags put it "In the absence of therapy banging it out will have to do".
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BFCD Black Women in Horror/Monsters & More Masterlist
Black Women in Horror | Final Girls | Slayers | BFCD Monsters & More Masterlists 
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Abbie Mills Sleepy Hollow | Abby Williams Abby 1974 | Abigail Bellweather Motherland: Fort Salem | Abigail Bennett The Vampire Diaries | Adelaide Wilson/Red Us | Alberta Ghosts US | Alexa Woods Alien VS Predator | Alice Autofac, Electric Dreams | Alma Walker American Horror Story: Asylum | Amy Bellafonte The Passage | Akasha Queen of the Damned |  Amanda Fisher Ash VS Evil Dead |  Anacostia Quartermaine Motherland: Fort Salem | Angelina Johnson Harry Potter Verse | Aneela Kin Rit Killjoys | Anita Friday the 13th Pt 5: A New Beginning |  Anne Body Bags: The Gas Station | Anne Marie McCoy Candyman | Annie Keller Monsterland | Annie Sawyer Being Human UK | Apocalypta Dead 7 | Annabelle Cane The Magnus Archives | Ariel The Little Mermaid | Aya Al-Rashid The Originals
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Beatrice Bennett The Vampire Diaries |  Belle Fright Night: Part II | Beloved (Book and Movie Beloved) | Bernadette Walsh Candyman | Bertha Van Weld Sanjay and Craig | Betty Resident Evil | Billie Supernatural | Bonnie Bennett The Vampire Diaries | Braeden Teen Wolf | Bree The Vampire Diaries | Brianna Cartwright Candyman Reboot | Brianna Collier Escape Room 2 |  Bubble Valerian and The City of a Thousand Planets |
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Candace Preston Light As a Feather | Carla Spectros | Carmen Eguiluz Always a Witch | Carola Tales from the Darkside: The Movie | Caroline Newcliffe The Beast Must Die | Catarina Loss Shadowhunters | Charvel Bellweather Motherland: Fort Salem | Chocolate Rats Night of Terror | Christine Daae The Phantom of the Opera | Cisely Batiste Eve’s Bayou | Claudette Morel Dead By Daylight | Clementine Chasseur Hemlock Grove | Cleo Sowande Legacies | Cleophas Garroway Shadowhunters | Connie The Walking Dead | Cressida Into the Badlands | Cym The Forsaken | Cynthia Bones |
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Dana Cardinal Welcome to Nightvale | Dead Girl Jessebelle | Death of the Endless Sandman | Detective Evans Chucky | Diane Death Bed | Donna Siren | Donna Chadway Stigmata | Dr. Cushing Tales from the Hood |
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Efiya Kingdom of Souls Series | Ela I AM |  Elizabeth Henshaw The Haunted Mansion | Élodie Rakoto Dead by Daylight | Elphaba Wicked | Elzora Eve’s Bayou | Emily Bennett The Vampire Diaries | Epiphany Proudfoot Angelheart | Evillene The Wiz
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Farah Hauville The Wayhaven Chronicles | Fiji Cavanaugh Midnight, Texas | Fliss Dubois Man of Medan | Freak Bride (Kimmy) The Purge: Election Year | Frey Holland Forspoken | Fringilla Vigo The Witcher 
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Ganja Meda Ganja & Hess | Georgie Barker The Magnus Archives | Gladys Cravitz Chucky | Glinda The Wizard of Oz/Wiz | Grace Creepshow Series: Sibling Rivalry | Grandmother Raised by Wolves |  Gretel Monroe  Shadowhunters
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Hallie McDaniel Scream 2 | Hanna Lovecraft Country | Hannah Grose The Haunting of Bly Manor | Harriet Johnson The House on Skull Mountain | Hermione Granger Weasley  Harry Potter Verse | Hippolyta Freeman Lovecraft Country |
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Izzy Bit |
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Jackie Heath The Devil’s Advocate | Jada Shields Charmed Reboot | Jade Wesker Resident Evil | Jennifer Remming Sweetheart | Jeryline Demon Knight | Jill The Skeleton Key |  Jillian Hope Hodgson Channel Zero: The Dream Door | Jordan Gladwell iZombie | Jungle Julia Death Proof |
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Kachiri Twlight | Kaela Evers Supernova | Karen Jenson Blade | Karla Wilson I Still Know What You Did Last Summer | Kate Wynona Earp | Katrina Vamp | Keisha Taylor Alice Isn’t Dead | Kelly The Walking Dead | Kendra Young Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Kindzi Defiance | Kira The Invitation 2015 | Kitty Ghosts UK | Koster Shocking Dark | Kym Hawkins Legacies |
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Lacey Emery Ash VS Evil Dead | Ladybird Dracula, NBC | Lanaia Shadowhunters | Laney Rucker The Purge: Election Year | Lauren Howell The Day of the Dead TV |  Leeza Scarborough Midnight Mass | Lena Aruza Night of the Cobra Woman | Linda B Emery Ash VS Evil Dead | Lisa Fortier Scream, Blacula, Scream | Lizzie The Perfection | Lorena Christophe The House on Skull Mountain | Lucinda & Melissa Cavender  ABC Family’s Halloween special ‘The Midnight Hour’ | Luisa Manjimbe Mortel |  Lydia Daybreak Paradise Killer
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Macy Vaughn Charmed Reboot | Madame Zeroni Holes | Maddie Bishop Siren | Maeve Millay Westworld | Maia Roberts Shadowhunters | Mama Cecile The Skeleton Key | Maria Trick ‘R Treat | Maria Elkman Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest | Mariana The Howling 2: Your Sister is a Werewolf | Marie Laveau American Horror Story | Marlene The Last of Us | Matty Mereaux Eve’s Bayou | Mazikeen DC Universe | Medusa Greek Mythology | Melanie The Girl with The Gifts | Merrick The Vampire Chronicles: Merrick | Mia Vallens Supernatural | Michonne The Walking Dead | Mileena Mortal Kombat 2021 | Minerva Bellweather Motherland: Fort Salem | Miranda Dubaur Twitches | Miranda Grey Gothika | Miss Cobbs Tales from the Hood | Missouri Moseley Supernatural | Mistress East Emerald City | Misty Carpenter Into the Dark: Crawlers | Mozelle Batiste Delacroix Eve’s Bayou | Ms. Connors Class of 1999
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Nada The Sandman | Nadia Omar Castle Rock | Nari Unfriended: Dark Web | Natalie Gorman Servant | Nicole Birch The Order | Nora Harris The Last of Us 2 |
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Old Woman Josie Welcome to Nightvale | Olivia Two Sentence Horror Stories: Teeth
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Pamela Winchell Welcome to Nightvale | Pauline Christophe The House on Skull Mountain | Pearl Bones | Petra Bellweather Motherland: Fort Salem | Phoebe Taylor A Discovery of Witches | Portia Supernatural | Prudence Blackwood The Sabrina Show on Netflix | Purna Jackson Dead Island
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Queenie American Horror Story
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Ramona Royale American Horror Story: Hotel | Raquel Francis Crazyhead |  Reba McClane Hannibal | Rebecca Jessel  The Haunting of Bly Manor | Regina Moss Malignant | Riley Abel The Last of Us | Rita Veder Vampire in Brooklyn | Roberta Warren Z Nation | Robin Ayou Subnautica: Below Zero | Rochelle Left 4 Dead | Rochelle Zimmerman The Craft | Rosalind Walker Sabrina Netflix | Rose Granger Weasley Harry Potter Verse | Rosemary Demons | Roxanne Weasley  Harry Potter Verse | Roz Batiste Eve’s Bayou | Ruby Baptiste Lovecraft Country | Ruby Williams The People Under the Stairs |
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Sasha Williams The Walking Dead | Senna  Twilight | Sheila Bennett The Vampire Diaries | Sheva Alomar Resident Evil 5 | Simone Bethson The Saw Franchise | Sunny Nwazue  The Nsibidi Scripts |
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Tabby The Craft Legacy | Tallulah Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood |  Tara Thornton True Blood | The Temptress Def By Temptation |  Tituba Salem | Topsy and Bopsy Lovecraft Country |
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Valentina Suicide by Sunlight | Vanessa Brooks Blade | Vampira | Vampirella | Vicky Stanton Children of the Corn 2009 | Viv Allen October Faction |
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Wilhamena Mettle OK Let’s Be Heroes |
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Yvonne A Nightmare on Elm Street Series |
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Zafrina Twilight | Zoe Head Count |
Children in Horror | BFCD Family Friendly Spooky Season |
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Abra Stone Doctor Sleep |  Chichi of Nimm The Nsibidi Scripts | Clementine The Walking Dead Game | Diana Freeman Lovecraft Country | Erica Sinclair Stranger Things | Eve Batiste Eve’s Bayou | Yasmin Nightbooks | Zora Wilson Us |
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Bree Disney’s Z-O-M-B-I-E-S | Clawdeen, Clawdia, Wolf Monster High | Eliza Zambi Disney’s Z-O-M-B-I-E-S | Harper Dunn Secrets of Sulphur Springs |  Honey Swamp Monster High | Howleen Wolf Monster High | Kelly Ferguson A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting | Luna The Hex Girls, Scooby Doo | Luz Noceda The Owl House | Marceline The Vampire Queen Adventure Time | Maya Abeola Maya and the Rising Dark Series | Megan Evers The Haunted Mansion | Robecca Steam Monster High | Sarah Fox My Babysitter’s a Vampire | Taranee Cook W.I.T.C.H. | Uncanny Valley Miraculous Ladybug | Willa Lykensen Disney’s Z-O-M-B-I-E-S |  Wydowna Spider Monster High
*List will be updated throughout October* 
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tvsotherworlds · 1 year
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ricardian-werewolf · 3 years
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A list of current characters in my Boardwalk empire fanfic who’re supernaturals, or becoming ones:
For further context, vampirism in this alternate universe is seen as the “hot” new thing, until prohibition creates serious problems.
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Enoch (Nucky) Thompson - turned by his (now dead) wife, and uses this newfound power to easily rise to his current position.
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Richard Harrow - turned as a result of his injuries, and working to understand his new state of being.
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Nelson Van Alden (George Mueller) - a severe hater of vampires and all supernaturals, has come to Atlantic City on more than prohibition agent business.
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Margaret Schroeder (Thompson) - turned by her ex husband when they wedded.
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Doctor Harriet West- turned by her first husband in 1912. Only vampire medical professional in Atlantic City. Has two children, one who’s adopted by Van Alden.
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Angela Darmody - turned by her photographer girlfriend, but metamorphosis failed, leaving her a dhampire. Currently recovering and receiving care from Doctor West.
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Charlie Luciano - a mix of Sicilian vampirism mixed in with some Americana gives him the ability to be a daywalker. The only Italian vampire mentioned in BOI who can do such a thing.
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Meyer Lansky - born as a werewolf, he is the only non vampire entity who shows up in blood of the immortals.
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Benny (Bugsy) Siegel - the adopted “son” of Meyer Lansky and Charlie Luciano. Currently a human, but has long term plans of turning into a supernatural.
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Fitzwilliam Darcy - a side character brought into BOI through his little sister’s courting of Richard Harrow. Has been a vampire since 1810.
Unfortunately, I can’t provide any more images, but here’s a further list of supernaturals in BOI;
1. Gyp Rossetti, similar to Charlie, but a full blooded Italian with some added carpathian (they say).
2. Masseria is rumored to be a supernatural, although this isn’t confirmed.
3. Howard Greene - the husband of Sonia Greene, Howard is a supernatural entity that is neither a vampire nor a werewolf. He is something older, and more terrifying.
4. Mina and Maria Lovecraft-Wests. The children of Harriet, these girls look human, but have the powers of vampires inherited from their respective fathers.
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fictionz · 3 years
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Short Horror Stories for the Season
I’m striving to read another 31 spooky short stories in October. I thought it’d be neat to share the stories I’ve collected from previous years since I often find myself wishing for lists like this as I research new stories and authors.
I’m not a devout genre reader so it’s a mix of stories that may not fall into traditional horror categories, but are still intense reads or appropriate to the moods of the season. I've made sure to include more than just white men from the United States and Western Europe. There’s a line from each story as well to get a sense of what’s in there.
Some stories contain disturbing, violent, and/or sexual content, so fare thee warned.
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"His Face All Red" by Emily Carroll - “This man is not my brother.”
"The Vampyre" by John Polidori - “His peculiarities caused him to be invited to every house...”
"Lost Souls" by Clive Barker - “Hell possessed a genius for deceit.”
"The Striding Place" by Gertrude Atherton - “Weigall did not believe for a moment that Wyatt Gifford was dead...”
"Dracula's Guest" by Bram Stoker - “Ah! I see, a suicide. How interesting!”
"I am Anjuhimeko" by Hiromi Itō - “That's right, how could anyone possibly have karma as bad as mine?”
"Patient Zero" by Tananrive Due - “So I guess I’ll never have a chance to talk to the President again.”
"If you meet a strange, confident woman, she may well be a witch" by pelsmith - “By the end of the third victim, I slept like a lamb.”
"The Things" by Peter Watts - “I am being Blair. I escape out the back as the world comes in through the front.”
"In the Court of the Dragon" by Robert W. Chambers - “Poor devil! whoever he was, there seemed small hope of escape!”
"The Specialist's Hat" by Kelly Link - “Claire is better at being Dead than Samantha.”
"I want you in my mouth" by lovejoyman - “The first thing Frank noticed, of course, were her breasts...”
"A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman - “I am selfish, private and easily bored. Will this be a problem?”
"The Ghost in the Mill" by Harriet Beecher Stowe - Wal, I know lots o' strange things...
"The Shadow Over Innsmouth" by H.P. Lovecraft - “And why is everybody so down on Innsmouth?”
"From a Farther Room" by David Gilbert - “Alert the media: unhappy, middle-aged white man on the loose.”
"The Overcoat" by Nikolai Gogol - “The young officials laughed at and made fun of him, so far as their official wit permitted.”
"Harold" by Alvin Schwartz - “Now and then the doll grunted, but that was all.”
"The Complete Gentleman" by Amos Tutuola - “When he reached where he hired the left foot, he pulled it out...”
"Der Erlkönig" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, composed by Franz Schubert - “Father, don't you see the Erl-King?”
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates - “He wagged a finger and laughed and said, 'Gonna get you, baby.'”
"A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor - “Yes and what would you do if this fellow, The Misfit, caught you?”
"Peter Rugg, The Missing Man" by William Austin - “I have heard it asserted that Heaven sometimes sets a mark on a man, either for judgment or a trial.”
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner - “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care...”
"Ted the Caver" by Ted - “He said it sounded like rock sliding on rock. Sort of a grinding sound.”
"The Black Cat" by Edgar Allan Poe - “The fury of a demon instantly possessed me.”
"Death and Transfiguration of a Teacher" by Maria Teresa Solari - “I took off her sock and bit into the heel.”
"Who Will Greet You At Home" by Lesley Nneka Arimah - “Her mother had formed her from mud and twigs...”
"Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers" by Alyssa Wong - “...the rankness of his thoughts leaves a stain in the air.”
"Whole" by firmuhment - “When I first noticed the hole, it was small, really small.”
"A Distant Episode" by Paul Bowles - “The sound of the flute came up from the depths below at intervals...”
"The Apparition of Mrs. Veal" by Daniel Defoe (1706) - “If the eyes of our faith were as open as the eyes of our body, we should see numbers of angels about us for our guard.”
"The Adventure of the German Student" by Washington Irving (1824) - “He was, in a manner, a literary goul, feeding in the charnel house of decayed literature.”
"The Phantom Coach" by Amelia B. Edwards (1864) - “Against what superstition have they waged so long and obstinate a war, as against the belief in apparitions?”
"The Soul of the Great Bell" by Lafcadio Hearn (1887) - “All the workmen wrought their tasks in silence; there was no sound heard but the muttering of the fires.”
"The Damned Thing" by Ambrose Bierce (1898) - “All seemed to be waiting for something to occur; the dead man only was without expectation.”
"Afterward" by Edith Wharton (1910) - “The sunny English noon had swallowed him as completely as if he had gone out into Cimmerian night.”
"The Demon Lover" by Elizabeth Bowen (1945) - “You have no time to run from a face you do not expect.”
"The Lonesome Place" by August Derleth (1948) - “What do they know about a place and time when a boy is very small and very alone, and the night is as big as the town, and the darkness is the whole world?”
"A Visit" (prev. "The Lovely House") by Shirley Jackson (1952) - “A tile is missing from the face of Margaret, who died for love.”
"The Tower" by Marghanita Laski (1955) - “There was nothing left in her brain but the steadily mounting tally of the steps.”
"Night Surf" by Stephen King (1969) - “He said his name was Alvin Sackheim. He kept calling for his grandmother.”
"Don't Look Now" by Daphne du Maurier (1971) - “How to replace the life of a loved lost child with a dream?”
"Jacqueline Ess: Her Will and Testament" by Clive Barker (1984) - “If one has given oneself utterly, watching the beloved sleep can be a vile experience.”
"███████" by Joyce Carol Oates (1998) - “Each of us had one, in our bowls. Warm and pulsing with life and fear radiating from it like raw nerves.”
"In the Water Works (Birmingham, Alabama 1888)" by Caitlin R. Kiernan (2000) - “Fresh wound, these walls, this abscess hollowed into the world’s thin skin.”
"Vampire Princess" by Ryuki Mao (2004) - “The human will want to take you into the light, saying it’s for your own good.”
"Cruel Sistah" by Nisi Shawl (2005) - “One singing note, which he raised and lowered slowly. High and yearning. Soft and questioning. With its voice.” 
"The You Train" by N.K. Jemisin (2007) - “All the defunct lines, the dead lines. I think they never really go away.”
"Wet Pain" by Terence Taylor (2007) - “It doesn’t matter whether you believe in ghosts if they believe in you.”
"Hello, Moto" by Nnedi Okorafor (2011) - “It always felt so good to take from people, not just their money but their very essence.”
"Monstro" by Junot Díaz (2012) - “Motherfuckers used to say culo would be the end of us. Well, for me it really was.”
"Pearls" by Priya Sharma (2012) - “All because you couldn't have me.”
"Bugs" by Ageha (2013) - “Hey, pinky promise you’ll play with me.”
"Out of Skin" by Emily Carroll (2013) - “A heap of wet skin and decaying cloth, crowded inside a dark pit I’d never seen before.”
"The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis" by Karen Russell (2013) - “Yolk came oozing out of the mystery, covering all our hands, so that we became involved.”
"How to Get Back to the Forest" by Sofia Samatar (2014) - “The smell in the bathroom was terrible now--an animal smell, hot; it thrashed around and it had fur.”
"None of This Ever Happened" by Gabriela Santiago (2016) - “Someone has to write Uhura looking out the window and dreaming of home.”
"Wish You Were Here" by Nadia Bulkin (2016) - “Hopefully, by the time the world ends, you’ll be gone.”
"Sixteen Minutes" by Premee Mohamed (2016) - “I felt its breath in the night sometimes, like the warm, moist breath of my son when he’d crawl into bed with us.”
"The Taming of the Tongue" by Russell Nichols (2016) - “You don’t know what this boy wants you to see way out here, but ain’t nothing worth getting eaten alive for.”
"A Diet of Worms" by Valerie Valdes (2016) - “Hell, maybe you’ll even stay and watch the movie.”
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wanna-b-poet31 · 4 years
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A Mini Meta: What’s In A Name? (1.5/?)
So Like, I do a bunch of research for my metas and in pursuit of this one, I’ve had to learn wayyyy too much about each character’s name and meanings/origins. But because there’s no real place for me to put them in my planned metas, and I still have all this information to info-dump, here it is! A master list of all the character’s >probable< meanings. Consider this a Mini-Meta. 
Find Part 1 Here: (X)
Our Ineffable Duo
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Aziraphale:
Note: Azrael, a possible interpretation of his name, means “one who God helps” and is often attributed to the Angel of Death.  
Anthony J. Crowley:
The elephant in the room with Crowley is “Crawley” and all I’m going to say about it is that Crowley’s right, it’s too “crawling on the ground-y sounding”.
Anthony, on the other hand, means “of inestimable worth”, which I feel is a good balance to his deadname. Crowley deserves this and every ego boost. Someone give him a hug.
The name “Crowley”’s meaning is at most Gaelic for heroic, although from a demonic standpoint, there is also no one-for-one model. There is an Aleister Crowley but he’s a real person who is known as the “evilest man to ever live” or some such moniker. But there is no connection between the demon and the person. I’d even argue that by giving himself a “J”  Crowley puts distance between himself and Aleister.
Note: Although Supernatural also sports a “Crowley” character, Good Omens predates the TV-Show and so no connection can honestly be made.
The Them
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Adam Young:
Adam’s name has many significant implications beyond just sharing it with the first man and first person to leave Eden. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell ya’ll that in Akkadian, the word stems from the word “Adamu” which translates to “to make”. And I find this phenomenally relevant to his naming and unnaming powers.
Pippin “Pepper” Moonchild:
I have SOOOO much to say about the implications of nicknames, but for this mini-meta, I’ll just leave you with this: Pippin loosely means foreigner, and while that doesn’t really connect with her character much, neither does the name Pippin so I feel that works.
Pepper, however, simply means “berry”, but I think on a much more literal level the name “Pepper” refers to her firey and passionate sensibilities.
Brian I-Couldn’t-Find-A-Last-Name:
Brian loosely means “noble one” and given he’s ready to throw down against even his best friend if it meant saving the world and standing up to an all-powerful 11-year-old with immeasurable supernatural abilities with a crow-bar. I’d call that pretty noble.
Jeremy Wensleydale:
This name took an outrageous amount to time for me to research. I’m not touching Jeremy, because literally, no one calls him it, it has no power over him. Wensleydale, however, refers to a real place in England, apparently, they’re known for their cheeses. Here, “dale” refers to a town and “Wensley” is valley named after the god “Woden” AKA Odin, AKA Norse god of wisdom and culture and war. Which Idk how closely he’s related to Odin, I do think the wisdom and class resonate with Wensleydale’s character. Of all the Them, he’s the most bookish, and most overt with his love of books.
The Angels
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Michael:
Literally means “Who is like God” in Hebrew, and is the only named Archangel in the Bible. I find it interesting that this name is meant to be a rhetorical question, meaning no one is like God. However, Heaven clearly has, let’s say, ignored this question and ruled as if they are God.
Gabriel:
God’s Messanger, whose name means “God is my strength”, which, I think he takes to an extreme. Yes, he clearly gets his power from his belief God has ordained a war he will win, but more than that, he also seems convinced that all of his >abusive< actions are blessed by God, despite the series making it very clear, she isn’t talking to anyone.
Uriel:
“God is My Light”.  Like Gabriel, I find this name infinitely amusing because yes, Uriel has a fiery personality like Pepper, short-tempered, and ready for a fight, little they do is actually from the mouth of God. Uriel is also closely associated with Noah’s Ark, reportedly being the angel who warns Noah and his family of the impending flood. Although we can’t know if they did or did not question killing the kids like Crowley and Aziraphale did, as it wasn’t on screen, based on their other actions, I’m gonna say no.
Sandalphon:
Note: It’s interesting that his name is wholly dependent on the existence of “brothers” and implies he serves as a mirroring character...of whom idk yet.
Metatron:
Although MANY theologians have argued over the meaning of this name, the most popular definition means “beside the throne”, and refers to the person next to God’s Throne. This works well as he is shown to be the mediator between God’s word and the Angels. This is less good because he clearly hasn’t talked to, or isn’t willing to let others talk to God.
The Demons
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Ligur:
So, Ligur is not a canonical demon. Consequently, his name has no set meaning. He’s not a “real” demon with a 1-for-1 equivalent floating through Hell. My best guess is that it’s a reference to a Chuthulu Mythological Race “Lloigor” which is known for being invisible, but when they do show themselves, are distinctly reptilic. Which, I think vibes well with the chameleon on top of his head.  
Hastur:
Note: A strict etymological breakdown of the name is associated with “chaos” and is meant to denote one who revels in destruction for destruction’s sake. It’s also very fitting for Hastur, given his desire to cause fiery chaos.  Like Metatron, there are many interpretations you can find here: (x).
Beelzebub:
Note: Beelzebub is a real demon with a fascinating mythos you can read more about here (x). Seriously, ya’ll I have a million citations, please hmu if you want more info.
Note 2: Also! Also! Also, Beezlebub makes an appearance in Lovecraftian stories and Chuthulu mythos.
Dagon:
Note: Dagon makes a few appearances in Lovecraft’s work...there’s a short story called “Dagon”... and while they’re often not included in the Chuthulu mythos, the short story “Dagon” is the first to introduce Chuthulu-like elements...so? #canon in my eyes.  
The Humans
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Anathema Device:
Anathema is pretty straight forward. The name refers to someone who is detested or shunned. But more Bible-related-y Anathema refers either to something that was consecrated or to someone denounced as evil or accursed and therefore set aside for sacrificial offering. Which, is pretty much the role of Anathema. Her family has chosen to sacrifice her and her freedom in exchange to stop the end of the world. While I wouldn’t call her evil or cursed, she is definitely detested (as a witch) by the Witchfinders and Adultery Pulsifer.  
Agnes Nutter:
Alternatively: Agnes Sampson was a Scottish healer and purported witch known as the "Wise Wife of Keith". Sampson was burned in the North Berwick witch trials.
Alternatively: Agnes Waterhouse was the first person executed for witchcraft in England (1566). However, she was hanged, not burned like Sampson and Nutter.
Newton Pulsifer:
Like the character himself, Newton’s name is pretty unremarkable. It means “New Town”. Not much depth to his name. However, a “Newt” does have some religious imagery attached to its name. It supposedly symbolizes rebirth and renewal, which flows with his character arc.
Madame Tracy:
Tracy refers to “Warrior” and can sometimes mean “superior to” and “more powerful”. All of these seem to fit with a woman willing to share her body with an Angel and stand at the end of the world without flinching. Also, she clearly overrode Aziraphale’s choice to shoot a child and refused to do something she couldn’t and wouldn’t do. she’s a badass.  
Shadwell:
Shadwell means a shallow spring, but it is also a place in West London. Given Shadwell’s naming strategies I’d actually not be too surprised if he just named himself after a street name he saw. He’s not too creative.
Warlock Dowling:
Warlock means “Deceiver” and like if that’s not his life story. Through no real fault of his own, he spends the first 11 years of his life as the prophecized Anti-Christ by Heaven, Hell, and our ineffable Duo. I suppose you could say he deceived them, but really, I think it’s hilariously on the nose as he’s the not-Anti-Christ.
Harriet Dowling:
Harriet is of French origin, and means “estate ruler” and as the diplomat’s wife, I think it’s fair to say she rules the huge estate we see in the series.  
Thaddeus Dowling:
Thaddeus is likely Greek meaning “heart” and surprisingly (maybe only to me) in the Gospel of Matthew, appears as one of the apostles, although later in the Gospel the name “Jude” is also mentioned, and likely is referencing the same person.  
Sister Mary Loquacious:
“Mary” often translates to beloved or rebellious, while Loquacious refers to “talkative” which, man. I kinda love it, because she’s one of the characters who not only talks alot (relative to her short time on-screen) but also is a sweetheart.
Diedre Young:
Diedre is a young Gaelic princess who died of a broken heart, although its etymology could also just mean “young girl”.  Little is relevant to the larger arching story.
Arthur Young:
“Arthur” is Celtic for King, and legends from the round table (and some references from Ep. 3) aside, little about his name seems relevant to the story.
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theblerdgurl · 4 years
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Check out the new comic series collaboration by Ed Brubaker and @PanelSyndicate (they have a unique pay-what-you-want digital format). Then, read my interview with the creators over at @SYFYWire https://bit.ly/2zetnKN
Indie Comics Spotlight: Ed Brubaker & Marcos Martin’s 'FRIDAY' leans into Harriet the Spy & H.P. Lovecraft
For more than a decade, Ed Brubaker has transformed the landscape of crime noir graphic novel storytelling. However, his latest work, Panel Syndicate's Friday, might surprise you. The award-winning writer is known for highlighting the humanity in criminals who must live with the consequences of thei...
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weirdletter · 4 years
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Spaces and Fictions of the Weird and the Fantastic: Ecologies, Geographies, Oddities (Geocriticism and Spatial Literary Studies), edited by Julius Greve and Florian Zappe, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. Cover image: Netfalls Remy Master/Shutterstock, info: palgrave.com.
This collection of essays discusses genre fiction and film within the discursive framework of the environmental humanities and analyses the convergent themes of spatiality, climate change, and related anxieties concerning the future of human affairs, as crucial for any understanding of current forms of “weird” and “fantastic” literature and culture. Given their focus on the culturally marginal, unknown, and “other,” these genres figure as diagnostic modes of storytelling, outlining the latent anxieties and social dynamics that define a culture’s “structure of feeling” at a given historical moment. The contributions in this volume map the long and continuous tradition of weird and fantastic fiction as a seismograph for eco-geographical turmoil from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century, offering innovative and insightful ecocritical readings of H.P. Lovecraft, Harriet Prescott Spofford, China Miéville, N.K. Jemisin, Thomas Ligotti, and Jeff VanderMeer, among others.
Contents: Foreword: Weird Geographies, Fantastic Maps – Robert T. Tally Jr. Acknowledgements 1. Introduction: Ecologies and Geographies of the Weird and the Fantastic – Julius Greve and Florian Zappe 2. Naturhorror and the Weird – Eugene Thacker 3.Uncanny New Worlds in Harriet Prescott Spofford’s “D’Outre Mort” and “The Black Bess” – Michaela Keck 4. The Weird and the Wild: Media Ecologies of the Outré-Normative – Julius Greve 5. Queering the Weird: Unnatural Participations and the Mucosal in H.P. Lovecraft and Occulture – Patricia MacCormack 6. Geological Insurrections: Politics of Planetary Weirding from China Miéville to N.K. Jemisin – Moritz Ingwersen 7. “Indifference Would Be Such a Relief”: Race and Weird Geography in Victor LaValle and Matt Ruff’s Dialogues with H.P. Lovecraft – James Kneale 8. The Oceanic Weird, Wet Ontologies and Hydro-Criticism in China Miéville’s The Scar – Jolene Mathieson 9. “Through the Eyes of Area X”: (Dis)Locating Ecological Hope via New Weird Spatiality – Gry Ulstein 10. Inexistent Ink: Michael Cisco and Quentin Meillassoux on Writing Worlds – Ben Woodard 11. Notes on the Alluring Weirdness of (Materialist) Rumination and Regurgitation: Reading Ariana Reines and Jamie Stewart – Marius Henderson 12. Spaces of Communal Misery: The Weird Post-Capitalism of Beasts of the Southern Wild – Marlon Lieber Notes on Contributors Index
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torreygazette · 5 years
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American Literature in 2018
After much deliberation my official rankings for my 2018 reading is over. My trek through American literature has come to an end (though I still need to finish The Grapes of Wrath). And in the memory of those readings I’ve attempted to put together an ordered list of my enjoyment. This list is inherently flawed. Some of this literature is clearly too good to be placed in a list or compared. But I said I would do this. And so here it is.
An ordered attempt:
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
To A God Unknown by John Steinbeck
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Sound and Fury by William Faulkner
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Son Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Native Son by Richard Wright
The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Beautiful and Damned F. Scott Fitzgerald
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
White Fang by Jack London
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
In conjunction with an ordered list of the books, I wanted to provide an ordered list of the authors for whom I read multiple books. There were only a couple authors who got multiple books:
F. Scott Fitzgerald (4 books)
Ernest Hemingway (4 books)
John Steinbeck (3 books)
Edith Wharton (3 books)
Kurt Vonnegut (2 books)
These lists are more to make certain friends upset than to reflect some level of deep thought on my behalf. 2018 was a good year. And I’m well on my way in 2019 on British literature.
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oldshrewsburyian · 6 years
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Fic Speed Date Score Card
I’m too sleep deprived for good concentration (sleeping on the floor is not for the 30+ set, I’ve decided) and procrastinating on a book review, so I’m doing this from @educatedinyellow instead. 
When it comes to your own fics, which one do you think is…
The funniest: I... do I even write humor? Ok, these Elementary drabbles.
The most romantic: Peter and Harriet are, and will always be, my ultimate standard in fictional relationships. Perhaps the most romantic of the ficlets I’ve written for them is this one. Oh, but maybe also: this fic, for the not-impossible Bel and Freddie.
The most unusual: Without competition, this Sartre/Shakespeare crossover.
The scariest: Lovecraftian horrors, in a Neil Gaiman/Holmesian pastiche.
The sexiest: Um. The number of my fics in which sex even occurs is... two? three? I’m going to give this one, for Timeless, the edge.
The saddest: The Silver Swan. I wrote medieval history/Shakespeare fanfic, which means you can’t even pretend the main character didn’t die this way, because he DID.
The prettiest: The Other Half of the World. Is anyone asking for Casablanca fanfic? No. But here it is! Lots of meandering through 1940s Lisbon and NYC ensues. And angst (it’s what I do best.)
The most exciting: 1920s derring-do with two of my favorite detectives (x)
The happiest: Domestic fluff for people who deserve it. Yes.
The most realistic: Um... awkward conversations over coffee? (x)
The most fantastical: Clearly the Neil Gaiman/H.P. Lovecraft/Arthur Conan Doyle pastiche. (Double-dipping on this one.) 
The most complex: The Craven Hive. Though I say it m’self, I’m quite proud of this post-WWI Sherlock Holmes casefic novella. 
The simplest: Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, and puppies. That’s all.
The closest to what you wanted it to be: Somewhat to my own surprise, The Always Puzzle. It just... turned out well, I think.
Tagging, in the usual non-exclusive and -obligatory way, @lucyemers, @disgruntled-detectives, @kivrin, @shredsandpatches. Feel free to take this as your invitation if you feel like it!
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Black Femme Character Dependency Dark Skin Directory || Characters Masterlist Pr. 1 (A-J)
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A
Abbie Mills | Adelaide Wilson/Red | Agent 355 | Agura Ibaden | Aleesha Morrison | Alexa Brandt | Alexandra Crane | Allison Sawyer | Amanda Stern | Amari Peters | Amber Bennett | Amie Sammuelson Conde | Amina Ramsey | Amy Bellafonte | Anaya Imanu | Angel Dynamite | Angela Abar | Angela Goddard | Angela Moore | Angela Vaughn | Anissa Pierce | Anita Fthe13th | Annalise Keating | Annie Keller | Annie Pearson | Antigone | Aphasia | April Sexton | Apocalypta | Arabella | Artemis | Ashley Banks |  Ashley Collins | August King | Ava Coleman | Aya Al-Rashid | Ayo | Azima Kandie 
B
Barbara Howard | Becca Palmerstone | Beckett Mariner | Becky | Becky Todd | Bella Crawford | Belle Newman | Betty | Billie the Reaper | Bilquis | Bisma | Blackfire | Bo | Bobbi | Bow Kid | Bree Matthews | Bumblebee
C
Caprice Winters | Carmen Eguiluz | Carol | Carol Lockhart | Carole Clarke | Catherine Halliday | Catty Noir | Celeste Bisme Lyons | Celie Johnson | Chantelle Blades | Charlotte Page | Cherise | Chondra Unkrich | Clash | Claudia Grant | Cleo Sowande | Cleopatra Jones | Cobra | Coffee | Cocoa Cookie | Coco Conners | Coco Monvoisin | Condola Hayes | Conny Spalding | Cressida | Cynthia Rose Adams
D
Daisy Grant | Damita | Dana Mythical Quest | Darli Dagger | Dayna Mellanby | Death of the Endless | Deja Pearson | Delilah Benson | Denise Hayworth | Denise Johnson | Diana Freeman | Doc McStuffins | Doctor Slone | Donna Siren | Donna Meagle 
E
Ela | Elektra Abundance |  Elena Felton | Ella McFair | Elzora | Enchantress | Erin Cortland | Esi Jiwe | Esther Hopkins | Ethel Peabody | Evangeline Williamson | Eve Doll 
F
Fanta | Farah Black | Felicia | Foxxy Love | Fringilla Vigo
G
Genevieve Quik | Georgiana Lambe | Girl 6 | Grace Hitchens | Grace James |  Grace Monroe | Grace Ryder | Grace Sienar | Grace Walker | Grandmother 
H
Hailey Collins | Hallie McDaniel | Hanna Lovecraft | Hannah Grose | Hannah Steale | Harley Hidoko | Harper Bettencourt | Harriet Lennox | Harriet Tubman | Hattie Mitchell | Hazel Levesque | Henriette | Hippolyta Freeman | Holly | Honeybear | Hunter | Hunter B 15 
I
Ikora Rey |  Imane Bakhellal | Imani | Imani Izzi | Indra | Inquisitor Reva | Irene Federic | Iridessa | Iris Watkins | Ironheart | Isis
J
Jack Starbright | Janai | Jane Amphibia | Jane Hayward | Janie Egins | Janine Teagues | Jasmine TD | Jasmine Davis | Jean Peterson | Jennifer Sisko | Jenny Jackson | Jenny Pizza | Jessica Crashing | Jessica Williams | Jill TUA | Jinna | Joana Coelho | Joanna Crawford | Jodie Landon | Jojo Williams | Jolene | Jonelle Abraham | Jordan Armstrong | Jordan Moore | Josie McCoy | Juanita Benson | Judith | Julia Freeman | Juniper Andromeda | Justine Dancer
...
I ran out of time. LOL. I’ma work on it tho...
I got 2 jobs. Sometimes, I’m not gonna have the things I intend to bring.\
If anybody want me to tag them whenever I finish actually making this list, just leave it in the replies and I’ll tag everybody once I finish K-Z characters, hopefully before the month is over. 
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ricardian-werewolf · 3 years
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Below is a collection of some of @portiaadams’s character, Clara Thompson’s wardrobe, traced from fashion plates, figures of the met, and the works of deviantart artist @wickfield. Also featuring Harriet West.
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some--nobodies · 3 years
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Written by white female abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the story of Uncle Tom, a noble and dignified Christian slave. On a riverboat to New Orleans to be sold by auction, Tom rescues angelic little white girl, Little Eva, when she falls overboard. Grateful, her father Augustine St. Clare purchases Tom, and he and Eva become great friends. On Eva’s deathbed, she asks her father to free all his slaves, which he plans to do, but dies in a freak accident before he can. Tom is sold to brutal Sam Legree, and is eventually whipped to death after refusing to divulge the whereabouts of two female runaways. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sought to garner sympathy for slaves and support for abolition, by expressing the depravity of slavery, which it did successfully. Topsy is only a minor character, but her cultural impact is clear. She is described in the book as “eight or nine years old, and, besides being very black, had round shining eyes, glittering as glass beads, and wooly hair braided into little tails, which stuck out in every direction.” She was dressed in rags, and spoke in broken English, and is described as an “imp of darkness.” Ironically, her mischievousness, and the fact that she’s a thief was meant to reflect intellectual capability. However the Topsy caricature was subsequently made popular through minstrel shows and films, which depicted her as humorous instead of sympathetic. That pervasive negative image of Black kids as simple and unkempt still persists, from the serialized and bastardized Sambo, to the Little Rascal Buckwheat.  To see/hear more, visit:  www.somenobodies.com To support the show(s), visit: www.patreon.com/somenobodies - #lovecraft #lovecraftcountry #atticus #somenobodies #podcast #reviews #jonathanmajors #hbomax #hbo #newshow #atticusfreeman #wow #supreme #today #jurneesmollett #daily #review #instagood #instadaily #new #bopsyand topsy #dee #lovecraftcountry #uncletom #racism (at Boulder County, Colorado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGFaIatpgph/?igshid=1drim90hiodqe
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aion-rsa · 3 years
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How Lovecraft Country Uses Topsy and Bopsy to Address Racist Caricatures
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
The following contains spoilers for Lovecraft Country episode 8.
Lovecraft Country puts racism at the forefront of its storytelling. Anti-Blackness is as much a character as Leti and Tic. It manifests in many ways on the show, through the protagonists’ engagement with white characters and the systems they control. And through characters like Ruby, whose internalized racism sometimes puts them odds with their own. Anti-Blackness takes on a specific visual language in episode 8, “Jig-A-Bobo”, when Diana is chased by malevolent “pickaninnies”.
Diana runs away from the line to view the body of her deceased best friend, Emmet “Bobo” Till, which no one notices. She is left alone and unprotected by all of the adults in her life and is cursed by Captain Lancaster as a result. She’s beset upon by specters only she can see, they pursue her incessantly, and she can’t tell anyone about them. The ghouls takes the form of Topsy (and Bopsy, as there are two), the original “pickaninny” caricature, who was first introduced in the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Written by white female abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin tells the story of Uncle Tom, a noble and dignified Christian slave. On a riverboat to New Orleans to be sold by auction, Tom rescues angelic little white girl, Little Eva, when she falls overboard. Grateful, her father Augustine St. Clare purchases Tom, and he and Eva become great friends. On Eva’s deathbed, she asks her father to free all his slaves, which he plans to do, but dies in a freak accident before he can. Tom is sold to brutal Sam Legree, and is eventually whipped to death after refusing to divulge the whereabouts of two female runaways. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sought to garner sympathy for slaves and support for abolition, by expressing the depravity of slavery, which it did successfully.
Topsy is only a minor character, but her cultural impact is clear. She is described in the book as “eight or nine years old, and, besides being very black, had round shining eyes, glittering as glass beads, and wooly hair braided into little tails, which stuck out in every direction.” She was dressed in rags, and spoke in broken English, and is described as an “imp of darkness.” Ironically, her mischievousness, and the fact that she’s a thief was meant to reflect intellectual capability. However the Topsy caricature was subsequently made popular through minstrel shows and films, which depicted her as humorous instead of sympathetic. That pervasive negative image of Black kids as simple and unkempt still persists, from the serialized and bastardized Sambo, to the Little Rascal Buckwheat. 
In the show, Topsy (Kaelynn Harris) and Bopsy (Bianca Brewton) take the picaninny image to its frightening extreme. Their wide mouths—big enough to eat watermelon and fried chicken—are carved into sinister smiles that expose jagged teeth. Their rhythmic movement is punctuated and animalistic. Their eyes glow. When they get close to Dee, their nails grow to talons. They embody so many horror tropes, and make for some of the most straightforward horror antagonists in the series. They are made more frightening because they so accurately reflect the racist imagination they are a product of.
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Topsy and Bopsy are what all Black children look like to racist white folks, something wicked and less than human. It is possible Lancaster chose this specific imagery to project his vision of Diana onto her. But it is more likely that Diana, in response to the trauma of losing her best friend to racial violence, manifested her fear of what she looks like to the outside world as an angry, tired, traumatized, Black girl.
It is, after all, the contorted features of illustrated Topsy on the cover of Uncle Tom’s Cabin having smashed Little Eva’s head against a mirror, that first alerts Diana to the ominous presence. Diana is literally running away from all of the worst stereotypes about Black girls, and has to constantly avoid being touched by them. Lovecraft Country continues to make racial horror literal by giving form to the unspoken fears Black folks carry.
The post How Lovecraft Country Uses Topsy and Bopsy to Address Racist Caricatures appeared first on Den of Geek.
from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3iD9LjR
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weirdletter · 5 years
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American Gothic Short Stories, edited by Monika Elbert, Flame Tree Publishing, 2019. Info: flametreepublishing.com.
With handsome young men who never grow old, and the strangest of relatives appearing from dark corridors and long shadows, the frenzied imagination of the American Gothic is a fertile theme for this next anthology in the Gothic fantasy short story series. As with other titles in the series, new short fiction complements the work of classic authors.
Featuring: Foreword by Monika Elbert “Stone Baby” by Terri Bruce “The Tomb-Herd” by Ramsey Campbell “The Dark Presser” by E.E.W. Christman “Graveyards Full” by Maxx Fidalgo “Old Homeplace” by Joshua Hiles “In the Domain of Doctor Baldwin” by Russell James “Baby Girl” by Clayton Kroh “Viola’s Second Husband” by Sean Logan “The Outsiders in the Hawthorne Tomb” by Madison McSweeney “Big, Bad” by Lynette Mejía “Gothic American” by Joe Nazare “In the Bleak” by Wendy Nikel “In the Country” by Christi Nogle “Baby Teeth” by Lina Rather “Bibliosmia” by M. Regan “Water Witch” by Rebecca Ring “Ring of Teeth” by Mike Robinson “Approaching Lavender” by Lucy A. Snyder “Amazing Patsy” by Valerie B. Williams “The Hollow Tree” by Nemma Wollenfang
These contemporary authors will appear alongside the following classic and essential writers: Gertrude Atherton, Ambrose Bierce, Charles Brockden Brown, George Washington Cable, Charles W. Chesnutt, Kate Chopin, Ralph Adams Cram, Stephen Crane, Emma Dawson, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Ellen Glasgow, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Shirley Jackson, Sarah Orne Jewett, Grace King, H.P. Lovecraft, Herman Melville, W.C. Morrow, Flannery O'Connor, Edgar Allan Poe, Annie Trumbull Slosson, Clark Ashton Smith, Harriet Prescott Spofford, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Edith Wharton, Madeline Yale Wynne.
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