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melanielocke · 1 year

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Book recommendations - Complete series

The results of the poll I put up are so far inconclusive (pretty much every category got the same amount of votes), so I'm probably going to do all of them but I'm going to start with complete series. As a note, for now I'm trying to not repeat books, so at the end I'll mention books I have already covered that also fit the criteria.

I almost always buy books before the series is complete. I'm not sure why, though I do find it more convenient to not have to buy a six book series in one go because that can get expensive even if they're all out in paperback. Not to mention getting matching editions can be a struggle. There's also the issue that books might nog get sequels if not enough people buy the first book.

But sometimes it's nice to be able to read all the books in a series after each other. You can go into book two still remembering what happened in book 1, something I regularly struggle with. I went into Chain of Iron not remembering what was going on with James and Cordelia and why they were getting married and had to look up a lot. And you won't have to wait 1-2 years for the sequel after reading a book that ended on a serious cliffhanger. For that reason, I have put together this list of complete series that I would recommend. There are a little more books in this picture than usual, mainly because they're all complete series.

All of them are duology's or trilogy's, interestingly enough I couldn't find many series that are longer and I feel like duology's especially have been popular lately.

I'm starting with Black Wings Beating by Alex London

This is a trilogy set in Uztar, a land that worships birds of prey and falconers, and follows twins Brysen and Kylee. Brysen wants nothing more than to be a great falconer, but is not particularly talented at it, whereas Kylee, who does have the gift to speak the hollow tongue of the birds, would rather escape falconry forever. When Brysen's boyfriend gets in trouble, he needs a ghost eagle to get out, something he'd promised a debtor he'd get, and so Brysen sets out to the mountains to capture a ghost eagle, whereas Kylee follows him to keep him safe. This is a very underrated series, which is sad because it's very good. An interesting and unique magic system that relates to the language of birds of prey, a heavy focus on the complicated sibling relationship between twins who grew up in an abusive household, two queer main characters. Brysen is gay and Kylee is ace/aro. Brysen is kind of a dumbass who regularly needs to be saved from himself but I loved him regardless, whereas Kylee is very protective of him and mainly goes along because she wants to keep him safe.

Also by this author: Proxy duology (YA); Battle Dragons series (MG), neither of which I read

Next up is Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

This is an alternate history duology with the premise of the American civil war ending in a zombie apocalypse. The solution to this problem? Training Black and Indigenous people to fight the zombies. Jane McKeene is a Black girl going to school to become an attendant, a personal bodyguard for rich ladies, which is a better option than fighting in the frontlines. But people are going missing, and Jane finds herself caught up in a conspiracy by people looking to return America to former glory days. I think this series was an interesting take on zombies. It's been a while since I read this one, so I don't remember the details as well, but I do remember Katherine being one of my favorites in this series. She's also on the cover of the second book, which is on the picture, and I thought her and Jane's friendship was one of the most interesting developments, especially since they dislike each other at first. One of the main villains was also really interesting and really unexpected, I won't give too much away about this character but it was very well done. It's also a queer book series, with Jane being bi and Katherine ace/aro. It's fast paced, especially in the second book, and there's lots of action, making this an easy series to get through.

Also by this author: Dread Nation was her big breakthrough, but she's published several relatively unknown YA books before that, which I haven't read, including Vengeance Bound and a Promise of Shadows. Her most recent book is a Rust in the Root, which I haven't read yet but is on my wishlist.

Then I have the Girls of Paper and Fire series by Natasha Ngan

Somehow with this series I ended up having three different editions. I didn't even realize I'd ordered the last one in paperback, but the hardcover was so expensive I'd just left it this way. Could look better on my book shelf, but it could also be a lot worse. Sometimes publishers publish a regular UK edition paperback and then for the next book it ends up being a very big UK paperback much like the one I have for this series and it looks terrible.

This series is sapphic fantasy trilogy set in an Asia inspired world ruled by demons. Demons in this case are antropomorphic animals, also known as the Moon caste. In between are the Steel caste which are humans with animal traits and the lowest and most vulnerable caste are the Paper caste, which are humans. Each year, eight human girls are chosen to serve the king as Paper Girls, which are essentially concubines. This year, there are nine, and the ninth is Lei, a wide eyed country girl who lives in a village with her father and is taken away to the palace. There, she falls in love with one of the other Paper Girls and ends up caught in a rebellion against the king and the caste system. This book deals with heavy topics, including sexual assault, and I do not remember 100% if there is rape on page but I think there might be, so be careful with that. The first book is mainly set in the palace, but the second and third explore the rest of this world a bit more, and I think the world building was very well done, and the world building is very complex, with lots of issues with some people on the rebellion side too rather than just king bad rebellion good. The love interest especially ends up being rather morally grey at times.

Other books by this author: The Elites and The Memory Keepers were both published before this series, neither of which I read

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mejia is a dystopian duology set on the latine inspired island nation of Medio.

This world is divided between the inner and outer parts of the island with a wall seperating them. The outer parts are barely habitable due to the salt on the land, but the wall keeps them out of the inner part, whereas the inner part is wealthiest. The upper class of Medio has a tradition that all men, who are in power, have two wives to support them. A primera is more intellectual, she keeps track of the household, servants and supports her husband in politics. The segunda is more emotional and sexual. She is the one who has sex with the man and has his children and raises them, but Segunda's are also taught to be charming, to play with other people's emotions and soothe the husband etc. The main character, Dani, was born on the outer side of the island, but her parents fought very hard to get her a better life. They got her a forged upper class pedigree and got her enrolled in a school for Medio girls to train them in one of the two wife roles, in Dani's case as a Primera. At the beginning of the book, she marries the son of an important politician, and is approached by a rebel organization to spy for them, leaving her with a difficult choice. What I thought was very interesting about Dani as a character is that she's so conflicted about her role in this world. Her first instinct is to cling to the privilege her upper class position grants her, after all, her parents sacrificed so much to give her that, but she also has the chance to fight for a better Medio for everyone, and has to make a choice. Along the way, she grows closer to her husband's Segunda Carmen, a girl she used to hate in school, and falls in love with her. I won't give too much away about book 2, except that in book 2 Carmen is the protagonist, which worked really well in this duology and I liked her POV a lot, perhaps even better than Dani's.

Other books by this author: Paola Santiago series, a middle grade published by Rick Riordan's imprint.

Upcoming: Lucha of the Night Forest, a YA fantasy coming 3-2023

Crier's War by Nina Varela

This is a duology in which humans made a race of automatae that look exactly like humans but better looking, smarter etc. And eventually, the automatons took over from humans. This duology is told from the alternating POV of Crier and Ayla. Ayla is a human girl who lost her family to the Automae and wants revenge. And she intends to get it by killing Crier. Crier is the daughter of the Sovereign, which in the case of Automae means she was constructed by his wishes since Automae are made and not born. Crier was to follow in his footsteps and become the new Governor, but her father might not be as good a person as she always believed, and her betrothed Kinok is definitely not someone she trusts. And then she meets Ayla. This book is an enemies to lover between Crier and Ayla, except that it is really one sided enemies. Ayla wants to kill Crier at first, but Crier is kind of a useless gay from the beginning, which I think creates a hilarious dynamic. There's lots of twists and turns in this series, especially with Crier finding out more about her origin and about her fiancé Kinok's plans for this world, but also Ayla's family's origin and their role in the creation of the Automae.

Upcoming by this author: Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom, a middle grade fantasy

The last duology I'll be discussing is A Song of Wraiths and Ruin, which seems like a very stereotypical YA fantasy title, but is the first book in a very good fantasy duology set in a west Africa inspired world (the author is from Ghana specifically).

Ziran is a prosperous city in the desert surrounded by many poor and war stricken areas. Malik has fled from his home with his two sisters to go to Ziran and start a new life, but his younger sister Nadia is abducted by a vengeful spirit in exchange for passage into the city. Desperate, Malik strikes a deal with the spirit to get his sister back - if he kills princess Karina. And so he enters the city's Solstasia competition to get close to her.

Princess Karina is far from ready to take on any royal responsibilities, but when her mother, the Sultana, is assassinated, Karina has to take the throne. Far from ready for this role, Karina decides that instead she's going to bring back her mother from the dead. She finds an ancient spell to help her. The only problem, she needs the heart of a king. So during the upcoming Solstasia competition, she offers her hand in marriage to the victor.

During the first book, Karina and Malik meet a couple of times and have their own plot, but their stories also intertwine a lot, and during this whole time they are essentially trying to kill each other without the other having any clue, making this an interesting take on enemies to lovers. Nor do either of time really want to kill the other, it's more of a necessity for their respective goals in saving family members, which I guess is understandable? I loved Malik immediately. He's sensitive, anxious, traumatized, and will do anything for his sisters. Karina took a little more time since she's a little unlikeable at first but she's really one of those characters who grows on you.

The plot of this book is also very good and there are some well thought out plot twists that I didn't see coming and interesting world building that deals with topics such as immigration. The second book especially is rather long and it's not a very fast paced series, which is often the case with more world building heavy stories so that has to be your thing.

Other books by the author: Serwa Boateng's guide to Vampire Hunting, which is the first in a middle grade series published with Rick Riordan presents

Complete series I've covered in previous recommendation posts: This Poison Heart & This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

Let me know if you've read any of those, and it's still possible to vote on the poll for which category books I'll cover next.

@alastaircarstairsdefenselawyer @life-through-the-eyes-of @astriefer @justanormaldemon @ipromiseiwillwrite @a-dream-dirty-and-bruised @amchara @all-for-the-fanfiction @imsoftforthomastair @ddepressedbookworm @queenlilith43 @wagner-fell @cant-think-of-anything @laylax13s @tessherongraystairs @boredfangirl16 @artist-in-soul @bottomdelioncourt @ikissedsmithparker

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bigcats-birds-and-books · 1 year

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Books of 2023. THE SKYBOUND SAGA by Alex London. I bought these because they seemed Perfectly Like My Jam (and because the author was doing some pandemic promotions from afar--there’s a signed bookplate in RED SKIES FALLING).

Unfortunately: I’m almost done with BLACK WINGS BEATING, and it is, tragically, Not Perfectly My Jam :( I appreciate that so far it’s very queer norm! That’s nice! And my girl Kylee is giving off big aro vibes (as an aro myself, I’m hesitant to fall head over heels for that until it’s more solidly confirmed in canon, because I have been Disappointed Too Many Times, but so far it’s looking promising!). But Brysen gets a lot more interiority than Kylee does, which is a bummer because he’s very milquetoast. And there’s a lot of child abuse, so brace for that. And I’ve got quibbles about some of the Bird Stuff (but most of the bird stuff is nitpicky, so I suspect your average reader won’t be bothered by it).

I’m definitely going to finish the trilogy (I have them all, after all, and they’re quick reads that I can mostly put down at bedtime), but sadly I cannot give it Glowing Reviews. This may also just be a Me Problem, since I’ve drifted away from both YA and fantasy, so please take my thoughts with a grain of salt the size of a Great-horned Owl, or a ghost eagle if one’s handy.

#books of 2023 #books #book photography #skybound #alex london #black wings beating #red skies falling #gold wings rising #it ALSO bothers me that the texture on the covers isn't quite the same #and it bothers me that the cover motifs don't feel quite unified #and it bothers me that its WINGS SKIES WINGS lmao #i really really wanted to love these #i'm having a mediocre time about it #i can see the edges of his bird research and i don't love that #(it's not his fault but like. cmon. it's a falconry oriented world.)#(i'm allowed to nitpick the birds i think)#(i'm still salty that a hunting goshawk would've knocked icicles down lmao sir she definitely would Never)#she's a forest bird for one she's Excellent at maneuvarability #for two: icicles?? really??? definitely an injury hazard #she's not going to risk it #not even for food #and don't get me started about keeping owls the same way the rest of them keep hawks #there's a reason owls are NOT prominent in falconry lolol #(they're not like hawks and their brains are wired very differently)#(much harder to train)#i get that the Owl Mothers are Special but. they're not that special lol #AND THAT'S TOO MANY OWLS COEXISTING #anyway i have some beef but aren't books 1 and 2 Pretty #(this is also helping me feel better about driscoll lol)#the skybound saga

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aurorawest · 1 year

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Reading update:

This one was...okay? It was a historical mystery, set in early 1930s London. I liked that part. I liked the fact that the main characters were all queer. But the characters themselves were very...eh? And the mystery was extremely high stakes but never felt that high stakes? Idk. I don’t think I’ll read the others in the series unless I’m really desperate. It wasn’t a bad book, but it wasn’t anything special, either.

Man I was excited for this one. It was...fine. Not amazing. I really liked Jamie, but Wes was obnoxious as hell. Lots of bro-y casual misogyny, and a weird inability to acknowledge that Jamie is clearly bi, except when he’s thinking about how bi people have more trouble sticking with one person than straight or gay people. And there’s never any growth away from those opinions, so it’s just kind of like...oh, you’re a character with some really obnoxious opinions.

The sex scenes were hot, but in a like...fanfiction-y way? Like, I kept thinking, I would write this in a fic, I wouldn’t write it in ofic. So I definitely had some problems with it. That said, the love story was really sweet, and like I said, I did like Jamie. I’ve never read anything else by Elle Kennedy and honestly I wouldn’t after this one, but I have the sequel already, so we’ll see how it is. Definitely wouldn’t pick up any of her m/f romances, though.

This was an Illumicrate book, and not something I would have picked up otherwise. It started out really promising—gorgeous writing, interesting characters, and a surprise heist plot! But the heist plot ran out of steam, most of the characters were never developed, the twist fell flat, and there was a deux ex machina that was utterly unearned. I think for a young YA audience, none of this would be a huge problem, but I was pretty eh about it. Not a bad book, but not a great book, either.

My edition is signed though, and very pretty!

I was wary of this book, because I wasn’t super impressed with the first in the series, Hard Sell. This one was much better! Ray is a waaaay more likable character than what’s-his-face from Hard Sell. And I really enjoyed the demisexual rep with Elvin, since I’m pretty sure I fall somewhere in that gray ace or demisexual spectrum myself. This book did a better job of balancing the super serious plot with the romance than Hard Sell did, but I still think it was maybe a liiiittle too high-stakes? It worked for me for the most part but I sometimes felt like there was too much dissonance. And maybe like people should be freaking out more than they were. I’ll definitely keep reading Hudson Lin’s romances though, she redeemed herself with this one.

I had no idea what to expect from this one. I read Proxy by Alex London...earlier this year? I think? God I can’t even remember when I read that, haha. It was okay, but it was very surface level. This one was much better. Super interesting world, and a culture where falconry is central, which owl-banding me really appreciated. There was no shying away from the falconry jargon, which I thought was pretty cool. I loved the characters. The two mains are a twin brother and sister, and the POV switches between the two of them (plus there’s a chapter in each section from another random POV). They’re both interesting and well-developed characters with their own distinct motivations and flaws, and their love for each other is *chef’s kiss*. This is the first in a trilogy so I need to pick up the other two.

Just started this one. It’s about a non-binary kid who comes out to their parents and gets kicked out (WITHOUT SHOES. IN DECEMBER. WTF). They move in with their estranged sister and brother-in-law who they’ve never met and start a new school, and they’re clearly dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. I mean, who wouldn’t. They also haven’t come out in the new school, so everyone at the new school is still using he/him pronouns for them. And that’s about where I am. Enjoying it so far. I also have Mason Deaver’s newest book in my TBR pile (got it in a Rainbow Crate), so it’s always a relief when the first book you read by an author doesn’t suck, since you already have another, haha.

#a death in bloomsbury #david c dawson #him #sabrina bowen #elle kennedy #the drowned woods #emily lloyd jones #going public #hudson lin #black wings beating #alex london #i wish you all the best #mason deaver #reading tag

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madlovenovelist · 6 months

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#bookquotes

I love this quote, for me its a take on that old saying that other peoples words can’t hurt you if you don’t give them permission to. That if you take away the emotions and memories attached to the words, they are just sounds someone make with their mouths. Harmless. Meaningless. I wish it was that easy to do, but I strive to be able to deflate hate in such a manner, and reduce it to the…

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amongusbooby · 1 month

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#imagine your persona not having black feathered wings while being nicknamed crow #joker is beating him in that aspect too fr #persona 5 #shuake #severe brainrot #it's crowver

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asexualbookbird · 11 months

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i love when someone hates a book i hated love being validated lol

#bookbird babbles #ezra reads black wings beating #IT WAS A BAD BOOK!!!!!!!

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aeide-thea · 9 months

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#don't ask me how i ended up here ('was it a fic‚ K?' 'yes‚ obviously it was a fic.') but #this poem somehow makes me think of plath's 'black rook in rainy weather'#not because the poems are at all similar but because it's that feeling of a dull ruinous landscape suddenly illuminated #like. the sestet here is SO workmanlike and wearisome #yesterday. grey. eyes. wise. 'one that is ever kind' right okay you're making up the syllable count. etc etc #and then—'the fire that stirs about her‚ when she stirs‚ / burns but more clearly.'#'o she had not these ways / when all the wild summer was in her gaze.'#like. my god.#the sudden wild white beating of swan's wings. the lift of my battered enraptured heart.#anyway. 'did you know famous poet william butler yeats had his moments‚ actually??' you heard it here extremely not first.#(i mean. that said—imagine writing a poem that ascribed any qualities to a woman you couldn't reassign to a horse.)#(like. billy boy. do you love anything about her but her beauty and her ~spirit~. is she intelligent. is she funny. is she fiercely moral.)#(ah well.)#poetry #w.b. yeats

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ink-the-artist · 1 year

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“I was speechless. A cab driver brought me to the alley, saying there's something here you really must see. Mr. Hampton opened the door and it was like the wings of Gabriel were beating in the extremely bright light.”

#been meaning to make art of james hamptons throne for a WHILE now #the way this is abstracted is inspired by the way the article described it #comparing it to a giant golden bird #and like 'the wings of Gabriel were beating in the extremely bright light'#i really really love outsider art #and i love when it gets recognized and 'elevated' publicly to the level of traditional fine art #like that this throne is kept in a museum and preserved is so fantastic #despite how hard it is to preserve bc of the materials its made of and how hampton likely didnt have longevity in mind #enough people can see how obviously it is that its great art that they go through the effort of preserving it #art #watercolor #digital art #the black and white version is the original watercolor #all the coloring is done digitally #gif #james hampton #Illustration #painting

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kiwibirb1 · 3 days

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hhh still not sure on names but whatever greying wings introduction to meetup au (it does not go great) (remember party refers to the entire group bc d&d is built into my soul) (name ref here) (Also, GW!girls are referred to as their nicknames from the get go here but they dont actually get or use them until later)

uh this got long so theres a break now

*The entire party is chilling in a clearing, when suddenly loud wingbeats sound overhead. Everyone immediately stands up, grabbing whatever weapons they have, expecting herons to descend upon them. Instead, something falls out of the sky, a whirlwind of black feathers crashing down with a shout. Everyone looks at each other in confusion, attention returning to the creature as it groans and stands up, black wings stretching out to their full capacity. It brushes itself off, looking up to the sky, seemingly unaware of the people surrounding it. More wingbeats sound, and it smiles up at something it sees, waving and calling out.*

Black(GW!Marcy): Sorry guys, I tripped on something! *Faint shouts come from the sky, something along the lines of "How do you trip while flying!?", and it laughs, finally taking in it's surroundings. It makes eye contact with Psych, and freezes, wings immediately drawing inwards, becoming nearly invisible in the blink of an eye.* Black: O-oh. Sorry. I didn't see you. U-um, don't worry, I'm with a pure- Vagabond: Another one!? Seriously!? How many alternate universes are there? WV!Marcy: Even the core doesn't know that. Black: Uh, am I interrupting something or- *Their [Black] gaze travels to WV!Marcy, and they suddenly breaks off in speech.* You look just like me! But you don't have wings, I didn't think that was possi- *Their speech gets cut off once again, but this time it is by flurry of white and grey feathers, which fall away to reveal two girls, looking to be around 15, just like the first, standing protectively over the black-haired one.* Grey(GW!Sasha): They're with us. Wait- who the fuck are you and why do you look exactly like Anne? *She points her newly drawn sword at Sapphire, eyes narrowed in a glare. White(GW!Anne), places a hand on her shoulder, but her eyes are hardened as well, widening as she looks around the camp.* White: You all look like us. But some of you are old. And none of you have wings. *Heron steps forward, and Grey and White step back, wings spreading as if to hide Black, who's head peeks out curiously, but seems comfortable hidden behind them. Heron: Am sure yer all confused, we all were at firs'. Te start off, Am going to assume yer names are Sasha, Anne, and Marcy? *Grey nods slowly, sword point lowering slightly.* Wonderful. So are we. That damned cat- Domino: Heron your supposed to call it the Guardian, only the other Annes know it's a cat. Heron: Yeah yeah whatever the weird deity thing decided to throw us all together for shits and giggles and Ah guess yer the most recent additions. Black: Why are you Scottish? Heron: WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY THAT?? ToaF!Anne: Yeah yeah we know Heron's Scottish it's weird anyway more importantly you guys got wings? That's cool as shit! How'd you get them? And why are they different colors? *At this comment, Black seems to draw her wings even closer to herself, ducking back down.* White: Uh, everyone has wings? Grey: None of your business. *The clearing goes quiet at the opposing answers, while Grey and White glare at each other.* White: Do you want to get darker? Grey: Oh yeah let's not talk about how grey you were before it reset you huh? *They start to bicker, and Black hesitantly moves away from them, still standing at a distance from the rest of the group. CF!Marcy waves at them, dragging her own girls over as well. Black steps to the side slightly, wings somehow pulling in even smaller, but they doesn't outright leave.* CF!Marcy: Hi, I'm [GIVE ME NAME SUGGESTIONS PLEASE], this is Mouse and [CF!Sasha]. Your's fight a lot too, huh? Black: U-uh yeah, they do, even though we're not really supposed to. They always forgive each other.. afterwards though... *They trail off, eyes locked on the other's wings* CF!Sasha: Okay since neither of them answered, why are your guy's wings different colors? Just like a normal wing-person thing? *Black winces, but sighs, answering.* Black: First, we're angels, not "wing-people". And when you sin, your feathers grey, but it can be undone if you're forgiven. That's why Sasha's are so dark. Anne got reset by the Guardian, which is why she's nearly pure white. Mouse: Okay, but why are you black? Black: ...I was getting to that. When you commit an unforgivable sin, or at least one that is perceived as so, you fall. Black wings are the mark of a fallen angel. CF!Sasha: Damn, what did- *CF!Marcy cuts her off, as Black folds her wings inwards, over her head.* CF!Marcy: I want you to think long and hard about the common factor. CF!Sasha: Oh. Sorry. Black: It... It's fine, I'm used to it. This is actually the uh best reaction I've gotten so...

#yeah black is not having a good time as a fallen angel.#kiwi's au meetup #greying wings au #only those two bc its their intro thing #i have been writing this all night i am beat phew

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starlooove · 2 months

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This is the dumbest thing to get mad about…

#basically funny tiktok about JL member questioning bathound #like why does he have a cowl on?#and a comments like ‘it’s so funny how before he was famous and had a prominent mark and now it’s aesthetic’#well actually it’s not funny ppl are writing without reading!#they see bathound and include him and don’t give a fuck!#and this is about the dog but like…it’s happening to EVERYONE it’s so sick #maybe if batfam gets bad enough we’ll collectively move to JLI #actually batstans stay AWAY from JLI!#I promise #how to keep them away…#there’s so many black characters with good storylines there guys u don’t wanna read it I promise <3 #there that should do it 🥰🤞🏾#reminder Bruce didn’t even name ace bathound tho #like before ace had a bat dog tag and some nigga they beat up Called him that 😭#every ace drawn without his star mark is an Angel losing its wings <3

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thebibliomancer · 1 year

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Essential Avengers: Avengers #281: BY GODS BETRAYED!

July, 1987

SHE-HULK wild in the streets!

Wasn’t Namor wild in the streets recently? Stop being so wild in the streets and sheets, the Avengers.

At least be unruly in the boulevards or unmanageable in the avenues.

Also, c’mon, even if she’s being wild in the streets, is that a good reason to pile on She-Hulk? Cut her some slack and let her smoosh Black Knight, a little. As a treat.

Anyway.

Last times on Avengers: The Masters of Evil had happened. Avengers Mansion got wrecked and the Avengers roster got shaken up in the fallout. Wasp quit her chairmanship of the team, to go on vacation, and Captain Marvel was voted new chairperson. Hercules was beaten into a coma and then kidnapped from the hospital. For showing up to the fight against the Masters and then hanging around after, Dr Druid became a member of the team. Also, Thor and She-Hulk rejoined.

But now, the Avengers are investigating Hercules’ godnapping from the hospital.

Black Knight uses a science device (he IS the team scientist now) to scan for any radiation, ion trails, or miscellaneous that the kidnapper may have left.

Despite being so big that She-Hulk has to lug it around, SCIENCE finds nothing.

Dr Druid’s psychic mind brain can’t find any psychic traces either, indicating that the godnapper somehow erased all evidence of his presence in the hospital.

Captains America and Marvel interview the nurses but nobody saw anything directly.

Nurse Richards only saw a glimpse of a man on a video monitor but it looked like he was a big dude in a cape with a winged hat.

A BIG DUDE IN A CAPE JUST LIKE THOR

THOR’ACCUSE!

(I know that’s grammatically wrong)

Of course, Captain America jumps to Thor’s defense saying hey Thor is a trusted Avenger, he wouldn’t do it, and plus Thor has an alibi.

And Thor says he wouldn’t do it because Hercules is a long term friend of his. I’d say vitriolic buds. Punch pals.

(Thor’s best defense is that if he was the one who kidnapped Hercules, the title wouldn’t make much sense.)

But while Thor tries to defend himself he spots something out the window and makes the very reasonable decision to leap THROUGH the window to give chase.

Captain Marvel nyooms after him and finds Thor in the park across the street from the hospital, beating the crap out of a tree and calling it a scoundrel.

So I see we’re supposed to wonder if Thor has gone mad.

But he tells Monica that he wasn’t aiming for the tree but frustrated thinks to himself that his foe couldn’t be seen by human eyes.

The rest of the Avengers show up and Cap(tain America) tries to get Thor to explain wazzup.

Captain America: “What’s up, Thor? You lit out of that room, as if you’d seen your worst enemy -- !”

Thor: “My worst foeman, Cap? No... but you may not be far from wrong. I suspect I know who stole away with the hapless Hercules!”

And then he flies away, saying where he goes NONE MAY FOLLOW!

But not in the usual This Is Something He Has To Do Himself but more like god business and he’s the only god on hand so this is something he has to do himself.

Either way, the Caps are nonplussed at how Thor is acting and Captain Marvel flies after Thor again to get him to account for himself.

Captain Marvel: “I don’t care if Thor is a founding member of the Avengers, that’s no excuse for taking team matters into his own hands. If he knows something about Hercules, I want to know, too! This isn’t the only thing Thor’s held back from us. He hasn’t said much about that new suit of armor he’s been wearing the last few weeks... but it seems to be shielding a recent injury!

Hey, fair enough on the Hercules thing but you’re not his health care provider, Monica.

Monica does catch up with Thor because she can fly the actual literal speed of light and I think Thor can’t. But when she insists that he let the Avengers help with whatever happened to Hercules, he just repeats that this is god biz.

And when she says the Avengers helped with that whole Surtur fire demon thing, Thor just says different matter entirely and portals away.

Thor: “You must trust me, Marvel! I shall either return with Hercules... or NOT AT ALL!”

Annoyed at all this, because all of this running off on his own is what Hercules did shortly before getting beaten into a coma, Monica Marvel returns to the Avengers.

Dr Druid becomes concerned at the public attention the Avengers are drawing, considering it bad form, and without discussion uses his MIND POWERS so everyone passing by will see the Avengers as just some regular hanging out friends.

She-Hulk disguised as Perfectly Normal Citizen is still like seven feet tall but nobody pays it no mind.

Anyway, Cap(tain America) speculates that Loki is behind this! Because Thor is weird about Loki and would probably definitely feel like its a matter he has to take care of himself.

Dr Druid suggests that hey, lets consider the possibility that Thor did kidnap Hercules!

Cap(tain America): ‘how dare’

But Dr Druid continues okay Thor is a fine, upstanding Avenger but what if he was put under mind control or some spell?

... Which. Look. Its a rare hero that can say they’ve never had that happen to them.

And Enchantress is in Thor’s social circle and most of what she does is put people under spells.

She-Hulk gets bored of this discussion and gets a cherry Italian ice from a street italian ice vendor.

But she finishes it off and gets super annoyed that everyone is still talking.

She-Hulk: “Hrrmph! All this talk solves nothing! We need action, not words! We need to... to... to strike out... at our enemies!”

Driven to a rage by the inaction of her friends, She-Hulk starts rampaging!

Although given the Italian ice merchant is shown smirking around the corner from the action, maybe its a brain freeze instead.

Or an evil scheme.

Captain Marvel tries to talk She-Hulk down but realizes that she(-hulk) has glazed eyes and has probably been drugged.

Gasp! And if you can’t trust Italian ice distributors can you trust anyone anymore?

Anyway, Captain Marvel turns into multiple gigvolts worth of lightning and shocks She-Hulk hard enough that it melts the lamppost she was swinging around.

But hulks are sterner stuff than lampposts and keeps ripping the street apart.

Dr Druid realizes that there’s SUPERNATURAL CAUSES behind She-Hulk’s rampage and the source will have to be found to resolve this situation.

So its drugged Italian ice but also supernatural?

What supernatural force would act through drugged Italian ice? A yuki-onna?

Because that’d be fun.

Meanwhile, Thor has arrived at the location of the culprit of the treesmackening.

OLYMPUS

And the person he was chasing that couldn’t be seen by the Avengers? HERMES!

Oh, because he was moving too fast. Alright, it checks out.

Even though Olympus seems quiet, too quiet, with none of the random gods one might expect to be milling about and getting drunk, Thor does find and grab Hermes and start yelling at him.

Thor: “This way, Prince of Thieves! What know you of the abduction of Hercules? SPEAK!”

Hermes: “I... I was the one who spirited him from the mortals’ place of healing!”

Hey, this also checks out!

Hermes has a wing’d hat and is wearing a cape. In silhouette, one could mistake him for Thor. Okay, that clears up the Thor’ccuse.

But for why, Hermes?

Thor doesn’t get an answer for that because instead of answers he gets Hephaestus trying to coldcock him from behind.

Although, is this even a mystery anymore?

Hercules is beaten into a coma and then kidnapped from the hospital to Olympus? Where his family is?

I just assume that the Olympians figured they had better medicine than the best paid mortal doctors.

Which doesn’t explain why Hephaestus grimly says that because Thor got in Hermes’ way, he’s got to have the shit beaten out of him.

Or why Hermes was hanging around the hospital after presumably already taking Hercules to Olympus.

Or, for that matter, why Hermes laments to himself that he has orders to ensure the Avengers are defeated.

Back at the fight, Captain Marvel has managed to knock She-Hulk on her ass by hitting her with YET MORE ELECTRICITY. “Enough juice to light up Shreveport” if that means anything to you as a measurement.

But She-Hulk struggles to get up, still driven to MURDER by the cherry Italian ice so Captain Marvel tells Dr Druid to do his thing. His mind thing. His psychic thing.

Dr Druid: “Let my will strengthen your will. You can reject the madness, you must reject it! An unearthly agent has clouded your mind... we must totally dispel it!”

But the Italian ice vendor don’t like that or that Dr Druid might help She-Hulk overcome the ELIXIR OF FRENZY!

So Italian ice vendor man uses his cherry influence to make She-Hulk lash out at Dr Druid, who narrowly dodges a punch that would have smashed his pumpkin.

Captain America jumps in to keep She-Hulk busy so the squishy wizard can retreat to a safe distance.

Italian ice salesman is loving this, by the way. And thinks “If nothing else, Hercules’ misfortune has given me more opportunities for amusement than I’ve had in centuries!”

Black Knight has actually noticed that there’s this dude hanging around and smirking at all this hero drama. And since every other bystander has obviously run away from a rampaging (she)-Hulk, dude is suspicious.

He even correctly guesses that the Italian ice was drugged and that’s why She-Hulk is going nuts.

Which the vendor just instantly cops to and then throws Black Knight like ten feet.

Black Knight is able to turn the tumble into a jump kick against She-Hulk to help Cap(tain America) and Captain Marvel blasts the Italian ice vendor after Dr Druid notes how weird it is that this dude sent Black Knight flying so easily.

AND DUN DUN DUN its... a dude with a laurel wreath and... okay look its Dionysus. Elixir of frenzy? Probably boozeahol.

So is Olympus empty because all the gods moved to Earth to get jobs?

Good for them.

I think Hera should get a job as an agony aunt. I don’t know that she’d be good at it but it’d be interesting.

Anyway.

She-Hulk gains her wits, although feels a bit of a hangover? type after effect. Because, c’mon, Dionysus. Its boozeahol.

But then Hermes arrives back at the A-plot from the B-plot, bowling over the Avengers and rushing away before they can even see more than a blur.

(Humorously, some bystanders just see a blur with a cape and a wing’d hat and assume like the nurse that Thor is Up To No Good. Why is your PR so bad lately, Thor?)

To Hermes’ surprise though, he finds Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel waiting for him when he stops at a rooftop.

God of speed has nothing on the speed of light.

CHOOM.

Meanwhile, Thor is having trouble with Hephaestus.

Not that Hephaestus is really known for being a beefy combat boy. I mean, Thor does call him mighty but the primary thing here is Thor is fighting at a handicap due to Hela’s no-healing curse.

But he manages to hit Hephaestus in the leg and shatter his boot.

Hephaestus complains that the boot was a mobility aid for his crippled leg and Thor tries to apologize and sympathize due to his own current state.

But Hephaestus just cheap shots him in the ribs.

Then while Thor is vowing to persevere, a shadowy figure cold cocks him and knocks him unconscious.

Hephaestus tries to say that doing that was unnecessary and honorless because Hephaestus had Thor disabled by the rib shot but the shadowy figure is like ‘eh’ and “all that matters is the downfall of the AVENGERS!”

Geez, Olympus is really pissed off at the Avengers. One presumes over the Hercules thing.

Anyway, back on the rooftop where Captain Marvel CHOOM’d Hermes, he admires her as unlike any mortal he’s ever seen, a worthy opponent, but shame she has to die.

Then a gold-colored silver arrow passes through Captain Marvel’s light form and almost instantly knocks her out from the agony.

Hi, Artemis!

Cheap shot.

The Olympians really seem to be the master of cheap shots in this issue.

Also, neat, the arrow comes back.

I didn’t know that Artemis could shoot light beams but her arrows are apparently Super Effective on women so maybe Monica just ran afoul of type advantage.

Meanwhile, on the streets below, Dr Druid is examining the unconscious body of Dionysus. Despite having a party bod, he’s also hard as nails. Because, I guess, those divine stat boosts.

Anyway, Dionysus was just playing possum and jumps up to choke Dr Druid unconscious, laughing all the time because he is the party boy and he’s having a great time.

She-Hulk punches him off Dr Druid but Dionysus just bounces back to his feet.

Then he pulls out a really potent drink and uses the fumes to knock her out.

Hm. Not the best day for the Avengers or for She-Hulk specifically.

Later, the team regains consciousness on OLYMPUS. Heavy bonds keep them bent like supplicants.

The four gods that the Avengers fought (Hermes, Artemis, Dionysus, and Hephaestus) are revealed to be working with Ares.

Thor goes off, saying OH HE SUSPECTED THAT ARES WAS BEHIND EVERYTHING! What a constant dick you are, Ares. Always with the evil schemes!

But this time, Ares is being a good boy and dutiful son.

He was working at the behest of...

ZEUS!

AND HE IS VERY ANGRY THAT THE AVENGERS LET HERCULES GET HIMSELF HURT!

So mad. So very mad.

As they say, those who the gods want to destroy, first they get really mad at.

But dude. The people responsible for Hercules’ condition are 1) the Masters of Evil and 2) Hercules.

You couldn’t bring the (surviving) Masters of Evil up here? Make the Avengers have to teeth-gritted team up with them to try to get out of this?

Boo, Zeus.

Boo.

Follow @essential-avengers and you too can boo Zeus. Like and reblogging won’t boo Zeus but will make me feel appreciated.

#essential avengers #avengers #essential marvel liveblogging #various jerk gods #Captain Marvel #Monica Rambeau #Thor #She Hulk #Dr Druid #for some reason #Black Knight #Captain America #Hercules #how a brain freeze can cause problems #Thor beats up a tree #cape and winged hat is a popular fashion choice

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