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thenowherejournal · 1 month

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The Death of Healthy Relationships in Portrayed Fictional Literature

An Opinion Article By Nad and Francis (February 2024)

Books are like windows for readers that allow them to see the characters’ lives, experiences and relationships with other people in the story. Through printed texts, consumers of fictional media can be directly affected by what they read. In the modern day, there are numerous genres that one can choose and indulge themselves in.

As of 2022 book sales statistics, one of the popular genres nowadays is romance novels as it makes the majority of readers experience a whole variety of emotions that makes them feel like they are also experiencing it. Through captivating narratives, it evokes us to feel loved, hurt, comforted or ecstatic especially when we witness the connection and bond between the characters. The concerning thing about this is that most contemporary romance novels do not depict healthy romantic relationships between the characters and oftentimes, the conflict between them is not resolved. Considering this, regular consumers of this type of literature can be affected negatively.

Both of us are not keen on being in a relationship with someone, the most we can do is observe other people’s romantic relationships and other people who want to be in one– and as far as we’ve seen it, the more we question what the romance standard really is. A lot of modern romance novels depict so much toxicity that it could affect a person’s perception of what a healthy relationship is. Even though challenges and complications between characters make a story more interesting, the depiction of romance in those stories can be resolved in a healthier way without making it problematic.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein, Coco Mellors’ debut novel, tells the story of Cleo and Frank’s relationship and how they were too emotionally broken from their childhood trauma to even be in a relationship in the first place– and while being married out of circumstances at that. Not to mention, their problematic age gap of 20 years where Cleo is 23 years old, the younger one out of the relationship.

In Sad Girls by Lang Leav, a popular novelist and poet, the relationship was built on a lie. Audrey (the main protagonist) told a false rumor about her friend that caused her to commit suicide. After that, Audrey started dating the girl’s boyfriend. In reality, however, the death was caused by an accident where the boyfriend pushed her off during an argument about the rumor and she hit her head. He panicked, so he staged it as a suicide. The other problem here is that Audrey and the guy still dated after knowing the truth.

Malibu Rising is another popular novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid. She is a New York Times best-selling author and won awards for some of her stories. Her other notable novels are Daisy Jones and the Six and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. In Malibu Rising, One of the couples to note here are the parents. In the story, their relationship went rock bottom when the mother ended up being a doormat by the rockstar father– He cheated many times, to the point that he prioritized her less after receiving fame. She then ended up being an alcoholic and eventually drowned. Before her death, and despite all that has happened, the mother loved him too much even if that was the situation.

Then there’s Sally Rooney’s Conversation with Friends– a plotline that involves four characters, cheating, affairs between all four of them, toxic relationships and friendships, interwoven relationships– we could go on about all this. Colleen Hover’s books are also prime examples of romanticizing unhealthy romantic relationships like her novel, It Ends With Us, which glamorizes domestic abuse.

All this to say, these romance novels depict problematic relationships but the same books are also extremely popular because of the controversial stories in them. We watched a popular YouTuber, poet, and author, Dakota Warren, talk about her perspective on these kinds of “romance” literature and she pointed it out perfectly; “Romance does not usually go hand-in-hand with this (toxicity) unless the romance is so toxic and problematic that it should not be called ‘Romance.’”

Having said all that, we’d like to give these books and other similar literature the benefit of the doubt and take into account that the authors may or may not have intended to depict them as a feel-good romance read because somewhere out there, some people are experiencing these stories in real life. Through these books, we can empathize with them and comfort them by saying “I see you, I understand, you’re not alone”. However, as long as people recommend and market it as “a good romance novel”, maybe we should reconsider it.

All things considered, we are not in the position to tell other readers, especially consumers of contemporary romance novels to not read these types of books at all. As we previously stated, there are some things that we can gain from them like making us feel alive, thrilled and enthralled. But just like other things in life, everything should be in moderation. Depictions of “romance” in these types of novels should not be idealized and be considered as the standard of what relationships should be. Instead, we should take these depictions as “warning signs” of what an unhealthy relationship is and try to avoid becoming somewhat of the character who has shown these toxic traits.

#literature #contemporary literature #romance #romance novels #sally rooney #taylor jenkins reid #lang leav #dakota warren #novels #books #booktok #bookworm

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livinginsideabookshelf · 1 year

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February Wrap Up

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks.

3.5/5

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Convenience Store Woman is the heartwarming and surprising story of thirty-six-year-old Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of “Smile Mart,” she finds peace and purpose in her life.

5/5

Little Birds by Anais Nin

Evocative and superbly erotic, Little Birds is a powerful journey into the mysterious world of sex and sensuality. From the beach towns of Normandy to the streets of New Orleans, these thirteen vignettes introduce us to a covetous French painter, a sleepless wanderer of the night, a guitar-playing gypsy, and a host of others who yearn for and dive into the turbulent depths of romantic experience.

3.75/5 (All stories)

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

A romance ghostwriter who's lost her motivation after a breakup is haunted by the spirit of her newly departed editor in this whimsical paranormal romance. Florence Day doesn't believe in love or happily-ever-afters any longer.

2/5 (DNF)

\/ My Full thoughts and reviews (SPOILERS) \/

Cleopatra and Frankenstein

I flip flop back and forth between whether or not I actually liked this book. A lot of people are saying that it's shallow, and I agree its very shallow, however, I quite like shallow characters. But it's hard to tell with this novel if the characters are shallow or if the narrative is.

I liked Cleo and Frank as main characters but both are hard to root for. Even towards the end when they get their 'happy ever after' I feel like neither really learnt anything. Which would be fine if the author wasn't trying so hard to make us believe they did.

The side characters - particularly Eleanor and Jesus (rip) - are the stars for me. Eleanor's chapters were funny and more poignant than the rest of the novel. It's also nice to see a POV that wasn't a tortured artist or the workaholic money bags. Zoe and Quentin are okay but they bring up topics and then drop them. Quentin, for example, is shown to struggle with body dysmorphia and it's suggested heavily that their trans. However, this is never brought up again and instead Quentin becomes about drug abuse. The characters often are 'topic characters' in that they are nothing but the topic the author wants to discuss.

Having said all this, am I going to keep reading Coco Mellors? Yes. I enjoyed this book regardless of the problems i have with it.

Convenience Store Woman

I read this in a day because I loved it so much.

This book will not be for everyone. The humour and characterisation are very odd - at least to a Western reader - and the concept is strange. However, I loved it.

I related so much to Keiko. I loved the atmosphere, the conflict was interesting, as Keiko doesn't really fight it intentionally but I just loved it. I am now reading everything that this author brings out, I'm currently reading her short story collection and so far it's a 5/5.

Little Birds

[Warning for i*cest, p*dophelia and SA]

Anais Nin is a conflicting figure. Little Birds has some really good stories in them. I particularly like, A Model and The Woman on the Dune. They're really good stories which look at women finding their sexuality and enjoying it, which often they are not depicted as such. It's wroth noting that this is erotica but written like a classic so the language is quite flowery.

However, there are some stories which are just outright gross. Little Birds is about a man and his fascination with young girls and ultimately flashes at them. Two Sisters starts with SA by the sisters father and then they do it with their brothers. It's weird, strange and very gross. At first, I would take this as ironic however Anais Nin odd and even herself had an affair with her own father, so it's begs with question whether or not she condones this or not.

Again, this is not for the faint of heart. I am going to read more of her work to try to understand her, as an author but so far she has an interesting way of writing but she is also very strange.

The Dead Romanctics

I DNF this at 29%, which is very early but instantly, I could feel this was going to put me in a reading slump.

The main character is annoying and the ghosts are secondary to everything, which is the only part I was actually excited for. The romance - for me - was not good. I think as a genre, I am just going to give up on booktok romance, it's just not my thing.

#bookblr #books #book community #book lover #reading #book tracker #bookworm #currently reading #book review #cleopatra and frankenstein #convenience store woman #sayaka murata #review #good reads #booktok #dnf books #february wrap up

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athanasius-symposium-of-writings · 2 years

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Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)

Chapter Seventeen

Warnings: we maybe cringe but we are free and yours, Steven! - Reader

A/N: totally love the headcanon of Steven naming a cat "Cleo". I had a cat named "Cleopatra" so very soft on tht

Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Eighteen

"My boyfriend Steven Grant, a man with a mind of several degrees. You would make a hot professor."

"You aren't gettin' out of this."

"A classic brown suit and tie. Oh, I'll wear a short plaid skirt," You make a swoosh sound effect, "Oh, Prof. Grant, I need extra credit." Winking.

"Not listening nope it is your turn!"

"But professor!" Laughing as you try to contain yourself while on his lap. "I need a refresher on Osiris, uwu."

"God, did you just 'uwu'!?"

"UwU, nyah, nyah."

"Go do that as you give Cleopatra a bath!"

This is hundred percent how you imagine parenting would be like with Steven. Fun: you bribing him to change a diaper, you cooking because Steven's seasoning tastes are something to be desired; very domestic.

You pout playful as you drag (yes literally dragged) yourself off your cute boyfriend to fetch the cat currently resting on the floor outside your father's room.

"Good luck!" Calling out before hearing you coaxing your cat.

Steven helped named her, Marc calls her 'cat', and Jake plays with her or she sleeps on him. Bastet says he is a keeper (meaning all of them but she does no't know about the DID). They all provide so much for you though you know Marc wishes he could do more, likely from talking with Jake, yet keeps his distance respecting boundaries.

You wish he would come out, you aren't sure how to ask or if you are allowed to do that.

After bathing the cat, a grumpy girl rightfully, and feeding her treats and brushes; you start cooking while Steven is going over your history paper for Western Civilization class. "This one needs rewording."

"Thank you, professor!" You made the basic and messy finger food: tacos. You totally forgot to do food shopping. "Anyway, ignore that! I got you a gift!"

"For me?"

"Yup," You pull out a small box, "Listen, if you don't like it you can return it for a store credit."

Steven gives you a look making you shut up and hand over the box.

"A blue sarcophagus… A pencil case! Thanks." Of course he would be happy with that! "Oh, aw you got my name written in hieroglyphs. Look at you putting my books to you, clever girl." He is happy then he opens it. "OH!"

"Heh."

"A watch, wait this.." Checking out the wristband next to his phone, "This is…"

"It took some saving up and calling around but, you seem like the type to enjoy a wristwatch."

This is not a Christmas gift. You went Christmas shopping to shut your aunt up and to jump on sales, personally you do not celebrate it and being respectful of Marc's Jewish background; this is a gift celebrating how long you both have been together. To think your spring semester abroad was gonna land you an amazing boyfriend with two other men you hold dear, you enjoy the good parts.

"Listen, New Years is coming and…"

"Bullocks, I forgot about the party! Listen the museum is having an event and I'm stuck—"

"That's great!" You shout then facepalm yourself, "I mean we both are busy. My friend asked me to go out with them that evening." Groaning, "Art stuff and networking.

"There, there, the day after we can celebrate on our own, yeah? Marc has a pretty good liquor collection."

Steven feels guilty about lying.

"Ooo, get lit like a couple of teenagers, ay?" Winking at him, "Or we could…" Sitting on his lap wiggling your eyebrows, "Get started on that early semester extra credit, uwu."

"You had me until you said that last part."

You love being silly with him.

The holiday week is packed with Steven and Marc being in your company without fail. Marc, is one who takes you to places to see pretty much anything. Maybe he likes your actions to new things or how you try to steal warmth from his hands when you forget your gloves. With him, it is like dating all over, only he has experience and physical needs. Where Steven and yourself relationship started from mental needs, stimulating each other by debating and showing each other interests. Marc, you guess, has been around the block a few times he already knows what he wants and likes. You do not mind! He assured he can take it slow as you need, but you are eager. Jakes likes that about you too, how eager to learn and please you can get.

Marc twice has felt your hands and kisses on his skin, heard those positive affirmations you like slip in when you touch him. You are like a mini ball of sunshine. He is frightened that you will escape him one day… Or one day Steven decides he does not want to share you anymore.

Steven has it easy for he is the first one you met. Lots of shared interests, things you do not not have in common but willing to share with each other, this newest to relationships. So comfortable with each other, neither of you have to constantly go out like Marc does. While he is learning, Steven is exploring.

Steven enjoys being home with you talking away day, watching movies, occasionally making out, or being silly. The domestic life is easy for Steven but a struggle for Marc who has walls on top of walls.

He should not be jealous. It makes no sense to be jealous when you want to know him, he just hates how you look at him differently than his alter.

Trying to be equally as exciting as he seems to be, to be confident and smooth as him. Maybe it is the age difference or the way you both were raised differently or different events in your lives versus him… Marc wishes honestly he knew how to be relaxed like Steven.

Steven.

He really should not be jealous of him but that is the thing about emotions: they often do not make sense and causes us to do stupid things.

Like kissing someone under the moonlight after rescuing them.

Marc might have fucked up there.

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hellishgayliath · 10 months

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Violet, bluebell, and tiger lily for the flower ask game! 🌸

Do you like to cook or bake? if so, what is it that you like to make?

I like doing both a fair equal amount. I'm always looking for new recipes to try out and see if they hit or not( and especially since I live with my sister's kids, their "palettes" are so fucking hard to please sometimes since they don't really like to try anything different, so experimenting has it's downfalls most times). Some dishes I like to make are omurice, egg fried rice, fried chicken, any potato recipe honestly lol, but in baking I really looooooove making bread. Pumpkin bread, apple bread, banana bread, cinnamon swirl bread, milk bread, Hawaiian bread i fucking love bread n pastries (including muffins and scones). I only make other stuff like cookies/cake/ cupcakes for occasions or if somebody's cravin it ( I don't like cookies tho they give me so much trouble when it's time for the oven >:U ) I don't like cake either cept for this one recipe I use where its chocolate but it also has coffee in it to counteract the sweetness of it since I cant handle sweet things too well.

2. Do you have pets? if so, what are their names?

I live with my dad atm so we can't have pets ( he is the fucking worst to animals and it pisses me off, like you live in a family of animal lovers bro wtf is your deal) BUUUUUT my mom's house on the other hand has 4 cats and 1 dog and I miss them each and every day so goddang much. Each of them were taken in as strays( cept the dog Koby, my step bros have a bad habit of bringing in dogs and then expecting my mom n stepdad to take care of them, this pisses off my mom greatly when she already has her own shit to deal with).

The cats are Cleo (Cleopatra, I call her queenie): she's a bit of an old lady with a resting bitch face but she's so cuddly and lovable to me at least.

Mufasa ( who we don't even call him by his name, he's just chunky boy to me): he's a stinky stinky bully to his sisters and very unbothered by most things, he's also very cuddly

Nala ( she doesn't have much names compared to the others, but i do call her Houdini/ nanas): chunky boi's sis, she's a bit of an escape artist, has tried and succeeded escaping the house numerous times, she tends to keep to herself alot of the time and is the one you hear meowing at your door at 5 in the morning, we love her tho, I also like holding her on my shoulder like a parrot

Pudge/Harley (still half n half on her name) : sis to nala n Mufasa, gets picked on the most from chunky boi, she's a bit more skitterish and attached to my lil bro the most, and her fur is just oh so soft like a cloud

3. Do you have any favorite quotes from any movies, tv shows, books, or poetry? (or from people in real life)

First thing I can think of is just most of the lines from Monty Python and the holy grail, there are just so many iconic lines from that movie that me n my sister say on the daily and then we're always compelled to watched it again ( A NEWT?...I got better xD) . Another thing we also love is the guy who didn't like musicals which we also just want to watch again cuz starkid is amazing. Im sure there's more quotes hidden somewhere in my mind but those are the first two pieces of media i could think of

Flower ask game

#the cryptid talks #if yall wanna see my cats lemme know i got pics of em #love those lil goobers

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the-aro-ace-arrow-ace · 1 year

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6. What drew you to Hellenism? What made you choose it over anything else? For the ask game but also im genuinely curious.

Yey thanks for the ask! :D

Well, they're kinda who i grew up with. It felt natural being a polytheist. (Looking directly at what info is left of the slavic pantheon)

Long answer under the cut

As a slavic kid, legends, fairy tales and folk lore and an undeniable part of life. At least for me. Took a turn there a bit, tho

Since i was like 6, me and my sibling were mostly playing or watching xena, also asterix and obelix. Gods in one form or another were everywhere. Also had a huge fixation on a Cleopatra musical where isis and jupiter are making cameos and isis was talking about how cleo is praying to her daily. Some years later i found some DVDs with animated greek myths and found myself watching that.

Then in high school we were learning about the mythology, history and literature, and i got myself a book on witchcraft. And, I shall say it, i had a Percy Jackson phase. I found myself in the hunters of Artemis, and started lookinng into hellenism more and more. Started with archery, reading hymns, praying, giving offerings, burning candles, found out I was aroace...

And things started to fall into place. Seeing the gods even in the most mundane situations, in the little joys that life brings. It just makes my heart so full and at home.

(And let's just say seeing a deer standing a few meters from me and making direct eye contact for a solid minute after which it was chased off by a pack of dogs, after which every time i set my foot into the woods i saw a deer, was at the age of 17/18 a religious experience which left me shook. No other choice than hellenism after that, really)

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elemental-xavier · 5 months

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okay i just really need to talk about shifting realities for a second just bear with me

i've been trying to shift for three-ish years and still really want to but at the same time i want to not force it and try to open myself up spiritually

i have adhd to focusing is really hard and i have trouble sleeping at night because my brain will not shut the fuck up so meditating before bed helps

at the same time my brain still is active when i meditate, it still has thoughts running back and forth worse than quicksilver but it does quiet down

last night i tried to enter the void just to quiet my mind because for real brain please just shut the fuck up

i was in the void and all of a sudden i saw my desired reality

i was laying in my bed in my room at the xmen mansion and it was morning and i could vividly see my room like i was there but i wasn't physically there, that's where i struggle with shifting i can visualise my room so well but actually getting there is difficult so that's why i'm not forcing it, when it happens it will happen (but i want to see my bby peter so bad)

i have a cat in my cr and i scripted i have a maine coon in my dr who was experimented on along with a bunch of other animals and her name is Cleo (Cleopatra) and she is smart and can talk and as my cr jumped onto my bed i imagined it was Cleo and i know what she looks like she's white and grey, very fluffy and super cuddly

anyways if anyone has advice for the final push to my dr and how to fully stop my brain from having thoughts when i meditate or any advice at all it would be much appreciated.

i also will post more about my xmen script, i don't have too much scripted because i want a lot of it to be unexpected for me

#shiftinconsciousness #shifting #desired reality #reality shifting #shifting realities

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asuccessfulbusinessman · 1 year

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Cleo is not on the Fergus list, not because being married isn't an issue, but because he's friends with Caesar when the writers want to abstain from using Blackbeard. From his experience with Caesar, Fergus can clearly see the dynamic of Cleopatra's and Caesar's relationship, in this essay I won't-

#Caesar is weird because his wish to the grail is to acknowledge his son and yet in events-#that or seeing Fergus Cleo use Casear as a fat joke means he doesnt like her vibes #is cleo not liking caesar being fat still a thing?

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evanems · 1 year

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u said ask u abt cleopatra experience so here i am !! i just started listening to it bc of the queen herself sydney parra but i need to know more like abt the plot and stuff, it’s a little hard to follow

I don't have the entire plot memorized but I can reblog the run down given to us by someone who saw the show.

A short run down is: Iris is really gay for Cleo and because of this she has a sort of resentment for Marc. This causes a lot of problems to arise, mainly Marc's brother getting into Alexandria because he lies to Iris and convinces her that he just wants to bring Marc back to Rome. This is what causes the song Stranger, and the end of the musical which is Cleo drinking a vial of poison and having one last party before she dies because she knows her people will fight and be massacred if she's alive.

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bewitchingbooktours · 2 years

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Author Interview Oracles by Violette L. Meier #Paranormal #UrbanFantasy #Horror

When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I knew I wanted to be a professional writer when I finished my first novel. I know that sounds strange, but because writing had been a part of my life since I was a pre-teen, I just looked at it as something I did to fight away boredom or to express my deepest thoughts through poetry or a way to record the workings of my whacky imagination. I never considered using my creativity as a profession until I was a stay-at-home mom with my first child and lot of extra time on my hands. One day I sat down and finished a book I had been playing with for about seven years. When I finally finished, I had never felt such elation in my life. I wanted that feeling again and again and often. I knew at that moment, I wanted to be a writer. I wanted people to become engulfed in my stories, to share them, to talk about my characters, to stay up into the wee hours of the morning reading.

I want people to see what I see in my head.

What is your favorite writing quirk (about yourself)?

I love colored ink pens and paper. I write notes in a rainbow of colors, covered in doodles of strange creatures, and leave them everywhere.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I spend time with my family, paint, study herbalism, binge-watch TV, speak at Sci-fi/fantasy Cons, work full time, dance around my backyard barefoot, read, eat too much sugar, and travel.

What is your favorite part of the writing process?

I like when the story flows so effortlessly that I feel that I am not writing but transcribing. It’s almost like I’m being taken over by people and places and things that want desperately to be seen, understood, and experienced.

My next favorite part of writing is when I write something that I think is so cool or profound that I can’t believe that I wrote it.

How do you know when a book is "the one" to write?

When I start it and I just can’t stop writing it, I know that book is the one I need to finish. The words flow easily, and the story unfolds as if I’m spectating not writing it.

What do you think makes a good story?

Anentertainingplot with interesting and complex characters that force me to walk in their shoes. Throwing in the paranormal also helps a lot.

What comes first, for you, character or plot?

It depends on what I am writing. My stories never start the same way. Sometimes I have a person in my head, and I start to flush out the character by giving them a name and facial features. Other times, I see a place or imagine a scenario. I am a go-with-the-flow writer.

What does your writing process look like?

It looks like me opening my computer and typing the first sentence. I do not plot or outline very much. I simply write and allow the story to go wherever it takes me. I will jot down ideas and notes as I write, but nothing too systematic.

What was the spark or inspiration for this story?

The inspiration for my book Oracles originated from memories of my great grandmother and the fantastic tales that she used to tell me as a child. Reminiscing about her and other paranormal tales that I heard from family and friends, made me want to create a story about a family similar to mine.The old saying, “truth is stranger than fiction” is an understatement.

How did you decide on the title of your book?

The title actually came to me before the story. I was reading something oneday and the word oracles just stood out to me. I wrote it down and allowed the word to ride my mind for a while. Soon, my imagination took over and the book began to unfold itself.

Describe your book in five words (or less), and why?

Love, family, miracles, and magic.

Oracles is a story honoring a rich family legacy filled with fantastic tales that will humor, frighten, and cause you to contemplate. Vampires, ghosts, mermaids, flying men, near-death experiences, love, heartbreak, death, and the beauty of everyday life, Ma Lily has witnessed it all.

Which character is your favorite, and why?

Cleopatra (Cleo) is my favorite character because she is wild, free, and unapologetically herself. She is an ageless beauty in her seventies who still flits around the world and takes lovers as she seeks new adventures in life. Although she’s very flawed and maybe a bit self-centered, she’s smart, funny, and very much alive.

Which character do you connect with the most, and why?

Ma Lily. I wrote her while envisioning myself as a one hundred- and one-year-old woman. A lot of her thoughts are my thoughts and her actions are my conceivable actions. Also, some of the supernatural experiences that she experienced were exaggerated versions of things that I have experienced.

What was your favorite part of the story to write?

I liked the parts of the story that allowed me to combine Afro-southern folklore into the tale. I love the rich African American myths and legends that I read before writing Oracles. The nostalgia of sitting at my great grandmother’s feet listening to her tell me ghost stories, tales about root workers, and a wild array of superstition made me feel so good inside. I want the readers of Oracles to feel the same since of familial connection when they read the book.

Oracles

Violette L. Meier

Genre: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, HorrorPublisher: Viori Publishing, LLCDate of Publication: June 5, 2022ISBN-10: ‎0991343298ISBN-13: 978-0991343294ASIN: B0B38VQJSXNumber of pages: 234Cover Artist: Violette L. Meier

Tagline: A spiritually intuitive woman shares her life story with her family on her 101st birthday as a strange shadowy entity makes its presence known.

Book Description:

It’s Ma Lily’s 101st birthday and her family is helping her celebrate as she tries fruitlessly to ignore a shadowy entity lurking nearby. Her family sits at her feet drinking in the story of an extraordinary woman recounting her extraordinary life.

Oracles is jam-packed with paranormal thrills, miracles and magic, and a rich family history filled with love and life lessons.

VioletteMeier.com Amazon

Excerpt:

It’s February 12th and I’ve made my one hundred and first circle around the sun. I was hoping, when I opened my eyes this morning, to be in the bosom of Abraham or to be trying to possess the body of a newborn baby, or at least be sunbathing in a flowery field in another dimension; but I’m still here on earth celebrating another birthday. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful. I am able-bodied and in my right mind. I can still dance when I hear a song that takes me back to times when the winding of my hips could hypnotize any onlooker into a helpless trance. Now the winding of my hips sounds like a twentieth-century watch being wound. My lined face is but a shadow of the woman I used to be. The mirror lies; showing me crow’s feet and laugh lines as deep as canyons; muddy eyes and a turkey neck. When I close my eyes, I see taut skin, gypsy eyes, voluptuous lips, and a neck like a swan’s. I am still that woman inside.

My health is good. Well, most of the time anyway. My blood pressure gets a bit high when I eat too many potato chips or take a week off from walking. My knee gets a little stiff at times and occasionally low energy levels force my bedtime to start with the evening news.

I could do the average old lady thing and offer a list of my ailments, but I won’t because for the most part, I’m healthy and happy. I’m surrounded by my family, who loves me. I live in a cozy home that I share with my eldest granddaughter, Saige, and her family. Saige and her husband Kevin have been good to me. Life is pleasant.

Sadness creeps upon me from time to time because my heart still yearns for my husband. It has been ten years since Josiah transitioned. According to him, he’s probably in a new body trying to learn the lessons he missed his last lifetime. I never believed much in reincarnation, but he did, and I am sure that he lives on somewhere in the world. Josiah had a knack for being right or so he claimed. My luck, he’s right about reincarnation and I’ll have to come back to this godforsaken planet. Not that I do not love living, but I have been on this earth a long time and I am ready to be gathered to my people. The ancestors are calling me. Their beckoning plays in my ears like a song stuck on repeat, fluttering in the distance but growing louder each day. I can hear them calling my name; a melodic whisper that never stops humming day or night.

“Ma Lily!” my ten-year-old great grandchild yells from the other side of the door.

Violet is a loud one. Her voiceis deep and full sounding like a chorus harmonizing every note. It would be perfect for the voice of God in a movie.

“Ma Lily, can I come in?” she asks as she taps the door like her finger is vibrating. I see the shadow of her toes dancing underneath the door.

I tell her to come in and Violet pushes open the door like she is trying to test her strength; causing it to fly open like a tornado is spinning in the hallway. Every time I see her, which is every single day, I laugh inside. She brings me delight in the richest form. Violet looks the most like me out of all my great grandchildren, light brown with freckles. A cloud of thick black hair sits on the top of her head like a beach ball which is held in place by a giant purple ribbon tied into a perfect bow with its ends framing the sides of her face. She has the most intoxicating smile on this side of the world. She is radical, nonconforming, fearless and ostentatious like a ten-year-old should be.

“Whatchadoin’?” Violet asks plopping down in my rocking chair as I push myself up into a sitting position. I pull the covers off my legs and toss my legs off the side of the bed. I look down at my ashy feet as my toenails scrape the floor. My toenails look like talons. One day, I will take the time to clip them. Maybe I was turning into a wild thing like a creature in one of Violet’s story books. I voice activate the lamp and instruct Violet to open the curtains by pushing a button on the nightstand. Sunlight changes the entire energy of the room. It instantly renews every cell in my body. Suddenly, a new birthday didn’t seem so annoying.

“Just waking up,” I answer looking at the digital holographic clock hovering over my nightstand. It was 7:59 a.m. “Why are you up so early?” I ask her as she rocks back and forth swinging her legs like she is on a playground swing. The chair groans like an old man. “It’s Wednesday. Why aren’t you in school?”

“Because it’s your birthday!” Violet exclaims. “Mama says that turning one hundred and one is a big deal. Aunt Cleo once told me that one hundred and one was the angel number for happiness and prosperity. Do you believe that?”

“Could be. Anything is possible,” I reply with a yawn.

“She also said that today we’re gonna party like it’s 1999!” Violet says scratching her head confused about what that meant. That song is nearly a century old. I am surprised her mother knew the lyrics, but then again, Prince is and will always be my favorite musical artist of all time. My children grew up on his music and when my grandchildren and great grandchildren visit me, they too became familiar with his ear-piercing falsetto and his sacrosanct sexuality. I love everything about that little musical mastermind. If I had any musical ability, Prince is who I would channel. For a moment, I consider placing my music microchip into my ear and playing Prince’s greatest hits, but I’m sure Violet will not let me listen in peace. Per her request, I would have to blast it loud through the ceiling speakers and frankly, it is way too early in the morning for that kind of noise. Way too early for any type.

“What does your mama have planned?” I ask, a little anxious about Saige’s plans.

Saige always went over and beyond what was humanly necessary to do. She is a perfectionist in the worst way and habitually slunk away from gratification like it was the plague. Watching her frown and fret over every single detail was torture. Saige could make a person feel guilty about having a birthday because of all the trouble that celebrating it would cause her. I’m glad I won’t be around to see her plans for my funeral.

When I turned one hundred, she made a movie about my life consisting of old videos and photographs. It was a nice sentiment until she rented out a local theater to show it and invited everyone in town. I had to wait in line for thirty minutes to see my own movie and she stressed herself out over cold popcorn and incorrect digital tickets until she fainted and had to be fanned back to consciousness.

“I can’t tell you,” Violet says as she hops off the rocking chair onto my bed.

The bounce nearly catapults me across the room. I grip the mattress to balance myself and exhale.

“Can I do your hair?” she asksas she twists my silver dreadlocks into loops and pin them to the top of my head. I lift myself so she can pullthe ones free that I am sitting on, and I sit back on the bed.

“Looks like you’re already doing it,” I retort while yawning. I sit as still as I can as my great granddaughter styles my hair. My dreadlocks are floor length. It amazes me how she effortlessly gathers my big blue-gray ropes of hair and turns them into flower petals. She pulls the last bobby pin from her pocket and places it in my hair.

“Done!” she exclaims and bolts back over to the rocking chair.

I stand up and walk over to the cherry wood vanity that sits in the corner of my room, pull the emerald cushioned seat out and sit down. I look in the mirror and smile. Violet does exquisite hair just like her grandmother, my daughter, Chloe.

“Thank you, baby,” I reply as I put on a thin coat of pink lip gloss and give myself an air kiss in the mirror. I swear the lip gloss and hairstyle takes twenty years off my face. I don’t look a day over eighty.

“You’re welcome Ma Lily,” Violet replies as she rocks like a mad woman in the chair.

“Bring me my owls,” I instruct while admiring my hair in the mirror.

Violet hops off the chair and crosses the room and opens the top drawer of my jewelry armoire. She pulls out two sterling silver necklaces, both with large owls hanging from them, and a matching pair of earrings. After she hands them to me, I put on both necklaces, one owl hanging lower than the other and put on the dangling earrings.

I look at myself once again in the mirror and smile, extremely pleased with Violet’s handy work. I feel beautiful.

A shadow moves on the opposite side of the room, its dark reflection appearing like a man made of smoke. My chest constricts as I gasp aloud. I spin around. Nothing is there.

The room falls silent. The screeching rocker squeals no more. Violet sits in the rocking chair as if time has stopped; her small face flushes red and her back is as stiff as a board.

“You okay baby?” I ask her as a shiny tear makes its way down her cheek.

“Did you see it?” she whimpers.

“I saw it,” I confess. I want to deny it, but it is no use. Violet and I both were born with a veil; born with two crowns on our heads like the ancestors used to say. It was one of the things that helped us forge such an intimate relationship. Her mother cannot see, but her grandmother Chloe can and so can Violet’s older brother Uriah.

“It’s coming to get you Ma Lily. I saw it,” Violet whines. “I don’t want you to go.”

I stand up and walk over to my great grandchild. I instruct her to stand up so I can sit down. My knee is hurting a little. Rain must be coming. Violet sits on my good knee. She feels heavier than she did yesterday.

“There is a season for everything under heaven,” I reply. “A time to laugh and a time to cry. A time to live and a time to die.”

About the Author:

Violette Meier is a happily married mother, writer, folk artist, poet, and native of Atlanta, Georgia, who earned her B.A. in English at Clark Atlanta University and a MDiv at the Interdenominational Theological Center. She is also a certified herbalist, a life coach, and an educator.

The great-granddaughter of a dream interpreter, Violette is a lover of all things supernatural and loves to write paranormal, fantasy, and horror. She is always working on something new.

Her books include: Out of Night, Angel Crush, Son of the Rock, Archfiend, Ruah the Immortal, Oracles, Tales of a Numinous Nature, Hags, Haints and Hoodoo, Loving and Living Life One Day at aTime, Violette Ardor: A Volume of Poetry, This Sickness We Call Love: Poems of Love, Lust, and Lamentation, and two children's books.

To learn more about Violette and her eerie antics, visit her online:

https://VioletteMeier.com

https://twitter.com/VioletteMeier

https://www.facebook.com/VioletteLMeier

https://instagram.com/VioletteL.Meier

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highkey-lowkey-as-hell · 3 years

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Nobody:

Me: *listens to Heaven on Earth just for that one part with "hold up, Marc is not your equal, that cannot be what you're teaching" because Sydney Parra*

#ok but also cleo's response to that part slaps #that little rap section? Good #the cleopatra experience #gay egypt

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much-brighter-ink · 4 years

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Shoutout to my mom for dealing with my very long rant about how much Marc Antony irritates me in the car yesterday

#it was a 4 hour drive and for the first 45 minutes i listened to gay egypt and launched into this long thing about how much i hate marc #and my mom was probably thinking ‘please be quiet we’re on the highway’ but she listened anyway #i do not like marc #cleo deserved better #gay egypt #the cleopatra experience

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lilasrefuge · 2 years

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<Cleopatra and Frankenstein > By Coco Mellors

Book Review

Finished reading this one this morning, I’m a little bit torn about the story.

The story started with two characters Cleo, a British artist who's in her twenties, and Frank, a self-made man who’s in his forties. I thought the whole book might be about the relationship between these two people, but the story actually was about a group of people who lived in New York. A group of people who were all broken in different ways, and still trying to make sense of their fucked up lives.

I don’t know how to review this book. There are so many characters, some I like, some I hate.

Cleo’s depression and loneliness is deeply in her heart and doesn’t seem able to be healed by any positive change in her life… like that’s just who she is, a center of her identity. She views the world and humanity through her depression which is quite sad, but also beautiful. A dark side of beauty, a completion of beauty. Most of us are used to the idea that beauty comes from the light, but the dark side contains soul, emotions, tears, secrets, loneliness, that create even more profound connections to our heart.

Frank, a man in his early forties is charming, and attractive. I liked his sense of humor, a childish part of his personality that comes from his childhood trauma which reflects many of our early age experiences. The harm that we can’t or won’t ever let go.

“We break. We put ourselves back together. The cracks are the best part. You don’t have to hide it.”

I love this quote so much that it is my favorite quote in the book. It gives me permission to learn to admire the cracks on everybody. I reflect on myself so much through this quote that I am scared to see the cracks that I have accumulated over the years. I’ve been trying to fix and cover, fix and cover them my whole life thinking that they are stains on myself until I understand that they are the gaps in my surface that lead into my heart, the gaps that allow me to interact heart to heart with people who are important in my life.

I like how broken these characters are in the book because that’s how we really are in reality. It’s not necessarily a sad thing, it’s just the truth. No good or bad, it is what it is.

Finally, let’s end this review with another quote, “ You can’t be both human and machine.”

Thank you @Coco Mellors. Thanks for this journey of 17 days which carried me through.

#women writers #writing #booklover #books #bookstagram #read more #reading #coco mellors #cleopatra and frankenstein #novel #fiction #bookworld #bookreview #book blog

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fuckyeahwarriorwomen · 4 years

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Copy of article below thge cut, should the original ever go away

Leading up to the 20th anniversary of the March 10, 1997 premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Yahoo TV is celebrating “Why Genre Shows Matter” and the history of how these shows have tackled universal themes (e.g. how much high school sucks) and broader social issues.

Perhaps because they seek to imagine the world that’s possible rather than the world that is, genre shows have a long tradition of striving to expand the horizons of what’s possible for women on television. Within the realm of space operas alone, there’s a direct line that connects Lieutenant Uhura’s prominent perch amongst the Enterprise‘s largely male bridge crew on the original Star Trek to The Expanse‘s fiercely independent engineer, Naomi Nagata. And each point along this continuum helps inform the next: commanding officers like Babylon 5‘s Susan Ivanova and Voyager‘s Kathryn Janeway are linked by a devotion to duty, if not necessarily temperament, while Killjoys‘ scrappy bounty hunter, Yala, could have been a student of Firefly‘s highly-skilled soldier, Zoë Washburne. On this International Women’s Day, we celebrate the accomplishments of one such influential intergalactic heroine.

Her name is Aeryn. Officer Aeryn Sun if we’re being formal, one of the interstellar outlaws at the center of Farscape, the wildly ambitious Australian/American space serial that ran from 1999 to 2003 on the Sci-Fi Channel. Bred from birth to be a loyal Sebacean soldier in the Peacekeeper army that patrols her section of the galaxy, Officer Sun switches careers after inadvertently ending up aboard a living spaceship named Moya that’s occupied by a motley crew of jailbreakers. These convicts-turned-comrades include towering warrior Ka D’Argo, blue-hued priestess Zhaan, flatulent deposed despot Rygel XVI, and John Crichton, an Earth-born astronaut who is very, very far from home. Created by Rockne S. O’Bannon and produced by The Jim Henson Company, Farscape enjoyed a bumpy four-season stateside run that ended prematurely when the network declined to fund a fifth and final year. (Sci-Fi later aired, but didn’t finance, a wrap-up miniseries, Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, in 2004.)

The original cast of ‘Farscape’ (Credit: Everett Collection)

One of the joys of Farscape is that its defining house style is the lack of a defining house style. Episodes can range from standalone homages to body-switching comedies and vintage Loony Tunes cartoons to densely plotted multi-part stories that don’t conclude with conventionally happy endings. The primary constant amidst this narrative and tonal juggling is the turbulent love story between Aeryn Sun and John Crichton. Revisited today, Farscape stands as something of a bridge between eras of space opera, linking the last wave of episodic space adventures like Star Trek: Voyager and Stargate: SG-1 to the intensely emotional serialized narratives that later drove Battlestar Galactica and its ilk. Aeryn is both a traditional and transformational figure as well; raised to be an impersonal enforcer in the Imperial Stormtrooper mold, she comes to live out a promise that John makes to her in the very first episode: “You can be more.”

“Oh, I’ve got chills down my arm,” says Aeryn’s alter ego, Claudia Black, as she reflects on the character and those prophetic words nearly two decades later. “Her evolution as an individual takes off in an extraordinary way [after that].” Over the course of Yahoo TV’s hour-long conversation with the Australian actress, it’s clear that she does regard Aeryn as an individual unto herself, one who took on a life that sometimes superseded the actress’s own. “I was always happy to hand the character off,” Black says. “I would say [to the producers], ‘If I’m going in the wrong direction then please find someone to serve Aeryn, please. Because she deserves to have the full love of a person who can give you what you need.’ She was honestly such a privilege to play, and I never abused that privilege.”

And Black very nearly didn’t get that privilege. The role had already been cast when she first auditioned for Farscape, but the creative team encouraged her to read for Aeryn anyway. That reading later led to a screen test opposite Tennessee-born Ben Browder, who would be playing John Crichton. (Interestingly, Browder’s casting is, in part, what opened the door to Black inheriting the role from the English actress who had originally been chosen as Aeryn. “Because of the Australian co-production agreement, if they brought in a lead actor from America, the second lead had to be Australian,” Black explains. “So thank god for our union!”) Immediately recognizing the crackling onscreen chemistry between them, Browder pushed hard for her to land the role over network skepticism. “I was a controversial choice for sure,” Black says now. “I was just lucky in the end.”

Whatever the circumstances of how she got the role, Black climbed aboard Moya with strong ideas about how to play Aeryn. Superficially, the character is part of the wave of warrior women that swept through genre shows in the ’90s and early ’00s, whose ranks included Xena, Buffy, and even Cleo of Cleopatra 2525 fame. But as conceived by O’Bannon and carried forward by executive producer David Kemper, who became a driving creative force behind the show, Aeryn cuts against that archetype as well. Unlike Xena, she doesn’t necessarily relish battle; it’s something that’s been programmed into her. (Although, as Aeryn memorably remarks in The Peacekeeper Wars: “Shooting makes me feel better!“) She also reverses the arc traversed by Buffy and Cleo, which begins with them in places of perceived weakness — as a cheerleader and exotic dancer, respectively — and leads towards empowerment.

Because of her militaristic upbringing, Aeryn starts from a place of fierce strength. Her journey over the lifespan of the show, then, becomes about softening what Black describes as Aeryn’s “jagged edges” without surrendering her agency. “I’ve always loved science fiction because of the way it affords us an opportunity to look at humanity from an outsider’s perspective,” Black says. “And Aeryn really gets to experience it firsthand the best way that humans can, which is through love, in all of its forms. When I look at humanity, and my own life, we have to break before we can grow. That’s really what happened with Aeryn; she became stronger with softer edges.” (For the record, Aeryn may start out as a superior fighter to Buffy, but Black says that Sarah Michelle Gellar would easily mop the floor with her in real life. “Sarah has a black belt in karate, and I have two left feet! I always felt like a bit of an imposter [as Aeryn] just on the physical front. If I could push the reset button, I’d go back and get good at some form of martial art.”)

But that stronger-to-softer arc is also more treacherous to navigate than a traditional empowerment story, flirting, as it does, with the fanboy-friendly stereotype of the buttoned-up ice queen whose resolve (and inhibitions) melt when love, generally in the form of a strapping male hero, comes her way. The risk of falling headlong into that tired trope is something Farscape had to deal with throughout its run, especially as the core of the show was always the romance between John and Aeryn.

And while that romance takes a number of unexpected twists and turns — most boldly in a Season 3 storyline that saw Aeryn committing herself fully to a cloned version of Crichton, only to see him die and then have to re-learn how to love the original John — it ultimately culminates with two staples of a standard love story: a marriage proposal and a pregnancy. “It seemed pretty clear to me that Rockne’s intention in the pilot was that this was going to be a love story for the ages,” Black says. Not only that, but it was a love story penned by a largely male writing staff who had their own opinions about how to depict Aeryn’s gradual acceptance of Crichton’s love that sometimes ran counter to Black’s feelings. “I recall moments where they wanted me to be more vulnerable with Aeryn, and I didn’t want to be because I didn’t think it was time and I didn’t think she was ready,” she says. “But it wasn’t my place to say.”

Nevertheless, she persistently found ways to make her voice heard, whether it was by talking one-on-one with specific writers or her co-star, who was equally eager to avoid certain genre show clichés. Black recalls one instance early on in the show’s run when Browder actively pushed back against Sci-Fi’s directive that John Crichton demonstrate the same sex drive as James T. Kirk. “They wanted Crichton to have an alien girl of the week. Ben put his foot down and said, ‘No, he’s not that kind of guy. This isn’t the story I want to tell.’ And on my side I was saying, ‘Yeah, what does that say about Aeryn if she’s going to fall in love with a guy [like that]?’ We wanted to investigate and have them experience the more positive aspects of attraction, as well as what’s worth fighting for and what’s worth dying for,” she says. “Maybe the show would have continued longer if we’d been able to please the network! They know what they’re going to need in order to keep [viewers] interested and tuning in. But we’re very proud of what we managed to make regardless, because of those choices.”

The ongoing battle that Black personally waged throughout Farscape‘s run was ensuring that Aeryn maintained control over her own body. In the genre shows of her era, the female leads were stronger and savvier than ever, and that translated into fashion choices that expressed their own body confidence and sexuality. Xena rode into battle in a heaving breastplate, while Buffy fought vampires in halter tops and Relic Hunter‘s Sydney Fox always donned a tight tank top before exploring some ancient tomb. But flashing cleavage, leg, and midriff also made those characters desirable pin-ups for the male audience courted by networks and advertisers. (Farscape added its own version of a pin-up type midway through the first season in the form of Chiana, a grey-skinned con artist with a plunging neckline and a voracious sexual appetite.)

But those fashions didn’t make sense for a soldier fighting in an army where men and women’s bodies were interchangeable. In fact, Black remembers reading a very specific direction to the makeup department in the production notes for the pilot. “When I take my Peacekeeper helmet off [for the first time], the note read in big print, ‘She looks masculine.’ They thickened my eyebrows — which are already thick! — and shaded my face in very minimal makeup. All of the on-set gallery images of me in the first season are with that very masculine makeup.”

Aeryn in her ‘masculine’ Season 1 appearance (Credit: Everett Collection)

By Season 2, though, Aeryn’s appearance underwent a noticeable change; her hair got longer and straighter, and her Peacekeeper uniform gave way to outfits that walked a line between practical and revealing. Black, who describes herself as a feminist, agreed to these cosmetic changes as she felt they were part of a “natural progression” for Aeryn. “I was honoring where she had come from at the same time having to find a way to let her grow into whatever it is she was going to become,” she says. (This clip from Farscape‘s aforementioned Looney Tunes-inspired episode, “Revenging Angel,” neatly summarizes — and satirizes — the female body types commonly featured on genre shows that Aeryn deliberately defies.)

Already objectively beautiful, Aeryn’s sexuality continued to emerge as she grew into her new self. Even so, Black could sense it wasn’t emerging quickly enough to satisfy certain expectations. “I felt that I was being pushed to show more flesh than was necessary,” she admits, pointing to one incident in the show’s fourth season where it was written into the script that Aeryn would sit poolside in a bikini. “I just said, ‘I will get in a bikini for you if it makes sense, but this woman’s world is falling apart.’ It was the last thing I thought Aeryn would do [in that moment]. It felt really frivolous and superficial to me.” (Black had already donned a bikini to play pregnant Aeryn in a hallucinatory scene in the Season 4 premiere. “They not only had me in a bikini, but they gave me a pregnant belly as well, which is really hard to pull off and make it look naturalistic,” she says.)

Black remembers shooting down an even more egregious bit of flesh-flashing in an earlier episode. As an international production, Farscape frequently shot extra scenes for certain ad-free European markets that would fill the time normally allotted for commercials. The cast referred to these filler sequences as “Euro scenes,” and they rarely involved big story or character beats. According to Black, this particular episode dispatched D’Argo and Aeryn on a planetside mission, and the writers cobbled together a Euro scene that she describes as “absurd.” “They said, ‘Let’s have a scene where we cut to them by a lake, and Aeryn turns and sees a bunch of soldiers across the lake. Aeryn takes off her clothes, swims across the lake, and fights these soldiers completely naked, then comes back to D’Argo and off they go.'”

In later seasons, Aeryn naturally progressed towards more revealing fashion choices (Credit: Everett Collection)

“There were so many things about it that were so bizarre,” she continues. “I said, ‘You know what, please explain this to me, how this honestly can fit in.’ In the end, they just said, ‘All right, fine — we won’t do it.’ That’s what I felt I was having to haggle for a lot of the time: my right to keep my clothes on until it was appropriate. I’ve always felt as an actor — and I’m sure other females have felt like this as well — that when you sign on the dotted line and enter the business that somehow you’ve given your body away as a piece of property, and you spend the rest of your career haggling for pieces of it back.” And the actress credits Browder with backing her up in her fight for Aeryn to be in full control of her own femininity and, by extension, her destiny. “Aeryn is really as feminist as I am, but she’s nothing without Crichton, which is an interesting statement to make,” she says. “So as much as we praise Aeryn, we must give full credit to Crichton and to Ben for shaping him the way that he did. It’s the space that he gives her. He’s such an exquisite champion of her growth and development, that it becomes possible for her to grow to her full size.”

In the 13 years since the concluding Peacekeeper Wars miniseries, rumors have occasionally flown about Farscape‘s return. At one point, there was talk of a webisode series following John and Aeryn’s child, D’Ago Sun-Crichton, but funding never came to fruition. (The show did continue in comic book form for a time, but publication ceased circa 2011.) Black, whose recent credits include stints on The CW genre shows Containment and The Originals, has no updates on any future revivals, and jokes that if Aeryn and Crichton ever do return, they’ll be “tired, ornery, and not really wanting another battle.”

Claudia Black as Dahlia on ‘The Originals’ (Credit: Annette Brown/The CW)

In a way, though, Aeryn’s larger battle has already been won. One of the breakout characters on Battlestar Galactica — which premiered in December 2003, nine months after Farscape‘s series finale — was Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, who displays some of the same steely spine, and jagged edges, of Officer Sun. And today’s genre TV landscape is populated with women who, consciously or not, reflect Aeryn’s assertiveness, independence, and refusal to conform to societal (or genre) norms of appearance or attitude, whether it’s Orphan Black‘s Helena, Sense8‘s Nomi, or Jessica Jones.

For this Scaper, she lives on off-screen as well. When my wife and I learned that we’d be having a daughter, we thought about all the things we wanted for her life. To know that she, and she alone, is in control of her body. To be strong in the face of injustice. To be confident in her own power. And to know that when she chooses to give her heart to another person, that person will be her champion, and give her the space to grow to her full size. And so we picked a name that, for us, would embody all of our hopes and dreams for the individual she’s becoming with each passing year.

Her name is Aeryn.

#warrior women #aeryn sun #claudia black #farscape #feminism

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bijoumikhawal · 4 years

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So I think the designs for both the De Niles in monster high fucking suck and decided to redraw Cleo to look more like who she's supposed to be

There's a long story here but tdlr: if Cleo is a mummy, she's from a time before Arab colonization and it doesn't make sense for her to look Arab. She's a native Egyptian, and therefore should look the way most did before colonization and the way some of us still do; ie recognizably of African descent.

Her jewelry is all Egyptian and referenced from drawings from the 19th century. The patterns on her top are also referenced from then. Her tattoos are referenced from some drawings a friend showed me of traditional Egyptian tattooing, which is currently in decline for various political and religious reasons.

I referenced her face from a composite photo of Egyptians overall, a composite of Siwi Egyptians, and a photo of Mona Eltahawy (in particular her nose shape). Most Egyptians have curly or wavy hair, so unless she's using an iron her straight hair doesn't make any sense. I also drew her looking a bit more... substantial than her canon design because in my experience, Egyptians tend to be a little plump when we're healthy.

And no whining that Cleopatra was Macedonian on this post, please. She's pretty clearly not actually meant to be a Ptolemy, they just used the name because it's a recognizable ancient Egyptian name.

Also like if this gets more than 20 reblogs or so I'll do Nefera and draw some outfits for both girls that are less orientalist and have more grounding in Egyptian culture.

#cipher talk #cleo de nile #monster high #mummy #egyptian #egypt #cleo mh #This isn't the best pic quality but you know #i still dont exactly like that shes a mummy but what can you do #also her name? stupid as hell #scopo tw #my art

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ao3feed-bubbline · 4 years

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Cleo’s Choice, Catra’s Resolve, Connie’s New Crush, and the Bubbline Hearing

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3f80Fds

by lefemmerouge

One month has elapsed since the glorious victory over the evil tyrant, Octavian. The ship of Captain Lars, and the Off Colors, has been repaired, the Gem Army has been sent back to Homeworld, and the P.Y.R.A.M.I.D. scientists are working to return Jack to his home, so he can fight Aku. In the midst of this, Cleo feels she has a lack of purpose in life, even as she is having a great time dating her friend, Akila, who has lost interest in Brian. Khensu, now heading the P.Y.R.A.M.I.D. council, after the arrest of Kek and Khepra for their traitorous acts, gives her a choice: stay on Mayet with her friends or travel to Earth as an ambassador, where she can start anew and have new experiences. At the same time that she accepts Khensu's offer, three others (Pearl, Adora, and Catra) decide to stay behind. When she arrives on Earth, the friendship between herself and Connie continues to grow, with hints of the connection between them growing into much more in the future. Many months later, a hearing for Bonnie and Marcy, who traveled a year forward in time, is held in Empire City. One question remains: what will this hearing mean for Cleo, Steven, Connie, and the Crystal Gems, in the days to come?

Words: 9756, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 29 of An Unlikely Alliance Against Evildoers

Fandoms: Steven Universe (Cartoon), Cleopatra In Space (Cartoon), Samurai Jack (Cartoon), She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), Adventure Time

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, Multi, Other

Characters: Khensu Kasaar, Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII (Cleopatra In Space), Akila Theoris (Cleopatra In Space), Callie (Cleopatra in Space), Brian Bell, Yosira (Cleopatra in Space), Mihos (Cleopatra in Space), Samurai Jack, Lars Barriga, Fluorite (Steven Universe), Rutile Twins (Steven Universe), Padparadscha (Steven Universe), Kek (Cleopatra in Space), Administrant Khepra (Cleopatra in Space), Xerxs (Cleopatra in Space), Steven Universe, Connie Maheswaran, Adora (She-Ra), Pearl (Steven Universe), Catra (She-Ra), Princess Bubblegum, Marceline (Adventure Time), Chief Judge, Councilor(s), Officer Snarlepants, Bismuth (Steven Universe), Amethyst (Steven Universe), Garnet (Steven Universe)

Relationships: Brian Bell & Khensu Kasaar & Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII & Akila Theoris, Khensu Kasaar & Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII, Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII (Cleopatra In Space) & Steven Universe, Yosira & Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII (Cleopatra In Space), Callie/Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII (Cleopatra In Space), Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII/Akila Theoris (Cleopatra in Space), Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII (Cleopatra in Space) & Brian Bell, Mihos & Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII (Cleopatra In Space), Lars Barriga & Padparadscha, Lars Barriga & Off Colors, Lars Barriga & Rutile Twins, Lars Barriga & Rhodonite, Lars Barriga & Fluorite, Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe, Cleopatra "Cleo" Philopator VII (Cleopatra in Space)/Connie Maheswaran, Adora (She-Ra)/Pearl (Steven Universe), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora (She-Ra)/Pearl (Steven Universe)/Catra (She-Ra), Princess Bubblegum/Marceline

Additional Tags: Magic, Fantasy, Multiple Crossovers, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Crossover Pairings, Established Relationship, Developing Relationship, Developing Friendships, Relationship(s), Yuri, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Lesbians in Space, Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Canon Bisexual Character, Bisexuals in Space, Time Travel, Cleo doesn't know what a microwave is?, Indian Character, Comfort Food, Polyamory Negotiations, Steven is poly, Alternate Universe, Original Character(s), Angst, Bubbline, Connieverse - Freeform, Cleonnie, Trials, Slow Burn, Canon LGBTQ Character, Hurt/Comfort, Polyamory, Open Relationships, Vegetarians & Vegans, Crushes, Music, Sparring, Crossover, Empire City (Steven Universe)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3f80Fds

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #Bubbline #Marceline #Marceline (Adventure Time)#Princess Bubblegum #Princes

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