#psychic easton

[kennabeth]

like I REALLY want to start a doll sideblog but that means my dolls that are based on book characters will be visible to people who know those characters and that may be too embarrassing

#thats dumb though right coming from someone who occasionally takes dolls out in public #if i can haul kaori around easton town center i cant take that much psychic damage from y'all seeing my kaladin doll right #says kenna #HMMMMMMMMMM

[tricerotopicpt2]

Fable SMP Pokemon AU

Ok, so I've had alot of thoughts about a fable smp pokemon au. I definitely have full team ideas for some characters, but I have at least a partner pokemon and reasoning as for why for every character and thought that I'd share them! Some reasonings are definitely alot stronger than others 😅, but there is at least one!

Icarus: • Decidueye It's a bird-shaped (not flying type), ghost type, archer pokemon. It feel pretty fitting

Rae: • Espeon It evolves with high friendship, psychic type, incredibly loyal. These are all traits that feels fitting for rae (also a callback to heyhay's cosplay)

Athena: • Litten I mean it's a fire cat. I feel like that's reason enough.

Caspian: • Lycanrock (mid-day form) Guys its atlas For caspian, I have an idea for a full team, it's just hard to pick a partner pokemon for him, but i decided that since I have lycanrock on his team because of a pet, it felt the most fitting to be the partner pokemon

Fenrir: • Houndoom It felt like the most fitting wolf themed pokemon The rest of his pokemon are definitely more space themed (minior, aurorus, lunatone, ect.)

Ulysses: • Feebas Its known for being incredibly tenacious in tough situations, despite its appearance and being usually ignored. Its moon dex entry also says that its vitality makes it a subject or research. I also like the idea of Ulysses trying to get it to evolve, but just not figuring out how (Its totally because I think they look alike)

Aax: • Sharpedo An extremely powerful water type pokemon, also its dark typing makes it super effective against ghost types.

Jamie: • Dachsbun Its connor the dog. Also Jamie sure is baker and I think bread dog is a fun way to represent that

Momboo: • Meganium Can revive dead plants and grass. Also I just think it fits the vibe

Easton: • Bronzong It's a steel type bell pokemon, which feels fitting. it's also known for bringing rain

Haley: • Corsola I like the idea that something happens that causes it to somehow become a galarian corsola (which is a dead little ghost corsola) Idk how, but yeah.

Seven: • Klinklang It feels a bit obvious, but its fitting so-

Centross: • Ceruledge It's a very powerful pokemon that's exclusive to pokemon violet. "Ceruledge dons an old set of armor steeped in grudges and wields blades made of fire and ghost energy. In battle, these blades transform into great swords to increase Ceruledge’s power. Cuts from these great swords leave wounds from which life energy will flow." Also just look at it.

Ocie: • Basculegion Not only is it a hisui exclusive pokemon (which means its old as hell) and a water type, its dex entry says "Clads itself in the souls of comrades that perished before fulfilling their goals of journeying upstream." Which feels fitting for Ocie.

Ven: • Alolan Vulpix Guys it's a little white fox. It's just like him.

Chaos: • Yanmega It's a dragonfly. And also extremely violent and powerful according to its dex entries

Galahad • Armarouge It's a warrior that's extremely loyal. Also fire type.

Original Arisanna • Togekiss I like the idea of the allays being togepi

Vexed Arisanna • Tinkaton I think it's a reasonable pokemon for arisanna to have already had, but pivoted more towards once she was vexed. Its and extremely intelligent pokemon, but its known for being mercilessly violent and stealing what it pleases.

Addie: • Spinarak It felt like the most fitting spider pokemon

Will: • Meowscarada I mean its got a mask. (Guys please I was so stuck on will if you have better ideas PLEASE give them)

I was too much of a coward to give the world sisters mythical/legendary pokemon, but if I did I think they might have their respective island guardians (tapu bulu and tapu fini) alternatively, ocie having suicune and momboo having virizion. Or Ocie having manaphy/phione and Momboo having shaymin

Anyways! Those are my thoughts on the characters partner pokemon! If you have suggestions PLEASE give them! I definitely want to come up with some pokemon for the npcs and gods aswell!

#fable smp #fsmp #fsmpblr #fablesmp #pokemon au #pokemon #I'm very proud of this #(Except Will. Please help me) #If you also want to see some full teams lmk

[sugarmasonmearii]

[C] Sydney's Telekinesis

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Here's yet another commission for my now regular client, moot and DeviantArt/Twitter user ScoutEevee, this time featuring Sydney Easton, the Shiny Sylveon with psychic abilities, and is cousin to fishyboi Loren Easton. She's flexing her Telekinesis by levitating her favorite things.

The mini Espeon and Umbreon plushies designs are purely random idea I came up with while I was working on the lineart (just so no misunderstanding would ever arise ^^'), as well as the Pokola Zero parody.

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If you're interested in a commission from me, [do check here] for details. Or you can check my [Carrd art commissions.] Or you can DM me too.

You can support me via [Ko-fi] and/or [Patreon] too!

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Sydney Easton is the OC of ScoutEevee Pokémon belongs to Nintendo Game Freak Do not use or copy.

#art commission #pokemon #pokemon oc #sylveon #shiny sylveon #umbreon #espeon #eeveelution

[goblinsofdiscord]

Goblins of Discord 👹 Enneagram Type Database 🤓

All typings have a corresponding youtube video (linked). Many more on their way. Please note, that some of these are likely to change a bit in the future.

I’ll probably update a handful of older ones soon, as my understanding of the Enneagram has evolved since some of them were made (and is still deepening). This obsession is all-consuming and I won’t stop until I can psychically intuit every single type + instinct combination on sight, within 10 seconds and am rebirthed into my next form as the 🧞‍♀️👁️ human pixie frequency diviner of the apocalypse. 😈 🔥

If you think you’ve found a weirdo type and might want to join a typing call, DM larissa on the goblinsofdiscord instagram, or post the type below in the comments.

🍄 👀 If you want to book a typing call or submit an introvert video (of you or someone you know) to be picked over, spitroasted, impression’ed on, click here.

Enneagram Type 1

John Waters 🗑️✝️ 1w2 7w6 4w3 so/sx 💖💧🧚‍♂️ The Pope of Trash

Jamie Lee Curtis 🎃 1w2 36 so/sx 👹 The Horny Karen

Nasim Aghdam 🐅 1w9 7w6 4w5 so/sp 💥 Triple Frustration Threat

Quentin Crisp 🎀 ✨ 1w9 4w3 7w6 so/sx 🦚 Trailblazing Peacock

Enneagram Type 2

Pamela Des Barres 🌼 2w3 7w6 9w1 so/sx ☀️ Flowerchild Supergroupie

Big Edie (Grey Gardens) ✝️🐈‍⬛ 2w1 6w7 8w9 sx/so 🍸 Mother Diva

Enneagram Type 3

Lucy Lawless ⚔️ 3w2 8w7 5w6 so/sx ⚔️ watch

Montel Williams 👄 3w2 6w7 8w7 so/sp ⚔️ watch

Jensen Ackles 👻 3w2 6w7 8w9 sp/so ⭐ watch

Corey Feldman 🎩 3w2 6w7 9w1 sp/sx ★Ascension Millennium

David Fincher 🎥 3w4 5w6 8w7 sp/so 📦 What's in his Box?

Bret Easton Ellis 😍🗡️ 3w4 5w6 8w9 so/sp 🖤🚬 American Psycho

Whitney Houston 🖤 3w4 6w7 9w1 sx/so 🥀 Queen of the Night

Gregg Araki 🚬 3w4 6w7 9w8 so/sx 👄 The Doomed Enneagram

Nicole Kidman 👠 3w4 6w7 1w9 👠 watch

Emma Roberts 🫖 3w4 6w7 1w2 so/sp 🍰 watch

Belinda Carlistle 🔥 3w4 1w9 7w8 🔥 sp/so watch

Caroline Calloway 💸 3w4 7w6 9w1 so/sx ✨ Happy Scammerversary

Enneagram 4

Vivien Leigh 🌹 4w3 6w7 9w1 so/sx 🥀 Making Fours Dramatic Again

Winona Ryder 🥀 Enneagram 4w3 6w7 9w1 sp/so 🥀 The OG Sadgirl

Jeff Buckley 🥀 4w5 6w7 9w1 sx/so 💔 watch

Enneagram Type 5

Anna Khachiyan 🧠🕳️ 5w4 9w8 4w3 so/sp 🚬 watch

Shirley Jackson 🥃 5w4 📓 livestream slop job

Sam Bankman-Fried 🤓 5w6 9w8 3w4 spso 💩 Gaslighting Nerd

Enneagram Type 6

Larry David 🍋 6w5 1w9 4w3 so/sp 😒 Miserable F*ck

Lauryn Hill 😇 6w5 8w9 2w1 so/sp 🎤 Gonna Find You..

Julia Ducournau 🚗 6w5 9w1 4w3 💋 Baby, I Like it Raw

Caroline Ellison 🧠 6w7 1w2 3w2 sp/so 🖖 Polycule Pick-Me

Robert Crumb 🤡 6w7 4w5 1w2 💦 The Sex Weasel

David Icke 🦎 6w7 9w1 3w2 so/sp 👁️👽 The Passion of 6

Daniel Clowes 👻 6w7 9w1 4w3 so/sp ✒️ Like a Velvet Glove

Phil Ochs 🎸 6w7 9w1 4w5 so/sp 💧 The Misunderstood Folk Hero

Dylan Moran ☘️ 6w7 9w1 4w3 sp/so 🤴 watch

Mia Goth 🍯 6w7 9w1 2w3 sp/sx 😇 Strange Angel

Sean Baker 🍊 6w7 9w1 3w2 so/sp ☀️ Red’s Rocket

Enneagram Type 7

Josephine Baker 💃🏽 7w6 28 so/sx 🎶 Shine on, Queen

Little Edie (Grey Gardens) 🧚‍♀️ 7w6 9w1 4w3 so/sx ⭐ 🩸 Fallen Star

Florence Welch ✨ 7w6 4w3 9w1 sp/so 🧚‍♀️ Chaotic Pixie Queen

Theo Von 🍆 7w6 9w8 4w5 sp/so 🐀 The Rat King

Danny Elfman 💀 7w6 9w1 4w5 so/sp 🎃 Dead Man’s Party

Johnette Napolitano 🩸 7w6 8w9 4w5 sp/sx 🐍 Concrete Blonde

Vincent Gallo 👹 7w6 4w5 8w9 sp/sx 😈 Horny Goblin

Heidi Fleiss 🐍🦜 7w8 1w9 3w4 spsx 🍑🚬 Hollywood Madam

Eartha Kitt 😻🐈‍⬛ 7w8 4w3 1w2 sx/so 🐈‍⬛😿 Cat Woman

Enneagram Type 8

Robin Quivers 😈😇 8w7 6w7 2w1 so/sp 💋 Glorious Narcissist

Ma Anand Sheela 😎 8w9 2w1 6w5 so/sp 💧 I Love B*tches

Glenn Danzig 🦇 8w9 6w7 4w5 sx/so ☠️ Prince of Darkness

Sylvia Brown 🔮 8w9 7w8 4w5 sp/so 🧿 watch

Enneagram Type 9

Rachel Dolezal 🐑 9w8 62 sp/so🌹 Mother Issues

Kathy Bates 🍯 9w8 62 sp/so 🩸 Sweet Misery

Shelley Duvall 🍯 9w1 6w7 2w3 sp/so 🐑 The Saccharine Sacrificial Lamb

Keith Moon 💥 9w8 7w6 3w4 sp/so 🌙 Wild Man

Sophie Thatcher 🩸 9w8 7w6 4w5 sx/sp🧚‍♀️ Grime Fairy

Dash Nekrasova 🕯 9w8 4w3 7w6 sx/so 🚬 watch

Nathan Fielder 🕳️ 9w8 5w6 3w2 sp/so 🤡 watch

Cazzie David 🦝 9w8 6w7 4w5 sp/so 🦝 Sad Sack

Charles Burns 🕳️ 9w1 5w6 3w4 so/sp 🕳️ watch

David Cronenberg 📺 9w1 5w4 3w4 so/sx 👄 Dream Daddy

Jessica Lange 🦢 9w1 63 so/sp 🦢 watch

John Galliano 🧵 9w1 4w3 7w6 sx/sp 🪡 Objet D'Art

Tyler Gaca 👻 9w1 7w6 4w3 so/sx 🍯 Ghosthoney

Chuck Palahniuk 🧞‍♂️ 9w1 7w6 4w3 so/sp 😈 All Hail the God

Corey Haim 🍍 9w1 7w6 3w2 sx/so 💔 Heartbreaker

Anna Biller ☠️🔮 9w1 4w3 7w6 so/sx 💖⚗️ The Love Witch

Frank James 💅 9w1 3w4 6w7 so/sp 🔪 watch

👯✨ Twins ✨👯

Lori & George (formerly Reba) 🤠 🤩

Lori: 6w7 9w1 3w2 sp/so

George (Reba): 9w1 3w4 6w7 so/sp

Carmen & Lupita 🦋🧙🏽

Carmen 6w7 9w1 3w2 sp/so

Lupita 9w8 7w6 3w4 sp/so

#enneagram #enneagram 4 #enneagram 9 #enneagram types #personality types #enneagram 6 #enneagram 7

[shootinwebs]

songs that make alastor's deer ears bend back from taking psychic damage:

baby shark

that one bizcochito song

yellow submarine

"fuck the pain away" by peaches (one of angel's favorite songs)

that one song about being an icon idk

running in the 90s

that one siiick song by acid wolfpack or whatever (coyote kisses)

most songs by angelspit

ravegirl and the pikachu song

music that surprisingly doesn't bother him (as long as it's not played very loud) :

the crab rave song

a lot of metal

a fair amount of dubstep

skinny puppy (it's a band)

nine inch nails

"sugar walls" by sheena easton

80s madonna

#i bet its so entertaining #like when a cat does airplane ears and their eyes go wide but they just sit there #alastor hazbin #hazbin hotel #headcanon #hazbin funnies

[scarlette-foxx]

Danny Phantom side characters week! From @lexxosaurus. This has been such a cool week~

Sunday- Mr. Lancer, "Reflection"

Monday- Sam, "Happiness"

Tuesday- Wes, "Denial"

Wednesday- Clockwork, "Origin"

Thursday- Jazz, "Hospital"

Friday- Aunt Alicia, "Family"

Saturday- Valerie, "Hero"

I've consumed so much dp this week and I may be going slightly crazy >_<'

Still glad I managed to participate in every single day. Now time to get ready for invisobang probably :T

#dp side hoes week 2021 #my art #art #scarart #danny phantom phanart #danny phantom #danny phantom fanart #phart #phandom #phartist #Daniel Fenton #mr. lancer #sam manson #wes weston #psychic easton #easton weston #clockwork #jazz fenton #jasmine fenton #aunt alicia #flynn walker #valerie gray #red huntress #the red huntress

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Free Day

Danymay 12,021 Human Era, ao3

It is, finally, time for me to add in my own little thing with the Westons. This month has been amazing for getting myself to actually write even a little. Thank you to the whole Phandom!

Easton Wayne Weston was several things. A son, a cousin, his school’s top track star, the older brother of a pair of reckless idiots, and for some god-forsaken reason a clairvoyant. In this moment of staring at his little brother’s laptop, a video of his little cousin transforming into his monochrome ghostly form on the sidewalk, like the dumbass that sleep deprivation makes of people, on display, Easton was exhausted. He turned to Wesley, who was looking at him with smug expectation and smacked the little shit upside the head, knocking his hat off. “Ow! Why?!”

“I already knew this, Wes, and my first reaction to finding out that my baby cousin is fuckin dead was abject horror and panic, not ‘hmm, how do I out him?’ like you.” Wes blinked up at him without comprehension and Easton massaged his temples. “Uncle Jack and aunt Maddie are fucking conservative christian republicans but with ghosts instead of us queers. You’ve heard them talk about ghosts at Thanksgiving, Wes.”

“But Danny-”

“Has been seen getting shot at by his folks in Phantom form on the news. You know the news, right, you wanted to be a journalist? You watch the local news, don’t you?” As disappointed as he was, Easton did his best to keep from raising his voice, as his tone alone seemed to be making Wes shrink back in his chair.

“So,” Wes said after a tense few seconds, “I’ve been a huge dick to Danny, huh?”

“Bad dragon sized, yes. Ya know how you can make it up to him?” Wes raised a brow and Easton grabbed him by the shoulders. “Apologize and show him this stalkery shit of yours, to show him how sloppy he’s being with his whole secret identity and how he can get better at keeping it a secret. Got it?”

“Yeah,” Wes said, nodding but clearly bummed out. Easton, of course, could not let this stand, and so moved behind his brother, and trapped him against the chair with one arm and gave him a noogie, laughing for a full minute. “God, ok, I get it! And hey, can we talk about how your eyes started glowing?” shit.

“Sometimes your friends will dare you to drink from a puddle in exchange for $20, and sometimes puddles in Amity Park have a high ectoplasm content, and so sometimes you do stupid shit and get psychic powers from it, but that’s not what we’re talking about today.”

“Wait, what?”

#Danny Phantom #Dannymay 2021 #Easton Weston #Wesley Weston #Freeday #a single dick joke #yes Easton is psychic and usually i'd be all over that but that's not important today Wes #Rexy Writes

[nastyburger]

Wait where did ghost easton come from, did I miss something?

not necessarily a ghost, just ghostly in some way shape or form, someone sent me an ask saying “what if easton had ghost qualities to complete the trio” so yeah its just another funny thing to add to the situation lol

#i guess im the hub for easton stuff lmao #easton weston #seance #Anonymous #correction: the original said what if he was /psychic/ and i linked that to a spectral from paranatural lol

[dannyphantom-justiceleauge]

What are your thoughts on Easton Weston, the supposedly psychic eldest Weston son, & Flynn Walker, the Phandom's rewrite of Hartmen's Flynn Fenton, Ghost Zone hermit, & the lost son of Danny's aunt, Alicia Walker?

For that matter, what do you think of the idea of the au where Warden Walker turns out to be Maddie Fenton's father?

i'm down with whatever. just in general though i find the fact that we're collectively making an extended universe for danny phantom beyond canon. that we just agree on these things enough to establish fandom characters, it's FASINATING. it's just so interesting that we as a collective, a group of people who don't personally know eachother, thousands of people, decided to just adopt wes weston as a character to the point where people coming into this fandom are confused when they see him, because they don't remember his characters.

and then we did it again. i was there for the formation of easton and kyle. it was purely a hey these background characters look like they could be related to wes. and a seperate post was like 'what if we had a charcter who just didn't believe in ghosts despite living in amity. and it was decided lets make him wes's brother. and everyone was like Yeah! and now it's a thing. easton came along after and i don't remember the specifics right now but i'm pretty sure the post is on our blog somewhere. and it was essentially, wouldn't it be funny if the third brother, misunderstood wes's ghost obsession and was actively hiding being part ghost/ psychic from his brother. especially when wes gets accused of being phantom. just a whole narrative sprang up and i love it so much. i love that we as a community are down to yes and each other

flynn was a similar collective thing. where butch initially introduced the character. and we all collectively went "i see your idea but seeing as that's stupid, we're going to do it ourselves and better. like the fenton's losing a son to the first portal and just continuing to build it and never mentioning said son again. jazz and danny never bringing their presumed dead bother up through all the various trauma and presented opportunities to talk about it. bad writing. bad character writing too because it makes everyone involved look like monsters. a cousin, the child of a character that's already established as existing and someone we aren't likely to know or hear about, getting sucked into a natural portal. better.

the drama and intrigue of flynn as a character is so much better if he isn't their brother. the family implications for alicia who got divorced from her husband, presumably partially because her kid went missing and that kind of thing is rough on a family. the implication that ghosts stole a family member being why the fenton parents have it out for ghosts, because they were their through that greif even though it wasn't their kid. the protectiveness we sometimes see when it comes to protecting their kids from ghosts. excellent. the fact that flynn is a human living in the ghost zone. the only human and the loneliness on top of survival skills he would need to develop to make it through that situation. fascinating. i want more of that. giving that human a way back to the real world through danny and just all the potential drama that would bring. yesssss. hell yes. danny and him having a philosophical parallel of not really belonging in either world. the talks of being to ghost to be human, but to human to be ghosts. flynn just having a breadth of knowledge on ghosts and the zone and survival but having no idea how to use money or a computer. the reuniting of him and his mother. the talks of ecto-contamination and the questions of how human flynn is after living in the zone for so long. the implications that might have for danny watching people react to flynn. flynn also being a possible mentor and older brother figure for danny, but his bad habits and hatred of ghosts leaking through and causing issues.

just ahhh i love stories and story telling and all these characters are great for that.

as for maddie and alecia being related to walker. weird coincidence but i'm down with that too because it's interesting to see where that goes. do they recognize their father? does he recognize them. is walker a more distant relative. i'm here for drama, y'all - Hestia

#dpjl #danny phantom #flynn walker #easton weston #wes weston #kyle weston

[apinklion01]

danny phantom for the fandom ask game

[[ You two had the same braincell at the moment so lets go. ]]

blorbo: Danny. He's schrodinger's child, the one who causes everything to go down. I could give him a break or break him in a story (emotionally, haven't done it physically). But yet he's also very endearing with how funny he is and the constant running gag of him using puppy eyes to get someone to pity him. Seriously if I had a dollar for every time that shows up, I'd have enough for a large pizza.

scrunkly: Frostbite or Ember. Frostbite gives massive Uncle Iroh vibes and I think he's a better mentor figure than Clockwork based on how emotional he can be. And then there's Ember. I probably relate to her a bit. Being a combination of a band kid and someone who hasn't had the best luck romance wise. I enjoy seeing her banter with characters and also SHE HAS THE RANGE.

scrimblo bimblo: Either Dorathea or Kwan. Dorathea is complicated. She got subjected under abuse from her brother and has a sexist and outdated understanding of what women should do. I think it would mean a lot for her to unlearn all of those thoughts and lover herself the way her brother never did.

Kwan is also complicated but in a lighthearted sense. He seems like an nice guy, and as to how he ended up in Dash's friend group is still confusing. I think he could have some interesting interactions with the main trio or even exit the A Listers and hang around Valerie.

glup shitto: Easton. He's the oldest brother of Wes but he's not used a lot. I think we don't use him enough cause imagine having to be the older brother of the local conspiracist and the supernatural disbeliever. Not only that, he's the one who legitimately has psychic powers. There is huge chaotic comedic potential. Absolutely huge.

poor little meow meow: Hmm let's go with either Paulina or Vlad. Vlad's like the Ashfur of the Danny Phantom characters. He's trying to win over the love of someone who's clearly in a relationship with another character, and believes he's the victim in his own eyes. And while he's right in a sense about how he got his powers/ becoming half ghost, he's also wrong in that neither Jack nor Maddie wanted to harm him. Vlad's got a lot of problems but he's also a compelling villain, which I like but also he's hard as hell to write cause I wish to crumple him up like a newspaper.

Paulina's in a similar boat. She's like Chloe from Miraculous Ladybug, too self centered and doesn't think other characters matter like she does. Also loves Phantom. I dislike her personality in the show, but in fanon I think she could be played around with. Especially since she appears to be Hispanic or Latino.

horse plinko: Wes. Enough said.

eeby deeby: Either Aragon, the Observants, or Freakshow. Goodbye forever.

#ask #danny phantom

[jerichomere]

Easton Weston headcanon time!!

1. He is definitely friends with Jazz! He was a junior when she was a freshman. They had an art elective together together that year. Since Jazz is pretty smart, she has a handful of classes with the upperclassmen, and she and Easton study together. He probably had a crush on her at some point, but between school, sports, and taking care of the boys he knows he can’t give her the love&care she deserves

2. So Easton graduated high school just before Danny&all would have started but he stayed in town to be with his family... I could see him working in construction or something? And because it’s not 2004 anymore he takes college courses online~ he wants to be an architect.

3. I saw some speculation about musical instruments... Easton’s kind of a nerd so at some point he built a theremin for fun. Weird things like this only build up his cryptid status.

4. I like the idea of him having some mild psychic powers.. like.. he can see in the dark

5. I also really like the idea that his brothers never figure it out

#easton weston #kyle weston #wes weston #this is the most art I have ever made for a fandom #here you go phans #once again I am asking you to accept my humble offering #danny phantom #phandom #jart

[thejonzone]

Riverdale is the Best Show You’ve Written Off

About once a month, a tweet will go around, reading something like “I can’t believe Netflix cancelled [SHOW X], but Riverdale is still on?!? *eye roll emoji, angry cussing emoji*.” It can be difficult to read tweets like these, because I like Riverdale. But I understand why it has struggled to keep an audience-- there is a perception that the show has gone completely off the rails, a chaos of hot actors in their mid-20s playing glamorous high school sociopaths, with the show choosing excess over narrative cohesion. That perception is pretty accurate. It’s an easy show to write off and easy to make fun of, especially because, as a CW show, it’s ostensibly geared to teens. So it brings me no pleasure to say that Riverdale, currently in its 5th season, has reached a renaissance, and its episodes so far this season represent its high-water mark. 

To appreciate how stunning and exciting Riverdale’s new direction is, it’s important to understand how we got here.

In the first season, a murder in the titular town revealed an underbelly of thugs, power brokers, and shady backroom rulers, all vying for control with gothic morbidity. What followed after that season though, was something else entirely. 

Riverdale, ramping up during Seasons 2 through 4, became a beautiful mess. I think it’s important to state that no other show on television is even attempting to do what Riverdale did/is doing. The show is, at any one point, 5-7 wholly different shows. There is a season’s worth of plot per episode. It’s storytelling mania and in-real-time dementia. I don’t remember what happened at the end of last episode because SO much happened. And besides, coherence is overrated! Give me hot actors, give me drug-addicted mobsters, give me creepy principals! On Riverdale, the parents are both former teen heartthrobs and serial killers, children operate underground speakeasies, and for some reason not one therapist has realized they could make a fortune helping our cast work through the intense psychological terror and emotional abuse they receive every episode.

This show is beyond pastiche, hyper-loaded with reference. My roommate and I had a joke that the show’s third season could be mapped to a quadrant of influences: Twin Peaks, True Detective, The Sopranos, and Gossip Girl. At any point Riverdale was acknowledging and playing into the influence of one of these shows. Season Four doubled down on the show’s horror anthology tendency. No one wants you to miss the references being made. You know that menacing boarding school Jughead attends in Season Four? You’d be right If it reminded you of Donna Tartt’s A Secret History. After all, consider Jughead’s classmate, whose name is Donna Sweet. Maybe you picked up on the violence simmering underneath the surface of Jughead’s other classmate, Bret Easton-Elli--  I mean, Bret Weston-Wallis.

Every week, the show seems primed for failure, attempting to juggle more storylines than possible or even necessary. The show is like a house of cards that has already fallen, and yet the writers are somehow still haphazardly adding more cards to the top. “Be reasonable!” I would plead. To no avail. And that’s the thrill of it. The plotlines are secondary to the spectacle. The show is a celebration and parody of violent legacy dramas, camp, teen horror, canonical literature, and anything else it can stuff under the hood, as much an ode to other pieces of media as it is an original work itself. 

But now, something completely different is happening. The beginning of Season Five brought an end to the seasons-long saga the show felt trapped in. Archie, Veronica, Betty, and Jughead graduated high school, and the show flashed forward seven years. What might be considered a hokey technique was one of the best decisions the writers ever did. Because now we have a blank slate for our main cast. The writers effectively cut the fat from three seasons of violent, ridiculous maximalism. And it’s psychically refreshing.

At the heart of any good sitcom, we just want to see our main characters hanging out together. Change is part of life, but it shouldn’t be in television. Which is why this new season is so exciting-- Riverdale is now in the process of bringing its four main characters back from their adult lives and re-engaging them in the deadly politics of their hometown. Pop Tate, the owner-manager of Pop’s, Riverdale’s diner, is retiring, and Archie gets the gang back in town to celebrate the man who helped make the diner such a great hang-out spot. In the words of Jughead, “You gave us a home, Pop.” Like so mant other sitcoms before it, Riverdale used Pop’s to establish its characters and their relationships to each other.

I grew up on Seinfeld so I’ve always been attracted to the idea of the diner. The pandemic has made me yearn even harder for the sitcom diner, that idealistic place where all my friends are, where people enter with problems to be solved, drama to be explained, good news to be celebrated. Riverdale’s acknowledgment of Pop and his diner as the show’s connective tissue is a grounding and human choice. It works fantastically to set up this upcoming season, where our gang must confront the newest nefarious plot for control over the soul of Riverdale.

No doubt the show will continue its pattern of naming and spoofing genre. Veronica, in her adult life, had an Uncut Gems-style few scenes where she works as a charismatic (of course) diamond merchant. She married a possessive, boring guy who’s only characteristic seems to be that his voice is *exactly* like Veronica’s megalomaniac dad, Hiram. Something something Freud, something something daddy sexy. And credit where credit is due, Mark Consuelos is really hot.

Jughead is a writer now, in the most white guy college freshman fantasy of being a writer possible. He attended the Iowa Writers Workshop as an undergrad, something that is definitely not possible. He’s written a hit book but now suffers from *gasp* writer’s block?? He’s a cool guy writer who, in his opening montage, gets recognized by, hit on, and then has sex with a college-aged fan. Back in Riverdale, Jug writes a speech for Pop’s retirement and sends it to his agent. His agent is smitten with the work, calling it “tragic americana” and proclaiming that Jughead’s next book will be titled “Elegy for a Small Town”. This is almost certainly a reference to J.D. Vance’s bad book, and I’m sure the show will be bringing in more elements of “tragic” “americana” as the season unfolds. 

Betty is FBI in training, because as the show has loved to tell us, Betty has “the serial killer gene”, but is using it for good. For the record, her dad was a serial killer, and her brother was a serial killer. And it’s not like her mom or sister can cast the first stone. Betty’s endured enough trauma to fill 100 lives with unending pain and I’m sure the show will have no trouble heaping more on top. Already in the new season we’ve seen flashbacks to some point during the time jump when Betty was taken hostage, in what’s clearly a homage to The Silence of the Lambs. 

And then there’s Archie. I don’t know if anyone knows what to do with the guy. Played by K.J. Apa, who is both really good-looking with his shirt off and a god-awful actor, Archie has been in the army. The show is using him to shill for the military-industrial complex. 

I’ve long joked that the Riverdale writers have no idea what they’re doing. But through a global pandemic affecting TV production and *the* major narrative complication in any high school-set show (graduation), the Riverdale writers have seamlessly transitioned the show to a new stasis. Past seasons are informing this one, but we aren’t bogged down by the details in this new season. The bigger joke, of course, is that the writers have known exactly what they’ve been doing this whole time, and I’m just an idiot. Well I mean, of course I’m an idiot. I use television to regulate my emotions and simulate a static friend group that doesn’t leave or change. And Riverdale is perfect for that. If a renaissance is a rebirth, well then my friends, cut the umbilical cord and save the placenta to put in pills, because Riverdale is cranking out episodes that are better than ever.

[thisiswhatwereupagainst]

We come from the land of the ice and snow From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow This is Snowbird aka Narya aka Anne MacKenzie, a founding member of Marvel’s Alpha Flight and one of my faves. Here’s a post all about her!

Snowbird is the daughter of a moral man, Richard Easton, and the Inua goddess Nelvanna. The Inua are the gods of the Canadian north in Marvel canon. While their name is clearly from the term “Inuit” they are not a pantheon (originally a trinity but then expanded) from any real-world culture, but they are drawn in such a way to suggest they are meant to reflect Indigenuous Canadian peoples, and when they are expanded from a trinity to a true pantheon, real-world Inuit deities like Kadlu and Sedna are added to their number. This raises some problematic issues all around, but it is what it is, so moving on--- Nelvanna is the only female member of the original trinity as they appear, and thus was tasked with conceiving a half-human child with Richard Easton when he stumbled into their realm after finding an ancient artifact at a Canadian archeological dig near the Arctic Circle, since Richard was a man. The reason they needed a half-human child was to combat The Great Beasts, immensely powerful entities. They had been trapped thousands of years ago in a prison realm by the Inua, but in modern times the magicks holding them began to weaken. Knowing the Great Beasts would break free soon, the Inua wished to produce a champion, a demi-goddess child born of both man and god, belonging to both worlds, who could fight them on this plane. Nelvanna successfully conceived a child with Richard, but he was driven mad by the experience of consort with the divine, and he lived out the rest of his life as a hermit until he attempted a ritual to summon one of the Great Beasts. This succeeded, but his life force was consumed in the process, and his remains settled on the bottom of the salt lake where the Great Beast called Tundra once stood. Richard’s spirit would live on as an evil entity, which Snowbird eventually faced and put to peaceful rest at last. But back to Snowbird---obviously, the baby that Nelvanna conceived was Narya, who became Snowbird. As Nelvanna was about to give birth, she summoned Native Canadian shaman Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen to a place of power to assist her. The being she gave birth to was unstable, a transmorph, lacking real form, and Michael knew that he had to mystically bind it to Earth or else it would have never been able to possess a human form. He did so, and the baby at last assumed a human form, that of a little blonde girl with alien features who was already a year old. Having been bound to the land of Canada itself at her birth gave Snowbird her greatest weakness----she could not leave the boundaries of Canada without weakening and, if she did not return soon enough, death. Michael raised Narya alone in a cabin in Banff National Park, where she began to learn the customs of Earth and how to use her fantastic powers---specifically, she could shapeshift into a snow-white version of any animal native to the Canadian Arctic lands. She notably preferred to eat what she hunted in her animal form, not joining Michael or his guests, the Hudsons, at dinner. But she had stranger qualities still---at only three or four chronological years, she already looked like a young woman, albeit a strange elfen one. After Michael explained to the Hudsons that Narya was not only a metamorph but a demigoddess, James Hudson invited them both to join Alpha Flight. They agreed, and were given the codenames Shaman and Snowbird. While her primary goal was always to battle the Great Beasts as she had been born for, Snowbird also dutifully served the interests of Department H and the Canadian government, and to this end took on a human identity, that of Corporal Anne MacKenzie. She used her shapeshifting power to adopt a more fully human appearance, and worked at an RCMP post somewhere in the North West Territories of Canada. However, she had the ability to sense whenever one of her enemies, the Great Beasts, awakened, and would leave whatever she was doing immediately to do battle with these monsters. This ended up costing her her job, though she likely cared little. Snowbird had a cold, distant, aloof persona, almost alien, and at one of her teammates expressed that she gave him “the heebie jeebies” to which her foster father Michael said he was not alone in, suggesting that others were regularly unnerved by her. Indeed, Narya was very much as inhuman mentally as she was physically. Alpha Flight (1983) #3 describes her as such: "Her innermost memories dwell beyond human comprehension, and she remembers the oldest snows." She seems to innately know all her own powers, even those she never used before---such as the ability to compel others to aid her against the Great Beasts should she wish--and to know that her destiny is to fight The Great Beasts, which she will automatically do despite any fear she might have. While it is possible Michael taught her the latter, it is just as likely that she simply was born knowing it. Other powers she displayed were: - Flight - Resistance to extreme cold - She's able to sense magical energies, disturbances to the land she's tied to, and the proximity of her teammates - If her teammates invoke the Great Spirit, she senses that and will come to their aid. - Post-cognitive vision, being able to see what happened in the past in a place. For instance, she looked at a plane crash and was able to basically play it back before her eyes as she looks at the wreckage in order for her to figure out what caused it. It seems there's a limit though, as in another issue she can't do it because whatever happened was 12 hours or more ago, which she can tell by tracks, showing she has tracking skills, likely from her wildnerness upbringing by Shaman and animal-like abilities - As mentioned, she can magically/psychically compel others to help her fight the Great Beasts against their wills While Snowbird originally hoped that once she vanquished all the Great Beasts, her time on Earth would be done and she could ascend to the paradise where the other Inua dwelled, her path changed when Doug Thompson, a colleague from when she had been Anne McKenzie, professed his love for her. Though she originally denied him, she eventually revealed her real self, Snowbird, to hi. She tried to tell him that she could not return his affections, but Doug simply grabbed and kissed her – the first kiss Narya ever received. Taken by surprise and filled with human emotions she had suppressed to this point, Snowbird could no longer deny that she was attracted to Doug too, however, she wanted him to fully know what he would get involved in and showed him her so True Fires, her godly form, a strange and terrifying sight to behold. Yet Doug loved her still, and so once all the Great Beasts were slain, she returned to him and wed him, asking him to teach her to be human. But in doing so, she bound herself to a mortal man, and thus the Inua, whom she had longed to join, cast her out for this sin. Eventually she became pregnant, and just as she had grown up rapidly, so too did her pregnancy rapidly advance. The birth was dramatic, with Snowbird rapidly shifting out of control, displaying her True Fires in her agony. The Inua appeared and offered Snowbird one last chance to join them in Paradise; ridding herself of the stench of mortality. They warned her that after the child was born they would have nothing to do with her. Afraid and suffering unbearable pain, Narya almost agreed – except that she was afraid of losing the people she loved and who loved her back. Snowbird told her mother that she couldn’t leave what she had found on Earth and with that, the Gods left. Narya still needed to reach sacred ground before she could give birth, just as she too had been born in a sacred place. Due to her own resentment of her father, Talisman aka Elizabeth Twoyoungmen, Michael’s daughter, tricked her. Dr. Strange had brought her to a place of power, yes, but it was a place of power because there was an ancient sorcerer buried beneath the frozen wasteland. Strange did not know this, but Talisman did---and said nothing. Soon the birth was set in motion, and almost instantly, Pestilence, spirit of  the ancient sorcerer, possessed and corrupted the child. Talisman knew this would happen; her plan was to watch her father try and fail to save the day, and then step in to do so herself. Yet she found herself unable to best Pestilence either, and he beat Alpha Flight, including his own “mother”, and fled, taking his new body, that of Narya’s unnamed son, with him. As horrible as this was, Nary considered this might be a blessing in disguise. She thought that perhaps if she abandoned her child and husband, then the Inua might reconsider rejecting her, and welcome her back into their fold. Understandably, her husband was upset by this, and angrily stormed off, vowing to find their son himself. He said he now realized that not being human, he could not expect Snowbird to know what motherly love meant. And yet, it turned out, she did---though it saved neither her nor her son. While the rest of Alpha Flight were busy with another mission, Shaman and Snowbird located Pestilence in the mining town of Burial Butte. Once they got there, the pair learned that Douglas, Snowbird’s husband, had gotten there before, and had been infected with a fatal disease by Pestilence. Pestilence had realized that the baby’s pure spirit was slowly overcoming his influence. Only by it being killed could Pestilence could roam free and possess someone else again. To this end, he controlled Snowbird, and forced her to kill him, releasing his spirit, while the body of the child, her child, perished at the claws of its own mother. Snowbird died too, shot down by Heather Hudson in a too-late attempt to stop her from killing her “son” and releasing the sorcerer. Pestilence escaped, but mother, father, and child were all dead. Alpha Flight laid the family to rest in beautiful glass coffins, and, at their funeral, the Inua appeared, offering the dead Snowbird one last chance to join them in their Paradise. Snowbird’s soul, however, demanded that her husband and child must be allowed to come with her as well, or she would not come at all. Though no mortal had ever been allowed in the Inua Paradise before, her divine family made an exception for the first time, and allowed her mortal one, and all their souls went to dwell there in happiness together for eternity. As with many Marvel characters, death was not the end for Snowbird. Pestilence possessed her soulless body briefly, before being forced out by Shaman, at which point the soul of Walter Langkowski aka Sasquatch, another deceased member of Alpha Flight, took it over. No longer housing a divine spirit, Snowbird’s body became that of a human-looking woman---but still a woman, with Walter’s soul inside. So for about two years, Walter went by Wanda. Yeah, he was walking about in the dead body of his teammate, don’t think about it too hard. Perhaps also due to her divine nature now being absent from her body, “Wanda” Langowski did not get any of Snowbird’s powers with her body, but instead retained his--er, her?--own, that of shifting into a Sasquatch, albeit a white one now. Wanda became Walter again eventually, and years later, Snowbird was discovered alive in an A.I.M. laboratory. Alpha Flight and Wolverine freed her and took her along to Department H, where excessive tests revealed her to be indeed really Snowbird. What A.I. M was doing with her and how she came back to life has yet to be revealed. The canon explanation is that she has regenerative powers that went to work while she was buried, but this doesn’t track at all because, again, her body didn’t stay buried, Walter was running around in it. Apparently the writers just...forgot this, and for extra irony had WALTER of all people be the person who came up with this explanation. Seriously. I just go with the idea the Inua brought her back for God Reasons and she doesn’t know why yet and then A.I.M. got ahold of her before she could rejoin her team. She also lacks being bound to the Canadian lands anymore, and I miss that limit, I thought it was cool. I like a lot of things about Snowbird. Firstly, I think the fact she can turn into animals, that’s really cool, and the limits of them always being Canadian helps temper it, and I think them always being white is a neat touch. I like that she’s WEIRD and INHUMAN and unnerves people, I like that her design is meant to be CREEPY INSTEAD OF PRETTY and I like that she actually FALTERED in being a good mother in a really HORRIBLE way that women (at least heroic/good women) don’t usually get written as even considering without becoming villains for it, I like that when she does show humanity it’s not just compassion or maternal love, it’s also BEING A DICK LIKE HUMANS CAN BE . She’s a pretty cool character and I’d like to RP as her one day. I also have some thoughts about why I think she, as a character who is literally meant as the embodiment of Canada itself, should be rewritten/re-designed as a Native Canadian woman, but those are for another post---this is just about who she is as it is. Which is a neat character with a pretty design! Fun fact: In the Ultimates universe, it’s Danielle Moonstar who is a member of Alpha Flight bearing the codename Snowbird. Instead of the powers of 616 Dani or Snowbird, she wields the ability to create and control blizzards, which she uses to overpower that universe’s Storm.

#snowbird #alpha flight #narya #anne mckenzie #marvel

[kei-yuki]

Telekinesis and social questions form the basis of Zahn's second novel, A Coming of Age. Again, the author plays with the idea of a mutation whose effects bring both good and evil to humans. Because of a mutation some two hundred years before the novel begins, children on the planet Tigris develop psychic powers at five years of age. While these powers enable them to fly and move objects with their minds, among other telekinetic skills, the abilities disappear with the onset of puberty. During this eight-year interval, the children are more powerful than adults; therefore, society has developed several means by which to control the potent pre-teens and harness their powers. Once children reach puberty and lose their powers, they are allowed to go to school and are streamlined into adult society.

The characters in A Coming of Age include a thirteen-year-old girl who dreads the loss of her special facility, an adult detective and his preteen assistant who are looking into a kidnapping, a scientist who is researching the biology of the telekinetic phenomenon, and a criminal who plans to use this research. By using the universal experience of adolescence and the fluctuations in self-esteem experienced during that time in life, Zahn is able to address both social and psychological issues. Analog contributor Easton said he found A Coming of Age "a warm and sympathetic story very suitable for a broad range of ages," and deemed the novel "complex" enough to entertain older readers. A Publishers Weekly reviewer commended Zahn for writing "an entertaining science fiction police procedural that should especially appeal to teenagers."

Source

I didn’t know about this old Timothy Zahn novel but for some reason it gives me some peace of mind that the idea about the Chiss navigators has its origin in an early novel by the author.

By the way, now I need to buy (in digital format) and read it xD

#Timothy Zahn #thrawn #timothy zahn novels #chiss navigators #chiss ascendancy #chiss

[lgbtqiahistoricalromance]

LGBTQIA+ Historical Romance Novels with Ghosts, Ghouls, and Gothic themes-October 2018

(Warning: Some books may have triggers such as abuse, questionable family morality, dub-con, and mentions of suicide attempts.)

James Eyre by Jade Astor

- A gender twisting adaptation of the classic Gothic romance Jane Eyre!

In Victorian England, 21-year-old James Eyre, frightened by his feeling for another man, decides to leave the boys’ school where he has spent ten years, first as a student and then as a teacher. He manages to secure a position as a private tutor for Axel Vance, the ward of a wealthy man who owns an estate in Yorkshire.

From the night of his arrival, James begins to sense that things are not as they should be at Thistleton Manor, the home of the enigmatic Edmond Manchester. Late at night, wild screams seem to echo through the house, and during the daytime objects disappear from James’s room and are replaced with sinister-looking voodoo dolls. Though his instincts tell him to flee, James stays on because he enjoys his duties and the company of his pupil—and even more so because he has begun to develop an attraction for his employer, Mr. Manchester.

To his surprise, Mr. Manchester seems to return his feelings. However, a jealous former lover and a phantomlike presence in the house seem determined to tear them apart. If he is to have any hope of a happy future with the man he loves, James must solve the mystery of Thistleton Manor and save Edmond’s life as well.

Resurrected Heart by Jade Astor

- Knowing that the kind of relationship his heart longs for is forbidden by the laws of Victorian England, college student Gray Langley fights his loneliness by throwing himself into his studies and his artwork. One gloomy afternoon, he is out sketching a graveyard when he meets Dr. Arthur Striker, a man who seems to share Gray’s scandalous desires. Though Gray is encouraged when Arthur seems to return his feelings, he is unnerved by the scientific experiments Arthur seems to be conducting in his home. Even more frightening is the strange and violent madman who appears and tries to kill him whenever he and Arthur get close. And why does his attacker look exactly like Arthur?

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles (I’ve read this one several times. Several short stories in one, with lots of creepy details, arguably the least romantic MC of all time, and wonderful erotic elements w/light D/s. Also, Charles joined forces with Jordan L Hawk to create a crossover with Hawk’s Whyborne & Griffin series. The short story is called Remnant, and it’s free on the authors’ sites.)

- A story too secret, too terrifying—and too shockingly intimate—for Victorian eyes. A note to the Editor Dear Henry, I have been Simon Feximal’s companion, assistant and chronicler for twenty years now, and during that time my Casebooks of Feximal the Ghost-Hunter have spread the reputation of this most accomplished of ghost-hunters far and wide. You have asked me often for the tale of our first meeting, and how my association with Feximal came about. I have always declined, because it is a story too private to be truthfully recounted, and a memory too precious to be falsified. But none knows better than I that stories must be told. So here is it, Henry, a full and accurate account of how I met Simon Feximal, which I shall leave with my solicitor to pass to you after my death. I dare say it may not be quite what you expect. Robert Caldwell September 1914

An Unnatural Vice by KJ Charles (Few authors do the Enemies to Lovers trope as well as Charles does.)

- In the sordid streets of Victorian London, unwanted desire flares between two bitter enemies. Crusading journalist Nathaniel Roy is determined to expose spiritualists who exploit the grief of bereaved and vulnerable people. First on his list is the so-called Seer of London, Justin Lazarus. Nathaniel expects him to be a cheap, heartless fraud. He doesn’t expect to meet a man with a sinful smile and the eyes of a fallen angel—or that a shameless swindler will spark his desires for the first time in years.Justin feels no remorse for the lies he spins during his séances. His gullible clients simply bore him. Hostile, disbelieving, utterly irresistible Nathaniel is a fascinating challenge. And as their battle of wills and wits heats up, Justin finds he can’t stop thinking about the man who’s determined to ruin him.But Justin and Nathaniel are linked by more than their fast-growing obsession with one another. They are both caught up in an aristocratic family’s secrets, and Justin holds information that could be lethal. As killers, fanatics, and fog close in, Nathaniel is the only man Justin can trust—and, perhaps, the only man he could love.

Merrick & William (sequel) by Claire Cray (Merrick was a pleasant surprise, and William is on my TBR.)

- New York, 1799: the future looks bright for the charming young book dealer William Lacy, until a raucous night of drinking lands him in shackles. He narrowly avoids the brutal prison system thanks to his mother, who negotiates with the judge to secure him a five year apprenticeship in lieu of a prison sentence. And so William finds himself in a carriage bound for the remote woods upstate, where he'll spend the next years of his life learning a new trade under some old master. When he first sees Merrick, William thinks he's been dropped into a medieval horror story. Tall and gruff, dressed in a hooded robe that completely conceals his features, and riding a black mare, Merrick might as well be the Grim Reaper. But appearances are deceiving. An uncannily skilled apothecary and healer, Merrick proves to be a generous host and a gentle teacher, and William soon finds himself surprisingly comfortable in his new surroundings. Yet troubling mysteries abound: Why does Merrick never show his face or hands? Why do his movements seem so young and sure beneath his robes? What lies within the cave behind the stone cottage? Something unnatural is afoot. But most alarming by far is William's own reaction to his new master. For Merrick's strange charms are bewitching enough by day; but by night, in the darkness of the room and the bed they share, William finds himself entirely overwhelmed by desires he never imagined...

The Captain’s Ghostly Gamble (Seasonal novella from the Captivating Captains series. It’s actually modern day, but the ghosts dominate the story, so you hardly notice.) by Catherine Curzon and Eleanor Harkstead

- When a ghostly dandy and his roguish companion try their hand at matchmaking, things definitely go bump in the night.

For centuries, foppish Captain Cornelius Sheridan and brooding John Rookwood have haunted the mansion they duelled and died for. Now these phantom foes must join forces to save both their home and their feuding descendents.But when Captain Sheridan sacrifices his afterlife for the sake of true love, will Rookwood risk everything to keep his companion by his side, or is it too late to say "I love you"?

The Medium by Bonnie Dee (This is one of her best, in my opinion, and I’ve read most of her material.)

- To win a heart, he must risk his soul… Cast out of his family for being a freak, psychic Justin Crump helps others find peace by using his ability. When he’s called upon to release a distressed soul from a haunted house, a child’s angry spirit draws him into a dark mystery. Equally intriguing is the skeptical homeowner, Albert, a man who has buried his sexuality deeper than the grave. Albert Henderson humors his mother’s wishes by inviting the medium for a visit. While he doubts Justin’s gifts, he can’t deny one truth: the man stirs desire in him that Albert has spent a lifetime denying. Slowly, the walls of his proper life crumble. And when Justin proposes some emotion-free experimentation, neither imagines it might lead to love…and danger. After learning the terrifying truth about the deceased child’s persecutor, the two men pursue a perpetrator of great evil. When they coax a confession from their quarry, the vengeful spirit unleashes power nearly beyond control. To free the earthbound ghost from the past that holds it shackled, Justin must risk his own soul. And Albert must find the courage to break free of the chains of doubt that will deny him and Justin the future of which they once only dreamed. 

(Part of Victorian Holiday Hearts Boxed Set) by Summer Devon and Bonnie Dee

- Delaney and the Autumn Masque: Delaney, a member of the Andrews theater clan, performs magic tricks at a fancy dress ball where he's struck by the dramatic figure of the Grim Reaper. He follows Death to a quiet room for a glorious, lustful encounter. With his identity hidden, impoverished gentleman Bartholomew Bancroft dares to indulge in an impulsive liaison, but can he find love with the magician when the masks come off?

The Psychic and the Sleuth by Bonnie Dee and Summer Devon

- Psychic and skeptic—how could their love affair go wrong? Inspector Robert Court’s relentless insistence the wrong man hanged for the murder of Court’s cousin has him on his superintendent’s bad side. Court is assigned lowly vice cases such as exposing a confidence man posing as a medium to fleece the wealthy. Down on his luck, Oliver Marsh learned he had an aptitude for conducting séances. He assuages his guilt by bringing comfort to the grieving and offering occasional insights coming from true psychic flashes. Marsh has tried to deny these flashes, but when he’s bowled over by a vivid memory of murder coming from the other side, he can no longer pretend he doesn’t possess a gift. Marsh reveals details about that night which only Court’s cousin would know, and the detective vows to track down the truth—by staying as close to the fake psychic as humanly possible. But close leads to closer and soon the pair is involved in not only a torrid affair but a hunt for a killer—before he strikes again.

The Bird by Eli Easton (Novella from the Dreamspinner Press anthology Bones. Excellent read, as long as you keep in mind it’s written from the perspective of an Englishman in 19th century Jamaica.)

- Third son Colin Hastings has subverted his desires for his entire life, intent now on bringing his family’s plantation back to its former state of solvency, and marrying his friend Elizabeth. But, when he helps save the life of one of the plantation workers, he’s gifted his passion back, and must come to terms with his love for his lifelong friend, Richard. What happens when nightmares are not what they seem, and horror is not as bad one fears?

A Brush with Darkness by Erestes

- Florence, 1875 After making a grisly discovery one night, I needed proof that there was still goodness in the world. I never dreamt it would come to me during my next commission—with a subject whose very name means light... Yuri was glorious in his otherworldly beauty, surrounded by a bright halo of iridescence, but I detected a fierce darkness lurking underneath the surface. Sketching all night, I could hardly wait to capture his likeness in a painting. For Yuri has stimulated not only my creative urges, but my sexual ones as well. His very presence infuses me with joy and passion, but what will happen if my patron should discover our trysts? Dependent on his good graces, I can't afford to lose his support. But I fear the time will soon come when I must choose between restoring my family's fortunes and obeying the temptation of the muse before me... Previously published as Chiaroscuro, newly revised by author.

The Gilda Stories: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edition by Jewelle Gomez (This is not exactly romance per se, but does include a lesbian protagonist, and follows her world through all that comes with being a vampire, including romantic interests.)

- This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who "shares the blood" by two women there, Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a place to call home. An instant lesbian classic when it was first published in 1991, The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, re-definitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story.

Unchained by Ainsley Gray Review

- If he takes their life, they can never truly leave. That's the mantra Noah Wilmington has lived by for years. He picks up whores and deviants from the local taverns, enjoys their company for an evening...and then hides their bodies in the woods. Edward Yorke has approached the same man in the same public house time and again, never deterred by the cool dismissal he receives. There's something about Noah that calls to him. A shared pain, a shared sadness... But Noah doesn't trust himself. It's too risky to permit someone too close, and Edward is the one person in the world whose life Noah wants to spare. So, every time Edward has asked to buy him a drink, Noah declines. Then one night, out of sheer loneliness, that "no" becomes a "yes." When Edward's night with him sheds light on some of Noah's dark secrets, Noah cannot simply let him walk out the door. But if he doesn't want Edward dead, and he cannot let him leave, only one option really remains... 

Briarley by Astor Glenn Gray (This novel was so unique and it’s just a charming May/December romance.)

- An m/m World War II-era retelling of Beauty and the Beast. During a chance summer shower, an English country parson takes refuge in a country house. The house seems deserted, yet the table is laid with a sumptuous banquet such as the parson has not seen since before war rationing. Unnerved by the uncanny house, he flees, but stops to pluck a single perfect rose from the garden for his daughter - only for the master of the house to appear, breathing fire with rage. Literally. At first, the parson can't stand this dragon-man. But slowly, he begins to feel the injustice of the curse that holds the dragon captive. What can break this vengeful curse?

Lover’s Knot by Donald Hardy

- Jonathan Williams has inherited Trevaglan Farm from a distant relative. With his best friend, Alayne, in tow, Jonathan returns to the estate to take possession, meet the current staff, and generally learn what it’s like to live as the landed gentry now. He’d only been there once before, fourteen years earlier. But that was a different time, he’s a different person now, determined to put that experience out of his mind and his heart….The locals agree that Jonathan is indeed different from the lost young man he was that long ago summer, when he arrived at the farm for a stay after his mother died. Back then the hot summer days were filled with sunshine, the nearby ocean, and a new friend, Nat. Jonathan and the farmhand had quickly grown close, Jonathan needing comfort in the wake of his grief, and Nat basking in the peace and love he didn’t have at home. But that was also a summer of rumors and strange happenings in the surrounding countryside, romantic triangles and wronged lovers. Tempers would flare like a summer lightning storm, and ebb just as quickly. By the summer’s end, one young man was dead, and another haunted for life. Now Jonathan is determined to start anew. Until he starts seeing the ghost of his former friend everywhere he looks. Until mementos of that summer idyll reappear. Until Alayne’s life is in danger. Until the town’s resident witch tells Jonathan that ghosts are real. And this one is tied to Jonathan unto death…

Man & Monster (Book two of The Savage Land) by Michael Jensen

- A monster stalks the ancient forests... It’s 1799, and Cole Seavey is a trapper running from a guilty past, seeking refuge on the vast American frontier. Lost in a raging storm, he finds himself face to face with a terrifying, otherworldly creature that seems to have emerged from a nightmare. Cole is saved from certain death by a handsome Delaware Indian named Pakim. Together they learn that the monster is the fearsome Wendigo from native legends: a creature with a heart of ice, drawn to the evil of men. Soon the Wendigo is terrorizing the frontier — settler and Indian alike — and Cole and Pakim join together to defeat the mysterious monster. In the process, Cole finds himself falling for the strapping brave and the promise of a new life together. Unfortunately, the legends say that the Wendigo can only be killed by another creature with a heart of ice. But how can Cole hope to defeat the monster if it means denying the love he's finally allowed himself to feel?

Stoker & Bash by Selina Kray (Book two coming soon!)

- At Scotland Yard, DI Timothy Stoker is no better than a ghost. A master of arcane documents and niggling details who, unlike his celebrity-chasing colleagues, prefers hard work to headlines. But an invisible man is needed to unmask the city’s newest amateur detective, Hieronymus Bash. A bon vivant long on flash and style but short on personal history, Bash just may be a Cheapside rogue in Savile Row finery. When the four fangs of the Demon Cats of Scavo—trophies that protect the hunters who killed the two vicious beasts—disappear one by one, Stoker's forced to team with the very man he was sent to investigate to maintain his cover. He finds himself thrust into a world of wailing mediums, spiritualist societies, man-eating lions, and a consulting detective with more ambition than sense. Will this case be the end of his career, or the start of an unexpected liaison? Or will the mysterious forces at play be the death of them both? And just who is Hieronymus Bash?

Gothic Romance by LV Lloyd (Gothic light, but includes a trans side character.)

- When Jonathan Winters accepts a post as tutor to the only son of Lord D’Anvers, he looks forward to sharing his love of learning with his young pupil.  Not even arriving at Castle Blackstone in the middle of a thunderstorm can dampen his enthusiasm, nor the fact that the wing above his head is forbidden. Absorbed with Evelyn’s education, Jonathan is completely unprepared to find himself the object of Lord D’Anvers’ attentions. Until D’Anvers kisses him...

Threadbare by Clare London (Beautifully written, but NOT HEA!)

- When Edward inherits the family textile mill from his deceased parents, he knows where his duty lies. As a young Victorian gentleman, he devotes himself to the family business and doing right by his customers and employees. What concern is it that he surrenders his own artistic ambitions and romantic passions? But a hideous accident at the mill one day brings him into close contact with Mori, one of his most productive workers, a beautiful yet seemingly delicate and vulnerable young man. Edward takes Mori under his protection, bringing him back to his house. At last, Edward has found a friend and companion. His fascination for Mori grows swiftly into love, and he’s drawn out of his quiet introspection into a world of delight and passion. Yet Mori has a private task that both baffles and concerns Edward: the completion of a stunningly beautiful, abstract tapestry. Edward doesn’t understand its significance, Mori’s devotion to it, or Mori’s strange behaviour when Edward tries to part the man from his mission. Mori loves him in return, he’s sure – but can that ever be enough? As Edward is tangled more deeply and irretrievably into the web of Mori’s love and mystery, what bittersweet price might he have to pay?

Precious Possession by Clare London (Ambiguous ending!)

- Lucas Fides has inherited his Victorian family’s auction house, good looks and a keen, passionate mind. But he has far less control over his body’s desires than his business, hiding an illicit and unspoken love for his boyhood friend and dependent, Valentine. As a result, Lucas suffers recurring, deeply erotic dreams, where a mystery lover demands and guides his sexual responses. When the auction house runs into financial difficulty, Valentine introduces a new client to Lucas. Gideon Arnaud is a mysterious and charismatic man who seems to scorn society’s restrictions. He offers Lucas a spectacular collection of jewels for auction and also his intense, seductive attention. He appears to know more about Lucas than any stranger should. Affronted by Gideon’s bold pursuit, Lucas puts up a spirited defence, despite being increasingly exhausted by his dreams. His heart is already committed to Valentine, even if he thinks it’s his secret alone. When Valentine announces his engagement to Lucas’s sister, Lucas’s pain and frustration are almost intolerable. Torn between his need for Valentine’s comfort and the determination to avoid Gideon Arnaud’s disturbing presence, Lucas becomes more vulnerable by the day, until his loneliness forces his desire out of his dreams and into the light of day. The consequences will change his life forever.

The Blue Ribbon by Katherine Marlowe (I love everything she’s written, but this is one my faves.)

- Theo Aylmer's perfectly satisfactory life as a chemistry professor at Cambridge is upended when he receives word of his father's illness. Forced to return to Cornwall, he is robbed for everything he's worth by a dashing young highwayman. When he finally reaches his father's stagecoach inn, he finds it dilapidated and the village around it groaning beneath the thumb of the hateful Earl of Glynn. All Theo wants to do is return to his life and work in Cambridge, but as he tries to recoup the funds necessary to travel, he finds himself plagued by brandy-smugglers and rumours of ghosts. And at the center of all Theo's problems is a certain handsome highwayman who has charmed his way into Theo's bed and heart. When the highwayman turns up shot, Theo can't turn him away, even though doing so risks bringing the wrath of the customs men, the law, and the Earl of Glynn upon them both.

The Possession of Lawrence Eugene Davis by EE Ottoman

- At the beginning of the Great Depression Lawrence Eugene Davis returns to his family's ranch to set his father's affairs in order. But the house stirs memories of his unhappy childhood and his miserable time in the trenches. Memories are not the only thing woken, however, and Lawrence finds himself hunted and eventually overcome by the sinister presence. Salvation comes at the eleventh hour in the form of a stranger who claims he can rid Lawrence of the demon threatening to possess him—but in exchange he wants Lawrence for himself.

To Serve the Count by Cassandra Pierce

- In 1815 Austria, Rupert is cast out of his village after he is caught kissing another man and seeks refuge in the mysterious Castle Blutstark. He soon realizes that this is no ordinary castle, and his new master, Count Kaspar, is far from an ordinary employer. In fact, he isn't even alive in the conventional sense, and he wastes no time informing Rupert of his unusual new duties. Everything Rupert has ever learned in life tells him to run for his life, but then again nothing has ever prepared him to deal with the undeniable allure of his enigmatic new employer.

The Master of Seacliff by Max Pierce (I barely finished this one, because I didn’t like what seemed to be an abusive relationship and a vapid MC, but it follows in the tradition of Holt and Varga, with overall great reviews.)

- Seacliff is a mansion enshrouded in near-eternal fog, dark mystery and suspicion - perhaps a reflection of the house's master. An imposing Blackbeard of a man, Duncan Stewart is both feared and admired by his business associates as well as the people he calls friends. And his home, in which young tutor and aspiring artist Andrew Wyndham now resides, holds terrible secrets - secrets that could destroy everyone within its walls.

Guardian Angel by Hayden Thorne

- When nineteen-year-old Dominic Coville’s parents die in an accident, leaving him not only alone but on the brink of poverty, he desperately searches for work and is thrilled when the post of secretary is awarded to him despite his obvious inexperience and ignorance. Mr. Wynyard Knight of Mandrake Abbey, however, gladly welcomes Dominic and earns the young man’s immediate sympathy for his fragile health as well as gratitude for the promising new life now awaiting Dominic. Inside rock and timber, hungry shadows seek... But unusual things soon happen and appear to focus solely on him, and Dominic begins to wonder about the true history of Mr. Knight, the strange young man haunting the third floor, and Mandrake Abbey. With the persistent and increasingly violent attempts at communication by an angry ghost shadowing his hours, Dominic struggles to unravel the mysteries of his new home. And even with the help of a handsome young gentleman who’s an aspiring supernaturalist as well as his clairvoyant sister, danger closes in far too quickly. Then it’s only a matter of time before carefully constructed façades fall away, and the sickly, decaying underbelly of Mandrake Abbey’s centuries-old collection of stone and timber will reveal itself. Set in an alternate England sometime before the mid-19th century, Guardian Angel weaves a tangled and dark tapestry of old magic, romance, and madness, a celebration of classic gothic fiction and its macabre sensibilities.

Cast From The Earth by Leandra Vane (poly romance)

- An epidemic that turns men into monsters has seized the nation. At first the disease only spreads in cities but soon cannibals are roaming the prairie, threatening the quiet little towns of the late 19th Century heartland. At an isolated poor farm in rural America, Sara Warren has survived a tumultuous life of loss and an accident that leaves her with one leg – but she is hopeless of any other future until a woman named Cordelia arrives at the farm and changes Sara's life forever. Along with Dan, a man who can't hear and Grace, a young woman who is more concerned with her sewing needles than people, they face the oncoming apocalypse with their wits and their bare hands. When it seems like all is lost, a man from Sara's past named Jack returns to her life and they all realize the only way to survive is together. A story of romance, violence, sex, and the wild prairie that proves broken bodies still feel pleasure and broken souls can find love – even at the end of the world.

Gaywyck by Victor Varga (Book one of trilogy)

- The first gothic romance featuring gay MCs.

Robert Whyte replaces the traditional damsel in distress in the household of Donough Gaylord. He’s young, beautiful, an introvert not wishing to follow in his father footsteps--he longs to be an artist. Family friend helps him to become the librarian of Gaywyck, a house teaming with strange characters, and artists of various sorts. The house is in New England, but due to the original Gaylord owners, was built in the style of an antebellum mansion.

Donough Gaylord lives a grand lifestyle, is rich beyond imagining, but tortured by memories of dead twin and secrets that have dominated his life since boyhood. He spoils those of his household constantly, especially young Robert, who is like a breath of fresh air.

Without giving anything crucial away, I will just say that the events that cause Donough such pain are far from ordinary, and familial love is tested to the breaking point. If you don’t mind your romances a bit twisted, and with a million references to literature, drama, music, and painting, you will love this novel.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Deanna Wadsworth (Thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s erotic, but also has a the enemies to lovers is really well done, and there is a twist ending.)

- Ichabod Crane, town schoolmaster and self-proclaimed supernatural expert, wants to better his situation by marrying the wealthy Katrina Van Tassel. But, there is a rival for her attentions. Local hero, Brom Bones. Brom lives to torment and tease Ichabod, leaving the schoolmaster wondering if he is more interested in besting his rival than winning Katrina’s hand. Especially when each time Ichabod goes into the backroom of his favorite tavern – a place men can be men –his imagination conjures Brom's face on every lover. Late one night, Ichabod is chased by the legendary Headless Horseman. Terrified the ghost wants his head, he tries to outrun the specter. To his horror, he is taken captive by the evil spirit. Ichabod awakens, naked and tied to a bed, only to discover the Headless Horseman is none other than his rival Brom Bones! Brom confesses that Ichabod has been haunting his own fantasies and he vows to make Ichabod Crane his in every way. Ichabod wants to believe the pleasure Brom offers comes from his heart, but he is afraid it is another one of Brom’s tricks. Though surely an enemy's touch has never felt like this...

Affinity by Sarah Waters (f/f)

- An upper-class woman recovering from a suicide attempt, Margaret Prior has begun visiting the women’s ward of Millbank prison, Victorian London’s grimmest jail, as part of her rehabilitative charity work. Amongst Millbank’s murderers and common thieves, Margaret finds herself increasingly fascinated by one apparently innocent inmate, the enigmatic spiritualist Selina Dawes. Selina was imprisoned after a séance she was conducting went horribly awry, leaving an elderly matron dead and a young woman deeply disturbed. Although initially skeptical of Selina’s gifts, Margaret is soon drawn into a twilight world of ghosts and shadows, unruly spirits and unseemly passions, until she is at last driven to concoct a desperate plot to secure Selina’s freedom, and her own.

A Light Amongst Shadows by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood (Dark is the Night series book one)

- James Spencer is hardly the typical troubled youth who ends up at Whisperwood School for Boys. Instead of hating the strict schedules and tight oversight by staff, James blossoms, quickly making friends, indulging in his love of writing, and contemplating the merits of sneaking love poems to the elusive and aloof William Esher. The rumours about William’s sexuality and opium reliance are prime gossip material amongst the third years…rumours that only further pique James' curiosity to uncover what William is really like beneath all that emotional armor. And, when the normally collected William stumbles in one night, shaken and ranting of ghosts, James is the only one who believes him. James himself has heard the nails dragging down his bedroom door and the sobs echoing in the halls at night. He knows others have, too, even if no one will admit it. The staff refuses to entertain such ridiculous tales, and punishment awaits anyone who brings it up. Their fervent denial and the disappearance of students only furthers James’ determination to find out what secrets Whisperwood is hiding...especially if it prevents William and himself from becoming the next victims.​​content warning: violence, sexual/physical abuse, some sexual themes

Recommended series w/Mediums and Things That Go Bump in the Night beneath the cut...

Hexworld series by Jordan L Hawk (I cannot express how much I love this series, and another novel is on the way!! A different couple in each novel, but they all work together or are related.)

- Dominic Kopecky dreamed of becoming a member of New York’s Metropolitan Witch Police—a dream dashed when he failed the test for magical aptitude. Now he spends his days drawing the hexes the MWP relies on for their investigations. But when a murder by patent hex brings crow familiar Rook to his desk, Dominic can’t resist the chance to experience magic. And as the heat grows between Dominic and Rook, so does the danger. Because the case has been declared closed—and someone is willing to kill to keep it that way. The 13th Hex is the prequel short story to the all-new Hexworld series. If you like shifters, magic, and romance, you’ll love Jordan L. Hawk’s world of witch policemen and the familiars they bond with.

Spirits series by Jordan L Hawk (Such detail. This series is amazing, and features a Native American MC and trans supporting character that is so well done.)

- After losing the family fortune to a fraudulent psychic, inventor Henry Strauss is determined to bring the otherworld under control through the application of science. All he needs is a genuine haunting to prove his Electro-Séance will work. A letter from wealthy industrialist Dominic Gladfield seems the answer to his prayers. Gladfield’s proposition: a contest pitting science against spiritualism, with a hefty prize for the winner. The contest takes Henry to Reyhome Castle, the site of a series of brutal murders decades earlier. There he meets his rival for the prize, the dangerously appealing Vincent Night. Vincent is handsome, charming…and determined to get Henry into bed. Henry can’t afford to fall for a spirit medium, let alone the competition. But nothing in the haunted mansion is quite as it seems, and soon winning the contest is the least of Henry’s concerns. For the evil stalking the halls of Reyhome Castle wants to claim not just Henry and Vincent’s lives, but their very souls.

Whyborne & Griffin series by Jordan L Hawk (I’ve read this series three times, and Griffin is one of my favorite characters in any series.)

- A reclusive scholar. A private detective. And a book of spells that could destroy the world. Love is dangerous. Ever since the tragic death of the friend he adored, Percival Endicott Whyborne has ruthlessly suppressed any desire for another man. Instead, he spends his days studying dead languages at the museum where he works. So when handsome ex-Pinkerton Griffin Flaherty approaches him to translate a mysterious book, Whyborne wants to finish the job and get rid of the detective as quickly as possible. Griffin left the Pinkertons after the death of his partner. Now in business for himself, he must investigate the murder of a wealthy young man. His only clue: an encrypted book that once belonged to the victim. As the investigation draws them closer, Griffin’s rakish charm threatens to shatter Whyborne’s iron control. But when they uncover evidence of a powerful cult determined to rule the world, Whyborne must choose: to remain safely alone, or to risk everything for the man he loves.

#gothic romance #historical romance #two men in love #m/m romance #f/f romance #poly romance #lgbt romance #kj charles #jordan l hawk #bonnie dee #summer devon #katherine marlowe #ee ottoman

[scarlette-foxx]

Danny Phantom side characters week, #3, Tuesday "Wes, Denial"

He's got enough conspiracies without adding his brothers in.

(This, by the way, is totally gonna be a scene in the new wes story I'm cooking up)

#dp side hoes week 2021 #danny phantom side hoes week #my art #art #wes weston #wesley weston #easton weston #psychic easton #scarart #gif #danny phantom fanart #danny phantom #phart #phartist #dp #dp fanart