Elatsoe, by Darcie Little Badger
Jul. 8th, 2025 10:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rachelmanija
Ellie is a Lipan Apache teenager in a world where magic, vampires, ghosts, and so forth are known to be real. She’s inherited the family gift for raising ghosts, though she only raises animals; human ghosts always come back wrong, and she’s happy with the companionship of her beloved ghost dog Kirby, not to mention her pet ghost trilobite. But when her cousin, who supposedly died in a car crash, returns in a dream to tell her he was murdered, she finds that knowing who killed him isn’t as helpful as one might imagine…
Ellie’s cousin Trevor told her the name of his killer, Abe Allerton from Willowbee, but he didn’t know why or how he was killed. Ellie enlists her best friend, Jay, a cheerleader with just enough fairy blood to give him pointy ears and the ability to make small lights. More importantly, he’s good at research. They learn that Willowbee is in Texas, near the town where Trevor lived with his wife, Lenore, and their baby. Jay brings in help: his older sister’s fiancé, Al, who’s a vampire.
All of them, plus Ellie’s parents and a ghost mammoth belonging to her grandmother, play a part in the effort to solve the mystery of Trevor’s death and bring his murderer to justice. And so, in a sense, will a major character who’s long dead (and not a ghost) but who’s a big presence in Ellie’s life: Six-Grand, her great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother, the last person to have a gift as powerful as Ellie’s… and who vanished forever into the underworld.
I enjoyed this quite a bit. I mean, come on. GHOST TRILOBITE. GHOST MAMMOTH. It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s heartfelt, it has lovely chapter heading illustrations, and it’s got some gorgeous imagery - I particularly loved a scene where the world transforms into an oceanic underworld, and Ellie sees a pod of whales swimming in the sky of a suburban neighborhood.
It's marketed as young adult and Ellie is seventeen, but the book feels younger (and so does Ellie.) I'd have no qualms handing it to an advanced nine-year-old reader, but it also appeals to adult me who misses the time when "urban fantasy" meant "our world, but with ghosts, elves, and so forth."
Short Story: "Proscribed"
Jul. 7th, 2025 12:31 pmselenite0An empire which bans all the good books will find the readers among its subjects eager to break the law.
A new story on Substack.
A new story on Substack.
Girl Genius for Monday, July 07, 2025
Jul. 7th, 2025 04:00 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
girlgenius_main_feedThe Girl Genius comic for Monday, July 07, 2025 has been posted.
Buddha statue and surrounding garden.
Jul. 6th, 2025 05:28 amfull_metal_ox posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
common_natureTaken on 28 May 2024 at 21:00 US Eastern Daylight Time:
(Warning for flashing lights and shaky camera.)
( Cut. )
(Not included: the sound of passing sirens.)
Taken on 9 June 2024 at 07:21 US Eastern Daylight Time:
Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:46 US Eastern Daylight Time:
Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:47 US Eastern Daylight Time:
Taken on 2 July 2025 at 19:43 US Eastern Daylight Time:
This gradually took shape across the parking lot from a local Asian fusion restaurant over 2024; between recovering from Hurricane Ian and the COVID quarantine, changing hands, and changing formats (from the mid-century Cantonese-American the original owners had served for forty years to a pan-Asian combination of sushi, ramen, and Chinese), they’d spent the previous couple years uneasily gaining their bearings.
The garden’s proximity to the street, along with the lack of any obvious receptacle for offerings, makes it clear that this is a more ornamental than devotional site. (A Web search indicates the presence of a local Buddhist temple, but the address is a private residence, and home worship services are for who they’re for, which does not include curiosity-gawking spiritual tourists.)
My guess is that the white-flowering shrubs are Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), aka Confederate Jasmine, Chinese Star Jessamine, and Trader’s Compass, native to warm regions in South and East Asia, and widely planted in the Southeastern U.S. The flowers’ heady indolic fragrance is prized in perfumery, but I’m afraid I haven’t the right sensory range to enjoy them.
(Warning for flashing lights and shaky camera.)
( Cut. )
(Not included: the sound of passing sirens.)
Taken on 9 June 2024 at 07:21 US Eastern Daylight Time:
Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:46 US Eastern Daylight Time:
Taken on 27 June 2025 at 19:47 US Eastern Daylight Time:
Taken on 2 July 2025 at 19:43 US Eastern Daylight Time:
This gradually took shape across the parking lot from a local Asian fusion restaurant over 2024; between recovering from Hurricane Ian and the COVID quarantine, changing hands, and changing formats (from the mid-century Cantonese-American the original owners had served for forty years to a pan-Asian combination of sushi, ramen, and Chinese), they’d spent the previous couple years uneasily gaining their bearings.
The garden’s proximity to the street, along with the lack of any obvious receptacle for offerings, makes it clear that this is a more ornamental than devotional site. (A Web search indicates the presence of a local Buddhist temple, but the address is a private residence, and home worship services are for who they’re for, which does not include curiosity-gawking spiritual tourists.)
My guess is that the white-flowering shrubs are Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides), aka Confederate Jasmine, Chinese Star Jessamine, and Trader’s Compass, native to warm regions in South and East Asia, and widely planted in the Southeastern U.S. The flowers’ heady indolic fragrance is prized in perfumery, but I’m afraid I haven’t the right sensory range to enjoy them.
WWHYYYYYY????
Jul. 6th, 2025 12:16 pmritalovettI made the mistake of looking up how the rest of the ACOTAR series ends after finishing the first book… well, I didn’t look up the ending itself, I was looking for other fans who were fangirling as hard as I was over Tamlin… and now knowing what will be done to Tamlin’s character, and how he ends up treating Feyre, I almost don't want to continue the series. Like, what is even the point of continuing now? 😭
Still, I’m going to continue diving into the series, even if it’s just to give TamTam the redemption arc fanfic where he finds a woman who gives him the love that he deserves. 😡
And I still hate Rhys, I don’t care what anyone says. From what I have gathered, he does worse than what Tamlin does but Feyre forgives him anyway because, I don’t fucking know, some mating bond bullshit thing.
I don’t know why I’ve grown so attached to this series. I had planned on reading the first book and just leaving it there, but now I want to devour every little detail, and willingly destroy my own heart.
Still, I’m going to continue diving into the series, even if it’s just to give TamTam the redemption arc fanfic where he finds a woman who gives him the love that he deserves. 😡
And I still hate Rhys, I don’t care what anyone says. From what I have gathered, he does worse than what Tamlin does but Feyre forgives him anyway because, I don’t fucking know, some mating bond bullshit thing.
I don’t know why I’ve grown so attached to this series. I had planned on reading the first book and just leaving it there, but now I want to devour every little detail, and willingly destroy my own heart.
July 25, 2000
Jul. 4th, 2025 03:42 pmasakiyumeMy mood improved markedly with a visit from the tall one and his son, my grandkid, little treelet.
Wakanomori brought down a diary the tall one had kept as a kid: here is the entry from July 25, 2000, which includes our visit to Lloyd Alexander's house, where we put on a play for him and his wife Janine. Also included is a visit to the US mint in Philadelphia and commentary on the Delaware River (big!)
Wakanomori brought down a diary the tall one had kept as a kid: here is the entry from July 25, 2000, which includes our visit to Lloyd Alexander's house, where we put on a play for him and his wife Janine. Also included is a visit to the US mint in Philadelphia and commentary on the Delaware River (big!)
Horsetail Falls
Jul. 4th, 2025 11:57 amyourlibrarian posting in common_nature
Our last stop on the Historic 30 route was Horsetail Falls. If you look at the next photo you can see people sitting on the log stretching out into the pool for scale. .( Read more... )
a handful of microfictions
Jul. 4th, 2025 11:35 amasakiyumeHaving some feelings, so ... have some microfictions.
May 20, prompt word "serve"
Directions for serving certain abstract dishes:
--revenge is a dish best served cold
--pornography is a dish best served hot
--satire is a dish best served salty
--mockery is a dish best served bitter
--disappointment is a dish best served sour
--romance is a dish best served sweet
June 26, prompt word "kind"
"May I pay you in kind rather than currency?" the woman asked. The man was selling Dastrian funerary masks, perhaps war loot from the last conflict.
"That depends. What you got to offer?" He was suspicious--she looked Dastrian.
"These magical birds."
Impressed, the man agreed.
As he neared home that evening, the birds suddenly took flight. They plunged through the windows of his house, seizing precious objects in their talons, and flew off.
Payment in kind.
July 2, prompt word "clear"
"I'm not guilty," I insisted. It was true. Sure, I'd taken the bribe and misplaced evidence, but I did NOT betray Pereira. Yet now all I got were angry looks and curses.
"My spell will clear your name," Lady One Eye said. I believed her and didn't notice when she added, "Clear it but good."
The next day, no one knew me. I introduced myself and they looked confused. I wrote out my name, but it was like they couldn't see it.
My name had been cleared into invisibility.
May 20, prompt word "serve"
Directions for serving certain abstract dishes:
--revenge is a dish best served cold
--pornography is a dish best served hot
--satire is a dish best served salty
--mockery is a dish best served bitter
--disappointment is a dish best served sour
--romance is a dish best served sweet
June 26, prompt word "kind"
"May I pay you in kind rather than currency?" the woman asked. The man was selling Dastrian funerary masks, perhaps war loot from the last conflict.
"That depends. What you got to offer?" He was suspicious--she looked Dastrian.
"These magical birds."
Impressed, the man agreed.
As he neared home that evening, the birds suddenly took flight. They plunged through the windows of his house, seizing precious objects in their talons, and flew off.
Payment in kind.
July 2, prompt word "clear"
"I'm not guilty," I insisted. It was true. Sure, I'd taken the bribe and misplaced evidence, but I did NOT betray Pereira. Yet now all I got were angry looks and curses.
"My spell will clear your name," Lady One Eye said. I believed her and didn't notice when she added, "Clear it but good."
The next day, no one knew me. I introduced myself and they looked confused. I wrote out my name, but it was like they couldn't see it.
My name had been cleared into invisibility.
Girl Genius for Friday, July 04, 2025
Jul. 4th, 2025 04:00 amgirlgenius_main_feedThe Girl Genius comic for Friday, July 04, 2025 has been posted.
Phoenix’s Kiss (a poem)
Jul. 3rd, 2025 10:53 pmritalovettShe runs to me with her skirts billowing in the wind
Free as the air now that she has fled from her kin
Away from our fathers who swore we’d never be together
Her hair flies around her just like a phoenix feather
She tells me that we would make the loveliest pair of brides
As she grows her herbs and brews in her cottage in the countryside
I am the little fairy who clings onto the witch
A lifetime with her is worth more than all our families’ riches
I’d give up everything just to feel her kiss
Because no man could love me like she does and G-d knows how I’d miss her
We walk by the riverside with her soft hand in mine
We sing by the stream and she picks her flowers all to pass the time
She is a magic woman, and she is my home
When we’re together, nothing could go wrong
And I’m her little starlet whom she has summoned from the sky
With her love oh I feel like I could fly
I’d give up everything if I could just feel her lips
And there’s nothing I could trade for love as sweet as this
And I’m the little fairy who clings onto my witch
A lifetime with her is worth more than all the world’s riches
I’d give up everything if we could only kiss
Because no man could love me like she does and I don’t wanna miss her
Free as the air now that she has fled from her kin
Away from our fathers who swore we’d never be together
Her hair flies around her just like a phoenix feather
She tells me that we would make the loveliest pair of brides
As she grows her herbs and brews in her cottage in the countryside
I am the little fairy who clings onto the witch
A lifetime with her is worth more than all our families’ riches
I’d give up everything just to feel her kiss
Because no man could love me like she does and G-d knows how I’d miss her
We walk by the riverside with her soft hand in mine
We sing by the stream and she picks her flowers all to pass the time
She is a magic woman, and she is my home
When we’re together, nothing could go wrong
And I’m her little starlet whom she has summoned from the sky
With her love oh I feel like I could fly
I’d give up everything if I could just feel her lips
And there’s nothing I could trade for love as sweet as this
And I’m the little fairy who clings onto my witch
A lifetime with her is worth more than all the world’s riches
I’d give up everything if we could only kiss
Because no man could love me like she does and I don’t wanna miss her
"The Witness for the Dead" by Katherine Addison
Jul. 2nd, 2025 06:15 pmrocky41_7 posting in booksYou know that feeling where you're enjoying inhabiting a book so much you don't want to reach the end? This week I finished The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison, and that's how I felt.
Witness is a companion novel to Addison's breakout novel, The Goblin Emperor (TGE), which I read for the first time last year and never got around to reviewing. You don't need to have read TGE to enjoy this one at all; Witness focuses on a minor character from TGE and his adventures after the events of that novel. Thara Celehar is a prelate of the god Ulis, and his role in elven society is something like a cross between a priest and a private detective. He has the ability to commune, in a limited fashion, with the dead, and he is employed by the city to provide this service to the people. This may involve reporting a deceased's last thoughts to a mourner, asking a deceased to clarify a point on their will, or seeking answers from a murder victim to bring their killer to justice.
( Read more... )
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(no subject)
Jul. 2nd, 2025 04:59 pmwaterswordFace of sadness & rage: the public library here has had to cut its streaming services, likely in part because of the destruction of the IMLS, which funded a lot of that. This is a fucking travesty.
It's been too hot to bake, so I picked up a loaf of bread and am basking in the season's first tomato sandwiches. Bliss.
One thing I want to do before the end of the summer is borrow the ice cream maker and dehydrator from the Thing Library; my ice cream quest continues (Dutch Chocolate is perfectly fine but not a standout); blueberrying has not been scheduled but I have agreement that it sounds like fun from the people I want to go with. I am up to H.M.S. Surprise in the Aubreyad and enjoying myself thoroughly.
I love summer so much. I feel like a person.