A look back at some good things that happened in 2019, because life is a pile of good things and bad things but a record of the good stuff is what I want to be able to look back on :)

( Authors, Shows, Films, Books, Comics... )

Fics posted in 2019: I completed more fics and posted more words than last year, definitely taking that as a productivity win!

1) High-Risk Manoeuvre - Clint/Natasha/Bucky
2) Trust Exercise - Goose (Captain Marvel); this became my most kudos-ed fic teaching me never to underestimate how much the internet loves cats
3) Natasha - Clint & Natasha; demon!au part 3
4) tangled webs we weave - Clint & Natasha; demon!au part 4
5) unconventional tokens of affection - Clint & Natasha; demon!au part 5, based on a long-ago valentine's promptathon prompt for crazy4orcas
6) Box of Tricks - Clint/Natasha/Bucky
7) Smile For The Living - Clint/Natasha/Laura; for quietlyimplode, a pinch hit for Fix-It Fest that taught me writing post-Endgame fic is hard
8) A Kissing Story - Clint/Natasha; for sandy79, a Secret Santa pinch hit (I keep saying I don't have time to write in the exchanges I help to run and yet...)
9) Must Be Tuesday - Clint genfic; a Halloween Party ficlet for crazy4orcas
10) First Date Protocol - Clint/Natasha; a belated promptathon fill for gsparkle

What good things did everyone else get up to in 2019? Any recs of things you discovered?

Apparently WIPs are like buses; you wait forever and then a bunch get finished and posted at once, ha. Also I meant to write threesome fic and fell into platonic threesome. Sorry not sorry. As Clint says, it was fun :)

Title: Box of Tricks
Word Count: 8831
Rating and Warnings: Teen and Up; swearing, mentions of Red Room past, light bondage, dom/sub, platonic scene, kinda fluffy
Summary: sequel to and set immediately after High-Risk Manoeuvre.

“I’m gonna let you in on a secret,” Clint says softly. “We do it because it’s fun."

In which Natasha would like people to fix their shit, Clint wants to spend the day in a blanket burrito, Steve is overprotective, James is trying to figure things out, and there is a (mostly) platonic scene.

I come bearing fic! Which is to say I finally managed to finish the third installment in the 'Natsha is a demon' AU series. Which means I can also post parts four and five, which I'd finished first because apparently that's how I roll.

With thanks to franztastisch for beta reading all of these :)

Title: Natasha
Word Count: 5790
Rating and Warnings: Teen and Up; demons eat (dead) people, violence, swearing, blood, and words of power
Summary: A demon learns about words and definitions and names. The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name – Confucius

Title: tangled webs we weave
Word Count: 1153
Rating and Warnings: Teen and Up; lies
Summary: Rumours are spreading about Natasha and she needs a cover story. It’s possibly Clint’s fault. What a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive – Walter Scott

Title: unconventional tokens of affection
Word Count: 2283
Rating and Warnings: Teen and Up; dead people, body parts (none of which are consumed or eaten during the course of this fic!), weapons, swearing, and frustration over miscommunication
Summary: No one had warned Clint to be wary of demons bearing gifts.

I watched Captain Marvel last Friday. Non-spoiler reaction is that I LOVED it. There's so much to enjoy, the characters are fantastically well done, and while I agree with some comments that it's not the best scripted film in the MCU it's still up there! There's a fun chat about the film happening here.

I had no idea that when I came out I would want ALL THE GOOSE FIC, but that happened. So I committed one of my own:

Title: Trust Exercise
Rating/Warnings: Teen and up, none
Word count: 1059 words
Summary: Five times (of many) that Fury trusts Goose to show him when someone is an ally (or not). ***SPOILERS FOR CAPTAIN MARVEL***
Author Note: with thanks to franztastisch for beta reading :)

And here's some recs for others I've read so far - BEWARE, HERE BE CAPTAIN MARVEL SPOILERS:

( Captain Marvel fic recs )

Or specifically a recap of good things from 2018:

Author Events: Holly Black, Chris Riddell, and Marcus Zusak - not many this year, but all excellent.

Shows/Theatre: The Band, Hamilton (!!!), Happy Days, The Play That Goes Wrong, Queens of the Coal Age, Cirque du Soleil: Ovo, Othello, King Lear (with Ian McKellen!), and Matilda.

Concerts/Gigs: Amanda Palmer, Postmodern Jukebox, and Hozier (ridiculously good live).

Trips: Budapest (!!!) with alphaflyer and franztastisch in January, which was freezing and fantastic, and the Netherlands with the family to visit family friends. Conventions were YALC at LFCC and Thought Bubble in Leeds, which are my two favourite cons and I’m hoping/planning to do both again in 2019. I had a few day trips, including to a Terracotta Warriors exhibition and Bletchley Park. I also went on a weekend writing course, where I met some good people, and on a reunion day for a previous writing course, where I got to re-meet some good people. (How productive and useful I find writing courses, groups, group exercises, and so on varies - the weekend one was actually really good - but I love going to them regardless. I find spending time writing with other people, and chatting about writing and books with other people, to be a really good self care type break.)

Films seen at the cinema: Greatest Showman (is it a good film, I have no idea but I enjoy the hell out of it), Black Panther (SO GOOD), The Shape of Water, Coco, Tomb Raider, Infinity War (ARGH), a Deaf Shorts cinema event that was really interesting, Ant Man and the Wasp, Into The Spiderverse (which I didn’t have any expectations about; it was good fun and I love what they did with the art), and Mary Poppins Returns (on December 31st, squeezing that in there *grins*).

Some Comics Enjoyed in 2018: Runaways, The Wicked and The Divine, West Coast Avengers, Giant Days, Skyward...

Books in 2018: Goodreads tells me I managed to read 108 books. A lot of it was poetry - 22 books - which is unusual for me, but I was doing some exploring and I discovered while there’s a lot out there people say is good that just isn’t my cup of tea, there’s also a bunch that I really do like and it was fun finding out. (Some favourites: You Took The Last Bus Home by Brian Bilston, Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith, Running Upon The Wires by Kate Tempest, and Poems To Live Your Life By chosen and illustrated by Chris Riddell). I read a bunch of fiction about musicians or featuring the music industry (of which my favourites were: Greatest Hits by Laura Barnett, Five Flavours Of Dumb by Antony John, and I Was Born For This by Alice Oseman), because I was in that mood (and there may be a fanfic idea percolating). Others I loved this year: record of a spaceborn few by Becky Chambers, Bygone Badass Broads by Mckenzi Lee, and Giant Days by Non Pratt.

Fics Posted in 2018:

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Back From The Hospital which is Hawkeye and Deadpool. This one owes a lot to the fun Hawkeye vs Deadpool comics run.

In Deed is Bucky having a bad day, and Clint, Natasha, Lucky, and Liho making it better, for meatball42.

i carry your heart and Welcome To The Neighbourhood were for prompts left by franztastisch and gsparkle in the be_compromised Valentine’s mini-promptathon, both Clint/Natasha.

State Your Emergency was my post-post credit Clint Barton scene for Infinity War (because Infinity War, argh).

The Strike Team Delta Method of Brainwashing Recovery is Clint, Natasha, and Bucky for a franztastisch prompt. (I didn’t have time to write anything for the be_compromised summer promptathon, but then I had a hellish travel day where I was stuck on trains for over 8 hours. I’ve managed to squeeze in a fair bit of writing on transport with the help of google docs.)

Not super productive, but I did manage to post more finished words than in 2017 and I’ll aim to top that again in 2019!

( And to finish, a couple of photos... )

What good things did everyone else get up to in 2018? Any recs of books/films/comics you discovered?

So I wrote a Clint Barton thing for Infinity War, trying to get a bit of it out of my head. I think there's probably going to be a pile of fics in a similiar vein, but I haven't read any IW fics yet. I've been reading and re-reading older fic later instead. Although if someone has written ( minor IW spoiler ) yet or any other filling in the gaps or anything hopeful, I'd love recs.


Title: State Your Emergency
Rating/Warnings: Teen and Up (f-word level swearing, non-graphic injury, emotions - full warnings with spoilers in the end note on AO3)
Word Count: 2800
Summary: A post-post credit Clint Barton scene for Infinity War. SPOILERS.
Author Note: with thanks to alphaflyer for beta reading and telling me to include more angst!

LINK TO FIC: Clint’s weaving in and out of New York traffic on a motorbike with his gear hidden in a food delivery cooler-backpack thing when it happens...

On my first Thursday watch of Infinity War I went in unable to cope and left...still unable to cope! I had a rewatch Friday and the weekend to recover and form some thoughts, so here's a SPOILER FREE reaction:

The previous 10 years of movies were the build up to this one, in that it launches straight into things and does not let up. There's no time for the audience to catch up - you have to have seen what came before. And when you have, as a fan I enjoyed it! They balance a large cast very well, so that even though some characters get more screen time than others they still all get their moments. Wonderful moments! Hilarious ones, kickass ones, heartbreaking ones, great crossover ones, great quotable ones… It’s an emotional rollercoaster that was so good because I was already invested in these characters and their relationships. I’ll be watching again at the cinema - even with those heartbreaking moments - because it’s a damn good ride and there’s a hell of a lot to take in.

It's also very clearly a part one of two with Avengers 4 still to come, and thanks to some bold choices in Infinity War that I was NOT prepared for, I still feel like anything could happen next and anything could change. I NEED PART TWO NOW PLEASE.


I reached the point where I can't really do proper, full reaction posts to Marvel films anymore because they hit me with all the feelings, and then my brain starts latching onto all the little details and connections and I blue screen. It’s easier to chat about it with other people, focusing on one thing at the time, so if you want to talk with SPOILERS there’s a thread over here on be_compromised. I’m also in a Twitter chat group with a bunch of lovely Loki fangirls I kind of got adopted into after Thor Ragnarok lol, I’m lucky to have @TricksyLiesmith as my cinema buddy - we hugged a lot - and I’ve talked NON-IW fanfic with franztastich which helped, so I’m in recovery!

I'm mulling over some possible short fics for the be_compromised Valentine's mini promptathon, but here's a threesome fic I've been working on since Christmas for meatball42:

Title: In Deed
Pairing/Characters: Bucky/Clint/Natasha with Liho and Lucky
Rating/Warnings: Teen and Up (contains a bad mental health day that gets better)
Word Count: 4860
Author Note: Something happier for meatball42 since my Secret Santa gift was a bit angsty. With thanks to franztastisch for beta reading <3
Summary: Bucky is having a bad day. Lucky and Liho help. So do Clint and Natasha.

LINK TO FIC

First fic I have finished in 2018! Let's just ignore the fact that I've been working on it since the summer of 2016 shall we...

Title: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way Back From The Hospital
Pairing/Characters: Clint Barton & Wade Wilson, background Clint/Laura and Clint & Nat
Rating/Warnings: 15/Mature (for Deadpool levels of violence and swearing, also potential trigger warnings for *Deadpool explains consent suggesting possible off-screen non-con or dub-con may have happened, Deadpool takes unknown drugs, a scene is set in a morgue where there are dead bodies - no graphic description, guns, swords, bad guys die, I'm making this sound really fun aren't I?*
ALSO there is BANTER and SASS, and Clint and Deadpool being bros.)
Word Count: 7900
Author Note: Huge thanks to alphaflyer and franztastisch for beta reading! Fic happens near the start of ten times as long (to put yourselves back together), but can be read as a standalone post-Infinity War fic.
Summary: Aliens happen (again) and Clint ends up in hospital (again). What happens between that and Clint joining the others who’re re-grouping at the New Avengers Facility? The short answer is Deadpool.

“You’re not rescuing me,” Clint tells him. “I don’t need to be rescued. Nat is coming to pick me up at one. I’m good, thanks.”

Later he’ll wonder if it was the ‘thanks’ that was his undoing.

LINK TO FIC AO3

A few lists of 2017 things, included book recs and fics:

Author Events: Robin Hobb, M R Carey, Patrick Ness, and Natalie Haynes (all at events put on by Waterstones bookshops in the two cities nearest to me)

Plays seen: Gabriel, Lost Soul, Jayne Eyre, That Play That Goes Wrong (hilarious), Twelfth Night (at the Globe in London!), and A Comedy About A Bank Robbery

Concerts/gigs: Postmodern Jukebox, Hayley Reinhart, and Amanda Palmer (the first time I’ve been to a gig in London, a gig on my own, and to a drag show; I made friends with some strangers and had a wonderful time *grins*)

Trips: Edinburgh, Thought Bubble con in Leeds, and London & Salisbury

Favourite Films seen at the cinema: Hidden Figures, Logan, Gifted, and Thor Ragnarok

Favourite comics of 2017: Saga, The Wicked + The Divine, Runaways, Hawkeye, and Giant Days

Favourite Graphic Novels read in 2017: Porcelain: Ivory Tower, The Secret Loves of Geek Girls, and The Vision (vol2): Little Better Than A Beast

Favourite Books read in 2017:
Instead of listing all the books I’ve read this year, which is what I usually do, I’m going to link you to my goodreads account and then share my favourite books of 2017. Picking favourites is HARD, but I tried -
( Favourite fiction book recs )

Non-fiction: Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly, A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Wolf, and Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit, which I read at the start of the year and gave me a much needed boost of optimism in the face of politics

Poetry: Plum by Hollie McNish and Undying by Michael Faber, which is beautiful written and gives voice to so many emotions, and yes it made me cry

Fics posted in 2017: I posted five fics last year, all of which were gifts for other people. Good job I had that as an incentive I think. All Marvel fandom; two Clint/Nat and three Clint/Nat/Bucky.

( 2017 fics )

Life Things in 2017:
( life things in 2017 )

That counts for online friends too – thank you for the fandom chats with me, talking with me about your ideas, prompts, and WIPs, posting new things for me to enjoy, commenting on any of my creative works, and in general being your lovely selves. Sometimes those little things help a big deal *hugs*.

And now it’s 2018! Lots of things to look forward to – starting with a trip to Budapest next week with franztastisch and alphaflyer! What were your 2017 highlights and favourites? Things that you’re looking forward to in 2018?

I watched Thor Ragnarok last night. IT IS WONDERFUL AND MADE OF WONDERFUL THINGS AND I NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN. ANOTHER. HOLY SHIT. No, but really, I called franztastisch at a train station with @TricksyLiesmith so we could 'OH MY GOD' at each other before I ran for a train. I am in a DM (private message) threat of British people on Twitter FLIPPING OUR COLLECTIVE LIDS.

The non-spoiler overview: if you like Director Taika Waititi's sense of humour (try Hunt for the Wilderpeople) then you're going to love this. I laughed until I cried, constantly, for the whole film. Right from the start this film is given space to be funny, room for the jokes to breathe, and, when you get home and calm down a little, room for them to have layers. Thor: Ragnarok has a relatively straightforward plot. The cleverness comes in all of the little details, emotions, shout outs to previous Thor films and MCU films, to the comics and the myths, to character development and world building, and the jokes aren't seperate to that. They're funny because you know the history, or because the situation is hilarious, or because of the aciting and the facial expressions, and then you look again and there's more going on underneath. So much more. I'm still digging through them and I need to watch it again - hopefully this weekend. And then there's the themes. Which I can't spoil you for. But, oh my Thor, YES. Visually it's really colourful with some interesting choices, the music just works, everything is quote worthy, and everyone in the cast looks like they enjoyed the hell out of themselves making this film.

PS. I seem to know a lot of people who like Loki? Even though I live in the Assassins corner of the Internet? I blame @TricksyLiesmith. But apparently if you are a Loki and Thor fan this film is for you ;)

So where does this sit with the rest of the MCU? For me Winter Solider is the best in terms of plot. For humour Thor: Dark World and Gaurdians of the Galaxy. Then I just love all the ensemble films, especially for dialogue and banter, and I love Civil War. Thor: Ragnorak is easily the funniest film for me. The plot...Winter Solider still comes out top for me, for how timely and on point it was/is, how well it juggled everything, and the complete shake up of the MCU. Thor: Ragnarok shows how simple can be wonderful though, and shines in it's layers and themes. Beautiful layers and themes. After one viewing? Thor: Ragnarok is definitely the best Thor film and easily one of my favourites in the whole MCU.

Extras: look, we all know by now to stay until the end of a Marvel film, so pin your butt to that seat. There's a mid credits scene and an after credits scene. Oh, and there's some amazing cameos and who knows how many Easter eggs - I'm waiting for YOU so you can tell me what I've missed :D

I watched Thor Ragnarok last night. IT IS WONDERFUL AND MADE OF WONDERFUL THINGS AND I NEED TO SEE IT AGAIN. ANOTHER. HOLY SHIT. No, but really, I called franztastisch at a train station with @TricksyLiesmith so we could 'OH MY GOD' at each other before I ran for a train. I am in a DM (private message) threat of British people on Twitter FLIPPING OUR COLLECTIVE LIDS.

The non-spoiler overview: if you like Director Taika Waititi's sense of humour (try Hunt for the Wilderpeople) then you're going to love this. I laughed until I cried, constantly, for the whole film. Right from the start this film is given space to be funny, room for the jokes to breathe, and, when you get home and calm down a little, room for them to have layers. Thor: Ragnarok has a relatively straightforward plot. The cleverness comes in all of the little details, emotions, shout outs to previous Thor films and MCU films, to the comics and the myths, to character development and world building, and the jokes aren't seperate to that. They're funny because you know the history, or because the situation is hilarious, or because of the aciting and the facial expressions, and then you look again and there's more going on underneath. So much more. I'm still digging through them and I need to watch it again - hopefully this weekend. And then there's the themes. Which I can't spoil you for. But, oh my Thor, YES. Visually it's really colourful with some interesting choices, the music just works, everything is quote worthy, and everyone in the cast looks like they enjoyed the hell out of themselves making this film.

PS. I seem to know a lot of people who like Loki? Even though I live in the Assassins corner of the Internet? I blame @TricksyLiesmith. But apparently if you are a Loki and Thor fan this film is for you ;)

So where does this sit with the rest of the MCU? For me Winter Solider is the best in terms of plot. For humour Thor: Dark World and Gaurdians of the Galaxy. Then I just love all the ensemble films, especially for dialogue and banter, and I love Civil War. Thor: Ragnorak is easily the funniest film for me. The plot...Winter Solider still comes out top for me, for how timely and on point it was/is, how well it juggled everything, and the complete shake up of the MCU. Thor: Ragnarok shows how simple can be wonderful though, and shines in it's layers and themes. Beautiful layers and themes. After one viewing? Thor: Ragnarok is definitely the best Thor film and easily one of my favourites in the whole MCU.

Extras: look, we all know by now to stay until the end of a Marvel film, so pin your butt to that seat. There's a mid credits scene and an after credits scene. Oh, and there's some amazing cameos and who knows how many Easter eggs - I'm waiting for YOU so you can tell me what I've missed :D

Secreta Santa 2017 sign ups are open at be_compromised until 9AM GMT SATURDAY 21ST OCTOBER. The community has moved to Dreamwidth but you can sign up using your LJ with OpenID or comment anonymously to sign up including your LJ handle in your comment. There's only 4 people signed up so far, so if you know of anyone who'd be interested in an exchange with Clint and Natasha, as a couple or friends or partners, then please do spread the word.

Also marvel big bang starts posting soon and they have an AO3 collection. Nice, some long Marvel fics comings soon.

Any fic recs from things you've read recently? franztastisch pointed me at Summer Don't Own Me No More by Nonymos with gorgeous art by alby_mangroves, and it is solar!punk and amazing!

I wrote a thing! For franzi's and gecko's friends write for each other - the reckoning exchange - damn good fics, take a look.

Mine is a Clint Barton at the end of Fraction & Aja & Team's comics run fic and my first time writing a threesome - Clint/Natasha/Bucky.

Title: We Can Get Better
Rating/Warnings: Explicit (sex, threesome, full body hug as a form of bondage, hypervigilance after a home invasion)
Length: 6540 words
Author Note: Written for musicspeakstoo. Title is from Get Better by Frank Turner, now permanently associated with Fraction & Aja & Team's Hawkeye for me thanks to this vid. Fic takes place between Clint being in a hospital gown and Clint shooting with Kate at the end of #22. Clint and Kate are the comics versions of themselves, Natasha and Bucky are possibly more MCU or AU. Beta read by franztastisch, who knows how last minute I am at finishing, and still offers to beta read for me, and makes everything better.
Summary: Hypervigilance is kicking in. Clint wishes he could sleep for a week, but he won’t even manage a full night. He’s gonna be up each time something moves in his peripheral vision. He’s already turned the stupid hearing aids up to the max. He’ll be checking the locks and the boarded up window every hour probably.

Clint thought that everyone left after the Battle of Bed-Stuy, but Natasha's still here and that means the chances of him sleeping tonight have just improved dramatically.

LINK TO FIC ON AO3

> It has been a week. Which I'm not going to rehash because I want at least a few hours last thing on Sunday where this week is done before I have to face another one *face palm*.

> I have finished and submitted a fic for geckoholic and franztastisch's friends fest! I struggled with this one, but I really wanted to give it a go. Also, summaries remain the hardest thing to write.

> In not unrelated news, I found this tumblr thing that explains the difference between Mature and Explicit ratings using licking an envelope. Which I found amusing and really helpful. This is going to be my go-to definition I think.

> The Masterlist for Promptathon 2017 is up on be_compromised and I'm working my way through the ones I missed.

> If you would like to read a book about girls being friends and feminists featuring punk rock music and all different kinds of girls coming together to fight back against sexism at a small town high school, Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu is the feel good book for you. I read it recently and said HELL YEAH a lot. It's 99p on Kindle in the UK and $1.28 in the US :)

> Caught up with the be_compromised summer promptathon today. There's a great bunch of fics once again this year!

> bluemeridian has posted a rec list of happy-making things HERE that I'm working my way through tonight. I LOVE the Hawkeyes (Fraction) and Martian vids! Now onwards to the wordy things.

> Which has reminded me to check out this year's Vividcon. I found a handy database here. I'm in a vid mood it seems, so if you have recs you'd like to share then be my guest :)

> I have managed to finish a fic and am close to finishing a handful more. This would be great, except I have an awkward habit at the moment of working on a bunch at once, adding words to one until I stall and then moving onto the next and cycling back 'round again. So the fic I've finished? Is part five of the demon AU series but parts three and four aren't quite complete lol. Another that's close to being done is a how Clint and Jess met that's set prior to a much longer Clint/Nat fic in which Clint and Jess have been broken up for a while. Um. Oops?

> I'm hoping to finally see Spiderman: Homecoming tomorrow, yay!

> Finished watching The Bridge this week, which had me on the edge of my seat. My hat is off to the actor who plays Saga; fascinating to watch a non-neuro typical female lead character, who has a job as a competent police officer and navigates relationships, and it's just so well done. I also caved and bought American Gods even though I take forever to watch things and it will probably decrease in price by the time I get chance, because American Gods!

> I make up for my slow watching of tv and films with speedy reading though. Which reminds me that I need to update goodreads again...

> Any fic/vid/graphic/other recs that are happy or amusing? I think it's a good time for them.

Dear Writer, Thank you for creating something for me! Seriously, whatever you feel like writing I'm just going to be happy that I enabled you into creating something and I hope you have fun with it. But since that's unhelpful, here's a few of my likes and dislikes:

( Dear Writer... )

The Valentine's Mini Promptathon over at be_compromised recently came to an end and I managed to complete a few things before the deadline this year, whoop whoop, so here you go - a new graphic and some new fics:

Title: The Path
Rating/Warning: PG (distressed Clint)
Length: collage graphic
Summary: Clint Barton, in all his messed up glory, joined a monastry in Tibet when he was twenty. Taught love for all beings, he would make a different call.
Author Note: The monastry featured is not actually in Tibet, it's in Bhutan. It's called the Taktshang Tiger's Nest monastry, which 'clings to a cliff 2,300ft about the Paro Valley floor', which seemed appropriate :) The Internet tells me the quotes are Budhist quotes; forgive me if they're not.

Link to image at the promptathon


Title: The Bowling Green Massacre
co-written with alphaflyer which was a lot of fun!
Rating/Warnings: Teen and up (typical MCU violence and swearing)
Length: 6569 words
Summary: Fallaces sunt rerum species. The truth isn’t all things to all people all of the time.
Authors Note: No cows were harmed in the making of this fic, although we can't say the same of the Brooklyn mafia. The views on protesters, capitalism and politics enunciated herein are strictly those of the characters.

Link to The Bowling Green Massacre on AO3


Title: both threat and promise
Rating/Warnings: Mature (for sex)
Length: 1414 words
Summary: For the prompt: There should be a word for a threat that is also a promise. Because that is what I want you to hold me down and do.

Link to both threat and promise on AO3

GoodReads updated for February. This was a good month; I'd recommend any of these books! Cut for book chatter, no spoilers:

Hope In The Dark by Rebecca Solnit was one of those 'right book, right time' reads. A short book packed with ideas. Solnit looks at the history of progressive political action, how hope lies in action, how victories should be celebrated - and what victories there have been - without being dismissive because the utopian end goal has not yet been achieved, how political action should be a daily experience rather than reactionary, and how it's always too soon to leave or to measure sucesses and failures. The original focus/context, with the book being written in 2003-2004 during the Bush administration, was the protest against the Iraq War. My edition was updated with a 2015 essay and Afterword, plus additional essays from 2009 and 2014, spotlights new challenges, particularly climate change. That said, in the context of now I still found it all very relevant. There was a lot to digest, but it did leave me feeling hopeful, with a view to what I can do, and it was a moment where I read the right book just when I needed to.

Hidden Figures: The Untold Story of the African American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly is a history of NACA's (later NASA) road to space travel that puts the Civil Rights movement and women's rights back into the narrative. It challenges the assumed/prevalent history in the best of ways and paints a picture of the many women, and men, who supported each other, worked with each other, raised each other up, and built on what came before. Eye-opening, inspiring, and important.

If you come to this after watching the film, the book focusses a little less on the individual lives of particular women but rather uses their stories as a focus to explore untold history. Possibily a little dry for some, but interesting and it does go past the story of the film to tell you what happened next in their lives. Then if you go back and watch the film again, you have a whole new appreciation.

In A Darkness Absolute Kelley Armstrong showcases her skills in pacing and building tension in this cracking thriller of a sequel that follows on from the excellent City of the Lost. Not quite as good as the first book, but only by a little, this is edge of your seat storytelling, with mystery, interesting characters and relationships, and a driven plot. Absorbing.

Tales From A Midwife by Jennifer Worth is a collected edition of three books about midwifery and district nursing in the 1950s: Call The Midwife, In the Shadow of the Workhouse, and Farewell to the East End. Educational and a slice of history, but Worth's ability to convey emotion elevates her stories to another level. The reader really feels for the people she talks about, she's excellent at capturing the moment and empathy, and in the stranger than fiction tales she delivers the human and the real. As someone who came to this after seeing episodes from the TV show, it was also interesting to find out what happened the main ladies in the end. Interesting, heart-warming, arm yourself with a box of tissues.

The first book/section was well structured, but the latter two sometimes seemed to be stories and essays strung together, a little haphazard. This may be because this is an abridged version, according to GoodReads, which I was unaware of.

And I managed to squeeze a graphic novel in there with Descender, Volume Three: Singularities. I continue to love the gorgeous, water-colour style art and the clever storytelling in this series. For volume three we get backstories for our main cast, including the robots.

I've started this month off with some short World Book Day books and I'm hoping to dig into some fantasy...

I was looking after my sister this weekend, so the first cinema trip I've gone on this year ended up being The Space Between Us, as it looked suitable for the sister and interesting enough for me. The overall verdict is that we both enjoyed it.

The Space Between Us starts with the first trip up to establish a colony on Mars, in a joint effort by Genesis Space Technologies and NASA, when it turns out a female astronaut is accidentally pregnant and dies giving birth on arrival. The problem is that the baby won't be able to survive the journey back to Earth, or Earth's gravity (true - they researched their shit), and they're worried that if they let people know about this and it's a PR disater it could cause problems for the programme, meaning no funding, meaning everyone comes home and the baby doesn't survive. So they keep it a secret.

Sixteen years later Gardener Elliot wants to come to Earth, to try and find his dad and to meet a girl called Tulsa from Colorado who he's been secretly in contact with online. She thinks he can't leave his house because he has a brittle bone condition. She's a street wise kid, lovess music, has been in foster care since she was four and is looking forward to getting the hell out of dodge when she turns eighteen soon.

A few adults support Gardener, saying he should get to go to Earth and he's old enough that they can do something about his health, so that happens. What follows could be corny and cringe-worthy, but the acting keeps it sweet. There's a lot of things that could have been explored and in greater detail, and the female characters orbit the main character Gardener without us ever getting to know more about the tantalising details dropped in about their lives, but overall I enjoyed it. It's had some far from great reviews online, but it's a nice little PG story about how wonderful Earth can be, and how interesting space travel can be, and people, with some nice comedy moments and first romance moments. It made me and my sister smile.

Then again, you all know I have a thing for space and found family, right? *grins* Um, and now I have notes on a fic that would be coda for this film set over a decade later... Oops.