#Blood Rose Rebellion Series

[aviiarie]

⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ LOST & FOUND platonic arlecchino & reader !

synopsis. hell hath no fury like a parent whose child has been taken from them. contents. PLATONIC. description of blood and injury (mildly graphic but not gory), violence, mentions of kidnapping, swearing (like once), implied murder. house of the hearth!reader. angst & slight hurt/comfort. 2.5k words. notes. LAST REPOST!! my house of the hearth series is all moved here now :'D

It had been fifty-eight hours, and twenty-seven minutes since [Name] had vanished.

Freminet sat curled up in a velvet armchair that dwarfed his small frame, with Pers on his lap and his brother and sister flanking each side. They had both refused Father’s offer of a seat, which showed the severity of the situation more than words ever could.

No one ever refused Father. Even she had raised an eyebrow at their sudden rebellion.

“Lyney, Lynette. Defiance will not make [Name] come home faster. Take a seat.” Father sipped her tea, poised as ever. Even with that impassive mask, Freminet still noticed the tension in her shoulders.

He always noticed.

“There’s no need,” Lyney said shortly, adding on a respectful “Father.” as an afterthought.

“What my brother means—” Lynette cut in smoothly. “—Is that we do not want to draw this conversation out any longer than necessary. We only came to get permission to postpone our current assignment and search for [Name]. I’m sure you can see the circumstances are dire enough to warrant such action.”

“I’m afraid I do not, Lynette.” Father placed her cup down and folded her hands over her lap. “They are a very skilled agent, and this mission was hardly out of their ability. No need to compromise your current—and very important, I might add—mission, for trivial matters.”

“It isn’t trivial, it’s our sibling!” Lyney burst out, causing Freminet to flinch. He reached out a hand blindly to settle on Freminet’s shoulder, squeezing it quickly in both a comfort and apology for startling him.

“I would be mindful of your place within this household, Lyney.” Father said mildly, the warning clear. “I have given you a direct order, and you will follow it. Do not stray from your assigned mission. [Name] will be fine.” She paused for a beat. “You are dismissed.”

“That’s it?” Lyney hissed. “So, you’re going to just leave them to die?”

It sounded like less of a question and more of an accusation. Freminet winced, feeling Lynette stiffen beside him as well as they waited for the consequences of Lyney’s bluntness.

Arlecchino rose from her seat, the tension in the air thick enough to choke all three of the siblings.

“I never said that. [Name] will be home in due time.” Her gaze shifted from the left to the right side of the armchair. “Lynette, you will have tea with me later, won’t you?” Father asked, causing the girl to freeze.

She bit her lip, answering carefully. “I may. Maybe if [Name] returns, we can all have tea together.”

“A good plan,” Father agreed, ignoring the quiet angry undertone of her words. “When I see them, I shall invite them.”

“It had better be soon; it’s getting late.” Lynette countered. Freminet’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Lynette was always better at matching Father’s games. Freminet crumbled under the weight of her gaze, and Lyney wasn’t any better at handling the pressure without his emotions causing him to crack and splinter.

“Lynette, Freminet. Let’s go.” Lyney said sharply.

Throughout the entire exchange, Lyney’s hand had not moved from where it was planted firmly on Freminet’s shoulder, as if he was refusing to let another of his siblings out of his grasp. Freminet might have remarked that Lynette was handling her worry better, but he noticed how her tail kept curling around his leg when they walked into Father’s office. Neither of the three was willing to part with the others for even a second; not when one of their own had gone missing by doing just that.

As he drew back his hand and moved away, Freminet caught his arm.  

“Just… a moment, please. Wait outside, I’ll join you soon.” Freminet murmured, letting go. Lyney pursed his lips.

“Be quick.”

The twins vanished through the doorway, leaving Freminet alone with his Father.

“Freminet dear. You’re hesitating.” Father raised an eyebrow. “Are you waiting for something? Do you want me to give Pers a kiss on the head before I leave?”

Freminet flushed at the memories of holding the toy up to Father when he was young, insisting the penguin deserved a proper goodbye too. “Ahem. I’m not a child anymore… Father.”

“No? Then why are you still here?”

He swallowed awkwardly, forcing himself to look her in the eyes. He met her stare

“I know you’re just as worried as I am.” He said bluntly.

Father’s expression was almost impossible to read, but Freminet managed to catch a hint of surprise at his words. “I see. How did you come to that conclusion?”

It wasn’t denial, nor was it defensiveness. That was a good sign. Freminet continued, “There is a pinch between your eyebrows that you keep trying to smooth over. You’re gripping your teacup much tighter than usual. Your shoulders are tense. And you were far too quick to dismiss the twins’ concerns. You of all people would know that the situation is severe enough to allow a brief pause to their investigation, but you were swift in making sure they were kept as far away from the situation as possible.”

Arlecchino stared back at Freminet silently. She always had that unsettling way of watching him, as if she was picking apart the cogs and wheels spinning in his mind to know exactly what he was thinking.

“Observant as always, Freminet.” Freminet stood up straighter, pink touching his cheeks. “So, tell me this: what am I to do next?”

“You’re… going to find them yourself?” He asked slowly.

“That is correct. I will be.” Father agreed, and something inside him swelled. If only Lyney was still in the room, he would have collapsed with relief. “And what will you be doing?”

“Helping.” Freminet said without a thought.

“Incorrect. You are going to return to your room, go to sleep, and not say a word to your siblings.”

“But—”

“No. You are not involved here.” Arlecchino turned her back on him, looking out the window with her arms folded behind her.

“Father—”

“Do not forget that if you or your sibling’s interference costs me my mission, [Name]’s blood will be on your hands.”

Freminet recoiled sharply, as if she had struck him across the face. Arlecchino refused to lay a hand on any of them, but her words were more than enough to wound them.

“I—”

“I’m not looking for an argument, Freminet.”

Freminet shut his mouth with a click, lowering his head. He forced back the wave of emotions sweeping across him, sinking them so far into the depths of his mind that not even a champion diver like himself would be able to reach them.

“I am looking for an answer.” Father raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, Father.” He said quietly.

“Good child,” She murmured, laying a gentle hand on the top of his head. “You are dismissed.”

-----

Arlecchino made her move at the stroke of sundown.

It was disgustingly easy to track them down, and the sheer incompetence only fuelled her rage until it burned brighter than the flames that curled beneath her skin. The assailants were sloppy, leaving plenty of traces for her to find, as if they were waiting for her to find them.

One of her agents had returned with a slip of paper that evening—a ransom note, crudely explaining that they had captured a House of the Hearth agent, and demanding a hefty sum in exchange for their safe return. She had chuckled at that last part. They would be lucky for her to leave them with their lives after what they have done, let alone a reward.

Their hideout was located in a quiet cave near the ocean, with an entrance half-hidden behind a curtain of vines. It was a quaint spot, a cosy place to sit back and watch the sun set over the water. She was sure the view behind her was breathtaking, but she made no move to take a glance for herself.

The vines made way for a long, narrow tunnel, ending with a wooden door. Arlecchino quietly turned the handle, scoffing under her breath when it turned without a key being inserted, and slipped through without making a single sound.

Six were scattered around the dingy room; one woman, five men. Seeming to be aged between their mid-twenties at the youngest, and early-forties at the oldest.

“Have we got a response yet?” The woman muttered impatiently, tapping her foot against the floor.

“How should I know?” One of the men grunted. “We left the note. Eventually it’s gotta make it’s way to the boss herself, and we’ll get the reward.”

“Just gotta be patient,” Another murmured. “Gotta be patient.”

Slightly past them was a wooden cage, secured with a metal lock.

They were in a heap on the floor of the cage, breathing weakly—Arlecchino quietly thanked the Tsaritsa that they were breathing at all—and looked to be passed out.

The fire inside her sang, and she could hardly breathe under the heat of it all.

“How long is this woman gonna take?” The woman rolled her eyes. “I’m tired of waiting.”

Arlecchino chuckled, causing all of the six to jump. “Oh, then allow me to assure you that you won’t have to wait much longer at all.”

Instantly they were on their feet, grabbing whatever weapon was closest. Their expressions ranged from outright fear, to an egregious amount of confidence for how weak they were in comparison to her.

“Knave,” the closest man grinned crookedly. “How kind of you to join us. I’m assuming you’re here for—” he jerked his head towards the figure still unmoving. “—that one?”

“‘That one’?” Arlecchino repeated slowly, drawing her scythe to her side. “I am here for my child.”

Two of the men—the ones closest to the cage—looked at each other nervously. Arlecchino smiled. It was a pity the rest of the group didn’t share the sense to fear her, but they would learn soon enough.

“Well you see, we’ll be happy to hand them over—” the man’s grin widened. “For a price, of course.”

“A price, you say?” She mused. “How about this. You step aside, I retrieve my child, and offer you a quick death. I would say that is more than fair, considering what you have cost me.”

The smile dropped off the man’s face. “That ain’t an option, lady.”

“Then I think you misunderstand.” She took a step towards him, then another, eyes glinting dangerously in the low light. “I wasn’t asking.”

“Boss—” one of the men tried to say.

“Shut it.” the first man hissed, bringing his shovel up in a defensive position. It was almost laughable, how he thought that would protect him.

“You made four mistakes tonight,” Arlecchino said smoothly. The tip of her scythe brushed the floor, sending a loud scraping sound across the walls. All of the people inside the room winced at the sound, but Arlecchino was unfazed as she continued prowling towards them.

“One… you failed to cover your tracks, making it remarkably easy to track you down.” In one swift motion, she lunged. The group barely had time to blink, before her scythe sliced across the chest of the closest one.

There was silence, before the man made a low gasp, bright crimson blood spilling down his shirt. He collapsed forward onto the ground with a thud, and the room erupted into chaos. A scream tore from the throat of the woman, and she dropped to her knees at his side, desperately clutching his shoulders. Arlecchino aimed a quick strike at her back, and she fell against the man heavily.

“Two, you left the door unlocked.” A pair charged towards her, hammers and shovels swinging. She knocked the weapons from their hands with one hit, and knocked them down with a second.

“Three—” One snuck up from behind, quickly tossing a string of rope over her head and around her neck, pulling harshly to cut off her breathing. An elbow in his ribs winded him enough to loosen his grip, and a knock to the head with the hilt of her scythe sent him to the floor. “You brought far too few people to last in a fight against me.”

The final man stumbled backwards until he hit the wall, shrinking against the bricks. Arlecchino walked with slow steps, stalking towards him like an animal cornering their pray. He shielded his face with his hands, in a desperate attempt to protect himself. Once she was about a foot away, she stopped, leaning in close.

“And four.” Arlecchino grasped the man by the throat, digging her nails into his skin hard enough to draw blood. “You hurt my fucking child.”

She tossed his body to the side, watching him hit the wall with a thud and collapse to the ground like a ragdoll.

“Pathetic.” She scoffed under her breath, stepping over his limp body. Her anger wasn’t nearly quelled—an inferno is not easily cooled, after all—but seeing them all lying lifelessly across the floor of their own base at least brought some vindication. She turned her back to the man, looking over at her child.

They were curled up in the cage like a trapped animal, rattling breaths ringing through the bars. Arlecchino gritted her teeth at the sight, making sure to step on the nearest captor’s fingers as she walked over. She swung her scythe against the lock, shattering it into bits of metal.

Her hands were gentle in reaching into the cage, hooking a hand under their knees and cradling their back with the other. They made a pained cry, and Arlecchino hurried to pull them out. She held them close to her chest, letting their cheek rest where her heartbeat pounded against her chest. Her face didn’t falter from that stony expression, but inside she was burning with fury.

“My child,” She murmured, more to herself than the shivering form in her arms. There was something dangerous in her tone, a note of warning to the assailants still conscious enough to hear her voice. She kissed their forehead, a tender gesture out of place among the bloodshed. “Didn’t I promise you that while you’re with me, no one can hurt you?”

“F-Father…?” A broken whisper slipped through their lips, followed by a sob, first sinking Arlecchino’s heart then shattering it into two.

“Shh… it’s okay. It’s okay, darling, I’m here.” She crooned, carrying them out of the room and through the tunnel. All throughout the journey through the tunnel and back onto the beach, she didn’t stop murmuring comforts and pressing kisses to their head in the most maternal way she’d ever remembered acting.

“I’m sorry, Father…” they mumbled, cheek pressed against her chest.

“Darling…” Arlecchino hummed, even as the smouldering ashes in her chest began to spark and flicker. “You have nothing to apologise for.”

The night was cold, but her child was a warm weight in her arms. She revelled in the warmth, a gentle reminder that they were still alive.

“We’ll be home soon,” Arlecchino promised, even though they were barely conscious enough to hear her. “Soon.”

© aviiarie 2024. do not copy, repost, translate or use my work to train ai.

[the-eb]

new "things I noticed in the Walpurgisnacht Rising trailer" post: coherent edition

I'm going with the theory (laid out very well here) that the extra Homuras we keep seeing around are the Clara Dolls, either presenting in a different way or having matured into witches themselves. With that in mind:

These two shots show the same doll, Nekura, judging by both the headband and the wavy tips of the hair that homura doesn't normally have. Her eyes are also red, and she's wearing the black collar with white outlines reminiscent of her Doll form.

This looks to be Ibari, though I'm not 100% sure on that, given the colour of the hair. Probably just the lighting. Her role as Pride also fits with the imagery of her scrutinising the audience here, likely Homura in context.

Could also potentially be Noroma (Blockhead), though I don't think the visual fits quite as well. She is said to "laugh at the witch with her eyes," though, which would match with what she's doing here.

Though this Homura has her original purple eyes and white collar, the unusual headband and especially the engraving on the mirror ("Stupid Venus") make me quite confident that this is Manuke (Stupid-Looking). The band isn't a 100% match, but this also makes sense given that Manuke is representative of Homura during the time between the main series and Rebellion, matching with what's shown in the mirror. The headband is also tied in the same way as Madoka's ribbon was in her hair, which might explain the lack of resemblance to Manuke's headwear.

Not much to say about this shot, other than that the style and colours of those stairs combined with the familiar pattern around them resembling Oktavia's tail make me think this is a shot from within her labyrinth.

Other than the clear Icarus symbolism, the main thing worth noting about this shot is the streak of red in Homura's hair, extending out from underneath Madoka's ribbon (or its replacement). Probably an extension of the ribbon symbolically too, showing how bound she is to Madoka.

Unless these are Magia Record characters I'm unaware of, I think that the unadorned ring and black fingernail marking lend credence to the idea that these are the magical girls who once became witches in the original series. The only one I really have a guess on is this girl, where the fact that she's watching over a kintsugi glass holding the garden where Homura and Kyoko met in rebellion, the roses on her purse, and the glasses lead me to believe that this is Gertrud, the Rose Garden Witch. Her Adelbert familiars are said to have 2.5 vision.

This book appears to contain images of witches and their familiars. I managed to spot familiars belonging to Charlotte, Elly, possibly Patricia, Gertrud, and Oktavia, as well as Izabel and Elsa Maria themselves, though I'm sure there are more.

There's a single frame flash of Oktavia here!

The symbolism of the teacup next to the pool of blood makes me assume that this is Mami (or Candeloro!), though maybe I'm flanderising her. The rim of the cup and saucer do have a pattern faintly reminiscent of a flower, which reinforces this a little.

Please feel free to respond with alternate readings/other things you've spotted in the trailer! I crave knowledge

[clover-blossom]

*SNOWBAIRD* WIPS I AM LOVING

Invisible String by ravenpuff1956

Lucy sucks in a tight breath. She never expected to be dragged back. She didn’t think the Capitol wanted anything to do with her now that she’d won their little game.

Twelve Years by wertman25

Twelve years have passed since Lucy Gray Baird left Coriolanus Snow in the woods. Since then, she had remained a ghost while Coriolanus rose to power in the Capitol… but what happens when Lucy Gray returns and the two lovers meet again?

Other Side of the Coin by monkiseemonkido

AU where Lucy Gray and Snow run off together and make it to District 13. Snow is still his power hungry, ambitious self, but going back to the Capitol is not an option anymore. Especially once he realizes the truth about District 13 and what happened to his family fortune. 

To Where She Flew by madzdolin

When another rebellion comes sooner than anticipated, young Coriolanus Snow finds himself stranded in District 11 after a series of unfortunate events. While the stakes continue to rise in the world around him, Coriolanus finds himself faced with his own internal conflict when he encounters a hauntingly familiar face from his past- only to discover that she has absolutely no recollection of who he is.

The Ballad of Snow (Echoes of a Bird's Song) by fourteentrout

Vignettes of Snow’s life through his rise to (and fall from) power, and the memories that corner him in his moments of least control.

I am Singing Now While Rome Burns by southslates

In which Lucy Gray stays in the Capitol after the Games.

As the Driven Snow by Vacantcing

She comes to him at the best and worst of times, his little songbird. Coriolanus Snow and Lucy Gray through the cycle of the seasons.

How Coriolanus Snow Learned Compassion by cliffhangerqueen

A collection of emotions Lucy Gray taught Coriolanus Snow through her journey of the Hunger Games, and his fall of villainy in an alternative universe when Snow gets away with his lies, only to morph into something that resembled good at Lucy Gray's expense.

A Bird in the Hand by horrormoviebarbie

Coriolanus Snow and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Redemption Arc 

Songbirds, Snakes and Wedding Rings by celestscrystal

In which Coriolanus was never sent to district 12 and instead got away with a slap on the wrist. However, Lucy Gray would not be granted the same fate. In order to save her, Coriolanus marries her. Clashes ensue in a tale of enemies, passion, and lovers.

Blood of my Blood by loveshazel

A deep-dive and rewrite of TBOSAS that answers the question of what if Coriolanus's parents both lived to raise him? And what if that meant a worse fate for any and all involved...

All Your Wasteland Flowers by allbridgesburn

Lucy Gray Baird survives Coriolanus Snow. However, she's not the only one.

The Planet of Love by southslates

In which Coriolanus Snow never kills the Mayor's daughter, Sejanus Plinth dies of his own volition and officer training is moved to District Twelve.

What are you reading and loving?

[achaotichuman]

A Court of Song and Desolation

Chapter 22 for a Court of Song and Desolation is now out!

Summary-

She had eyes like starlight and a grin that could outshine the moon, "We'll rule the world."

"What if we fail?"

"Then we'll burn it all down."

In hindsight maybe it could only have ever ended like this. Making a man who was never made to rule, High lord. This was all inevitable.

The Spring Court was now as broken as its Ruler, everything had been turned to ruin. Tamlin lives with the ghostly memories that haunt the forgotten manor and has no intentions of changing that.

Too bad Lucien can't stand the idea of leaving him alone, and too damn bad Prythian's Fox now has two new friends ready and willing to help in any way they can.

*Previously titled Get out while you still can! (Please don't leave me)*

*Alternative Summary- Magic dumbasses obliviously pining for each other try to save the world.

Fandom- A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J.Maas

Chapters- 22/71

Rating- Explicit

Archive Warnings- Rape/Non-Con, Underage, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Categories- M/M, F/M, Multi, F/F

Relationships- Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra, Past Tamlin/Feyre Archeron, Past Lucien Vanserra/Jesminda, Azriel/Eris Vanserra, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand, Nesta Archeron/Cassian, Tamlin & Lucien Vanserra, Tamlin & Eris Vanserra

Characters- Tamlin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, Lucien Vanserra, Original Female Characters, Jurian (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Vassa (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Andras (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Original Male Characters, Elain Archeron, Eris Vanserra, Azriel (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Death-God Kosechi, Morrigan (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Cassian (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Nesta Archeron, Tarquin (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Tamlin's Brothers (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Amren (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Feyre Archeron, Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses)

Additional Tags- Tamlin Redemption (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Depression, Eating Disorders, Slow Burn, Justice for the Hewn City, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Secret Relationships, Mating Bonds, shape-shifting magic, Flashbacks, Self-Harm, Found Family, Abandonment Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Grief/Mourning, Day Court magic, Bisexual Elain Archeron, bisexual Tamlin, Forced Marriage, Welcome to Tamlin's Bisexual Panic, Exploration of Spring Court Magic, anger issues, repressed trauma, Panic Attacks, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Pining, Mutual Pining, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Demisexuality, Overthinking, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Sexual Abuse, Eventual Smut, Torture, More Hurt before Healing, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Elain Archeron being the best, Blood and Gore, Horror, Rebellion, Body Horror

Series- Part One of A Court of Outcasts, Thieves and Assassins

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Its 10 p.m. Do You Know Where Your Terrasen Heir Is?

Celaena Sardothian has succeeded; she won the assassins' competition and is now working as the King's Champion. Well. On face value, she is, anyway. Dorian is beginning to understand that being heir to his father's throne is going to require him finding and using his backbone, and Chaol...is having like six different morality and loyalty crises and is smart enough to put puzzle peices together but not secure enough in himself to make good choices. Basically, our three POV characters in this book are starting to lose the comfort of their facades and positions and are going to have to figure out where they stand in a world of shifting geopolitics and magic that was supposed to have disappeared ten years ago. Let's talk Crown of Midnight.

This is you SPOILER WARNING. Below the break there will be SPOILERS. Be warned.

So there were things I absolutely adored about this book, and a couple of things I fully yelled down the internet to friends about because WTAF??? And I continue to be absolutely floored that SJM moved FROM the Throne of Glass Series TO A Court of Thorns and Roses, because TOG shows competence and an understanding of how to effectively meld character and geopolitics to move the plot along and ACOTAR...has the specialist Bat Boy ever. But this post isn't to slam ACOTAR, it's to hype Crown of Midnight.

Possibly my favorite early reveal in this book is that Celaena has been staging the deaths of everyone the King sends her to kill before getting them out of Adarlan and pulling appropriate-ish heads and other body parts from charnel houses to "prove" her kills. The amount I adore "Professional Assassin Refuses to Kill on Demand" is high, and Celaena taking what should be her blood money for murdering people on demand but is actually her reward to herself for not killing people and going ham on pretty clothes, shoes, books, and jewelry is just A+. The layers there are just incredible. Celaena is positively reinforcing her hella risky but morally right choice with stuff that makes her happy. But from the King's perspective or anyone who doesn't know she's not killing willy nilly, it just reinforces the murder Barbie aesthetic; she looks hella competent at the murder but sufficiently airheaded in other areas and nobody suspects her of being smart enough to be pulling a subterfuge. I adore this, and I also adore that Celaena can be, as Jake Peralta says, two things. She's allowed to be HELLA scary competent in the assassin business but she can also like pretty dresses and sparkly shoes. Murder Barbies are wonderful, is what I'm saying.

This gets a little complicated when Celaena tries to bring the sister of her heart and the man she loves into her little personal rebellion against the King's Champion role. Chaol is absolutely horrified because by the time she tells him, he's head over heels in love and his nightmare is the King ordering him to kill Celaena. Nehemia interprets this as Celaena being rebellion-curious, which for a seriously good-sized chunk of this book she is vehemently not. Nehemia calls her selfish and a coward, and this really does a number on their friendship, especially after rumors that the lost heir of Terrasen, Aelin Galathynius, is making waves and setting up a rebellion.

On top of ALL THAT is Celaena's next target: Archer Finn. She knows Archer from back in her days as Adarlan's Assassin, and from minute goddamn one, this man is more trouble than he's worth. He is WHINY, he wants his MONEY, he wants more TIME...Honestly by the second time he's bitching and moaning about the conditions under which Celaena is willing to smuggle him out rather than straight up murder him, I was ROOTING for her to kill him. Once it turns out he was actually tied up with the rebels and was responsible for Chaol's kidnapping and Nehemia's death (put a pin in that, we're going to come back to it), I was extremely ready for her to stick a knife in his squishy spots.

Chaol also managed to slide down my list of favorite characters this book, because the man is HOPELESSLY tangled in duty, suspicion, love, and a total inability to recognize that some things cannot be rationalized away into being ok. He's been falling for Celaena since book 1, but it seriously does not take long after they finally do sleep together for their relative positions as Captain of the Royal Guard and King's Champions (officially) and lapsed heir of Anielle and missing heir of Terrasen (unofficially) absolutely fuck up their entire relationship. The fall is helped along by Archer kidnapping Chaol to orchestrate Nehemia's death, but then Chaol goes full-on Captain on Celaena afterwards and has been keeping secrets from her in the meantime, so the trust they had is well and truly shattered. Although that doesn't actually stop Celaena from handing Chaol the information he needs to put it together that she is Aelin Galathynius, so apparently she still trusts him that far.

Between the interpersonal stuff, Celaena is still working on figuring out wyrdmarks and the tomb below the palace. She gets bare minimum help from Elena and Mort (everyone's favorite magic doorknocker with an attitude problem), but eventually she does sort them out enough to be able to open portals and work spells, with absolutely terrifying results. It also reveals to both Dorian and Chaol that Celaena is at least part fae, but she cannot take her fae form in Adarlan thanks to the King's use of wyrdkeys to muffle all magic except his own...and Dorian's.

Poor Dorian has just the worst time in this book. He finds out he has hella powerful, extremely uncontrolled magic, and spends the whole rest of the book panicking because nobody can teach him how to either control or hide it, and he is convinced (rightly so) that his father will murder him if it becomes known that he has magic. Luckily, Celaena is on his side there, and murders Baba Yellowlegs (*deep sigh* put a pin in this one too, we'll come back to it) to prevent the secret from being sold to the highest bidder.

Overall, the messiness of the interpersonal relationships in this book is absolutely delightful. People make mistakes, mistakes have consequences, and emotions are messy and complex in ways that affect both the characters and the geopolitical plot aspects of the book. It was also just REALLY fun to read through and watch everything go to hell in a handbasket in a way that felt motivated and deeply connected to the worldbuilding.

That said, this book was not flawless, and there were two key things that I really had problems with: Baba Yellowlegs and Nehemia's death. Baba Yellowlegs is objectively the first instance in the Maas-verse of what becomes a habit for this author that drives me up the goddamn wall. I have no issue with allusion to the mythology of our world in fantasy novels. And Baba Yellowlegs, in defense of this allusion, is built into the worldbuilding of TOG far more effectively than the Seraphim and Myrmidons of ACOTAR. But there seems to be a pattern of Slavic mythology being used only for evil characters that I don't love, especially when Slavic mythology tends to be significantly deeply nuanced and multifaceted. I do not love that all of that nuance and complexity and the sense of ambiguity in general is collapsed in favor of "evil witch in the woods with bigass yellow chicken legs." And this is pretty consistent in the Maas-verse, so while I might have been willing to let this slide on its own, it's representative of a pattern I'm not a fan of in SJM books in general. Also...THE LEGS WERE ON THE COTTAGE. Something about "Baba Yellowlegs" was just viscerally irritating to me and I hate it.

The other issue I took with this book is that it full-on fridged the single female POC character. And frankly it's not even subtle. Nehemia full-on asks Elena about it, and makes the decision to die specifically to galvanize Celaena into action. I genuinely hate that Nehemia self-fridges here. Fridging is, as Red from OSP says, "such a Fuck You to a character." Like, I was here for the Celaena and Nehemia start a rebellion show, but noooooooooooo, apparently that was less interesting than Celaena adding ANOTHER dead friend to her heart. This also full-on killed the racial diversity in the book, so we're back to an all-white cast, and that just adds a bad taste to an already bad trope. That said, I'm objectively less mad about this than I was at the fridging in Battle Ground, even if it does take the ONE female friendship that I was so enjoying and wreck it.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention Fleetfoot, the goodest girl ever. I absolutely adore that Celaena has a pupper, and Fleetfoot just adds a lovely human element to Celaena. There didn't have to be a dog, but I adore that there is one. And not gonna lie, I had basically the same reaction to Chaol leaping through the bigass demon portal that I did when my sister yote herself off our deck to stop our dog from trying to make friends with a moose: A combination of "WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE YOU THINKING????" and "Obviously we save the dog, it's family".

So overall, I am thoroughly enjoying the Throne of Glass series, and I shall be continuing my SJM reads.

[385bookreviews]

1.45.1 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

SPOILERS

Pages: 528

Read Time: 9 hours and 58 minutes

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ Storyline: ★★★★☆ Dialogue: ★★★☆☆ Characters: ★★★★★

Genre: YA Dystopian

TWs for the book: Violence, death, murder, child death, war, blood, cannibalism, poisoning, gun violence, classism, gore, injury, child abuse, toxic relationship, death of a parent, confinement, toxic friendship, torture, police brutality, grief, execution, animal cruelty, animal death, su*c*de/thoughts/attempts, alcohol, drug use/abuse/addiction, physical abuse, gaslighting, emotional abuse, vomit, medical content, fire/fire injury, xenophobia, medical trauma, genocide, forced institutionalization, panic attacks, bullying, colonization, mental illness, slavery, kidnapping, hate crime, misogyny/sexism, stalking, dementia, trafficking, terminal illness, abandonment, chronic illness, racism, bombing, eating disorder, self harm, deportation, ableism, domestic abuse, infidelity, miscarriage

POV: Third person; Coriolanus Snow

Time Period/Location: Over the span of around 6 months in Panem, the new name for a fictional, dystopian version of North America, set 64 years before the first The Hunger Games.

First Line: Coriolanus released the fistful of cabbage into the pot of boiling water and swore that one day it would never pass his lips again.

The story centers around Coriolanus Snow, the future president of Panem we see antagonizing Katniss and Peeta throughout The Hunger Games series. 10 years after the rebellion of the districts and their defeat by the Capital, Coriolanus and his cousin Tigris and their grandmother are still feeling the affects of it. Tigris and Coriolanus have lost both of their parents, and the family has lost their fortune, barely managing to maintain appearances that they are still wealthy. Coriolanus goes to the Academy, and has plans to attend University the next year, but only if he can manage to win a prize by mentoring a tribute in that years Hunger Games.

He feels insulted by being given a District 12 tribute but hopes he can turn it around upon seeing the charismatic singer, Lucy Gray Baird, put on a performance at the Reaping and capture everyone's attentions. He waits for her at the train station and offers her a white rose from his grandmother's garden. She only takes a petal of it, but resolved, he rides in the caged truck bed with her to where the tributes are to be kept. This ends up with him and the rest of the tributes being dumped into the monkey house at the zoo. He is embarrassed, but Lucy Gray tells him to own it, and he plays it off for the news cameras. After being removed, Dean Casca Highbottom, who seemingly has a vendetta against him and knows of his family's poverty, gives him a demerit. Dr. Gaul, a mad scientist and head gamemaker overseeing the student's projects, commends him. Coriolanus continues to visit Lucy Gray at the zoo, along with Sejanus, a fellow classmate who Coriolanus despises but keeps on his good side anyways. Sejanus and his family were from District 2 but became wealthy Capitol citizens when his father supplied weapons to the Capitol during the war. Sejanus is guilt ridden by this, made worse by the fact that the tribute he is supposed to mentor was a classmate of his in District 2. He offers food to the tributes, but his tribute Marcus refuses to take anything. During school, Coriolanus and Dr. Gaul come up with new ideas for getting the citizens of the Capitol and all of Panem involved in the Games, such as betting on tributes and sending food into the arena, seeking to make it some kind of sporting event. On a trip back to the zoo with some of his other mentors to give the tributes food, Arachne Crane, the mentor of the District 10 girl, is killed by her through the bars of the enclosure. The District 10 girl Brandy is then shot by the Peacekeepers.

After this, Coriolanus and another classmate Clemensia are chosen by Dr. Gaul to put together a project explaining how to make the betting and food donation system for the Games work. Clemensia is too distraught to do the project, but Coriolanus finishes it on his own. They are summoned by Dr. Gaul to her lab where she is working on genetically engineered rainbow colored snakes. If the snakes are familiar with your scent, they are friendly and calm, but if not and you approach them, they attack you with venom. Dr. Gaul put the project papers in the snake tank and asks Coriolanus to lift them out, which he does without issue, however when Clemensia tries, she is bitten and begins to die and is whisked away to the hospital. Dr. Gaul says this happened because they lied about doing the project together when he did it on his own. Coriolanus sings the anthem of Panem at Arachne's funeral, and Brandy's body is dragged through the streets. The rest of the tributes are paraded through while shackled to the back of a truck. After this it is arranged for the tributes to tour the arena with their mentors, when suddenly bombs go off. Both District 6 tributes are killed along with their mentors, twins Diana and Apollo Ring. Lucy Gray rescues Coriolanus instead of trying to escape. The District 1 tributes are shot by Peacekeepers as they try to escape, the District 2 girl dies, and Marcus, Sejanus' District 2 boy, escapes. After his recovery, Lucy Gray begs Coriolanus to believe that she can actually win the Games and they begin plotting how she can do so. Before the Games begin, Coriolanus gives Lucy Gray an old compact of his mother's so she can smuggle rat poison into the arena. She gives him a kiss and tells him he has stolen her heart.

The boy tribute from District 5 dies before the Games can begin, so only 14 tributes enter the arena. They find Marcus' body beaten and tortured but still alive hung up on metal poles. This enrages Sejanus and he has an outburst in the Academy and leaves. The District 7 girl Laminia kills Marcus as an act of mercy. Dill, the girl from District 11, dies of illness some hours later. After an uneventful first day, Coriolanus returns home to find Sejanus' mother, and she says that Sejanus has disappeared and not come home since his outburst. That's when they spot him on TV in the arena, sprinkling bread crumbs on Marcus' body, something that was done to the dead in District 2. Dr. Gaul calls Coriolanus, demanding he come to the arena and rescue Sejanus. When he goes in, Sejanus refuses to leave, wanting to make a statement with his death, but Coriolanus convinces him otherwise. On their way out, Coriolanus is forced to kill Bobbin, a District 8 tribute.

As a way to cover up for his son's stunt, Sejanus' father creates the Plinth Prize for the mentor who's tribute wins the Hunger Games. It is a full ride scholarship to University, which is something Coriolanus desperately needs in order to be able to go because of his family's poverty. Sol, the girl from District 5, is killed almost immediately the second morning of the Games. Lucy Gray and Jessup, the District 12 boy, finally emerge from their hiding places, but it is clear that he has rabies and is trying to kill Lucy Gray. Coriolanus and Lysistrata, Jessup's mentor, send in huge amounts of bottled water, which trigger Jessup's hydrophobia and cause him to fall to his death. When Coriolanus arrives home he learns that his family will lose their apartment due to a new tax bill that they can't afford to pay.

On the third day, Mizzen and Coral from District 4 and Tanner from District 10 kill Laminia, who has been safe up on top of the rafters. Coral and Mizzen immediately turn on Tanner and kill him. Reaper from District 11, the most feared tribute, emerges and starts lining up all of the dead bodies. His mentor Clemensia, who was hospitalized for very long and deformed from the snake venom, cruelly refuses to give him any food as he isn't killing anyone. Gaius, one of the mentors in the program, died from his injuries from the bombing on the arena. Coriolanus discovers Dr. Gaul is planning on dropping the mutated snakes that bit Clemensia into the arena. He decides to drop a handkerchief that Lucy Gray had been using in the snake pit before it is put into the arena so that the snakes will not attack Lucy Gray.

Wovey from District 8 emerges the next day, only to immediately foam at the mouth and die. Coriolanus suspects Lucy Gray killed her with rat poison. Dr. Gaul announces Gaius' death and sets the snakes loose in the arena. Circ from District 3 is killed, along with Coral. Lucy Gray, however, emerges from the tunnels singing to the snakes, and they wrap around her dress and her arms perfectly at peace.

The next morning Teslee from District 3 uses drones to knock Mizzen down from the rafters and he falls to his death. Treech from District 7 kills Teslee with an ax to the skull. Lucy Gray emerges and he goes to attack her as well, but she runs and hugs him before he can swing at her and attaches a snake to his neck. The venom kills him. Lucy Gray taunts Reaper until he decides to drink from a puddle of water she poisoned with rat poison and he dies, making her the winner of the 10th Hunger Games. Before he can celebrate his victory, Coriolanus is sent to Dean Casca Highbottom, who reveals the handkerchief he dropped in the snake tank and the compact with the rat poison. With his cheating revealed, he has no choice but to give up his victory and join the Peacekeepers.

As a Peacekeeper Coriolanus goes to District 12 as he hopes to be able to see Lucy Gray there. He is beginning to consider su*c*de when Sejanus appears, having also joined the Peacekeepers. Sejanus was also given the choice Coriolanus was of expulsion or Peacekeepers, but he agreed to do so as long as Coriolanus could officially graduate the Academy with High Honors. Coriolanus resolves to take the officer's test to move up in the Peacekeepers. He makes plans to see Lucy Gray at a performance of her and her band, The Covey Bairds. He is forced to witness the execution of a rebel, who tells his lover to run before being hung from a tree. At the Hob, Coriolanus sees Lucy Gray perform, and they are about to reunite when her spurned lover Billy Taupe appears and causes a fight. Sejanus and Coriolanus leave the base the next day to go visit Lucy Gray and her family. She sings Coriolanus a song she wrote about the hanging the previous day, called The Hanging Tree. They talk and say it was written in the stars for them to be together. When Coriolanus and Lucy Gray return to the house, Sejanus and Billy Taupe are seen conversing, and Sejanus is drawing him a map of the Peacekeeper base and Sejanus admits they were discussing the girl who the rebel who had been hung told to run. She was captured by the Peacekeepers. Lucy Gray tells Billy Taupe off, and Coriolanus begins to suspect Sejanus as being a rebel sympathizer. Coriolanus writes a letter to Dr. Gaul as if he is still having lessons with her, telling her of what he is learning by being in the Districts.

The soldiers are assigned a new task of shooting jabberjays and mockingjays, but only after they assist Capital scientists in trapping 100 of each. Coriolanus is thrilled that his ideas are being heard, as he hates the fact that the mockingjays exist, seeing them as being out of control. When they go to see the Covey perform again, Coriolanus finds Sejanus sneaking around the Hob and decides to keep a closer eye on him. Lucy Gray confesses that Billy Taupe wants her to run away with him up north. While working with the jabberjays, Sejanus comes up to Coriolanus to confess something to him, and Coriolanus presses record on a remote so the jabberjay records the conversation. Sejanus tells him he is going to run away and go north with Billy Taupe, and needs Coriolanus' help to free the captured girl. Coriolanus refuses to help and tries to talk him out of it but fails, and then sends the jabberjay off knowing that Dr. Gaul will hear of Sejanus' treason. Lucy Gray and Coriolanus walk in on Billy Taupe and Sejanus trading illegal weapons, and Lucy Gray diffuses the situation by saying she'll go north with Billy Taupe. Then Mayfair Lip, the mayor's daughter that Billy Taupe cheated on Lucy Gray with, appears and threatens to reveal the whole scheme, so Coriolanus, not wanting him and Lucy Gray to look like rebels, shoots Mayfair, and then another rebel present named Spruce shoots Billy Taupe when he tries to stop Lucy Gray from leaving. Spruce runs off with the guns that have Coriolanus' fingerprints, but is brought to the Peacekeeper base the next day severely wounded. Sejanus is then arrested and executed for treason.

Coriolanus is told that he is being sent off to become an officer, but with Spruce now dead he is worried that the guns with his fingerprints will show up eventually, and he decides to run away with Lucy Gray. In the time that it takes for them to get to their usual hangout spot deep in the woods, Coriolanus has already decided that this kind of life isn't for him. In the abandoned cabin he finds the guns with his DNA and realizes he can go back and become an officer, but Lucy Gray runs off, realizing he plans to go back and that he betrayed Sejanus. He chases after her, and she planted her orange scarf by a snake that bites him. He fires the gun at random into the woods but can't tell if he killed Lucy Gray or not. He throws the guns into the lake and makes it back to the base. The next day he gets on a hovercraft bound for District 2 so he can become an officer. He is sent to the Capital instead and is greeted by Dr. Gaul. Him becoming a Peacekeeper was a plot of hers the whole time, and she had him honorably discharged and enrolled at the University.

He becomes an apprentice gamemaker, and became the heir to Sejanus' family fortune as they didn't know he was the reason he died and adopted him as their new son. He finally learns the truth as to why Dean Casca hated him so much. Him and Coriolanus' father were friends at the University and given a project by Dr. Gaul to come up with a way to punish the Districts after a war, he joked that they should have the Hunger Games. Coriolanus' father turned the assignment in to Dr. Gaul, betraying Casca's trust, and making him the creator of the Hunger Games. It is left unsure whether or not Lucy Gray ran away into the woods or if she died, as back in District 12 it is speculated the mayor had her killed. He uses rat poison to kill Dean Casca, and the book ends with his family motto: "Snow lands on top."

Coriolanus Snow (Coryo): This was an incredible backstory for Snow. You know that he's going to turn out evil, but at the same time you are rooting for him to be a good person and to win the Games early on in the book. Getting to finally see his internal monologue and his motivations and logic, and how he was shaped by Dr. Gaul, really puts the rest of the book series into perspective. He isn't a loveable protagonist whatsoever, and at the end of the book when he is a Peacekeeper you really start to get his true perspective of things. He never loved Lucy Gray, but saw her as his, an object and a possession, a toy that he eventually got bored of. He saw the mockingjays as an affront to the control of the Capitol, like a mockery. This series puts into perspective everything Katniss did later on and her entire symbolization and why it was so triggering to Snow and why he hated her so much.

Lucy Gray Baird: I agree with a lot of the character evaluations of her that I have seen that she is not meant to be similar to Katniss, but rather to Peeta. They both are able to manipulate audiences and put on a show, and I believe this is why Snow targets Peeta and uses him the way he does in Mockingjay. Lucy Gray wasn't what he wanted her to be, so he discarded her when she wasn't useful. I like that they ended her story mysteriously, with you not knowing whether or not she died or if she escaped on her own and made it north.

Sejanus Plinth: Following the theory that Peeta reminds Snow of Lucy Gray, Katniss reminds him of Sejanus. Sejanus was arguably more influential in Snow's life than Lucy Gray, and his "betrayal" affected Snow more. This might explain why Snow treated Katniss more like a peer, and Peeta more like toy. As for Sejanus himself, I enjoyed his character a lot, just wishing he was less naive and didn't trust Snow like he did.

Tigris Snow: We see Tigris in the Hunger Games, a mutated person altered beyond recognition and wanting Snow dead. I so desperately need to know what happened between The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Mockingjay that turned their close relationship to the point that she wanted him dead.

Storyline: Watching Snow transform into the monster we know him as was an immensely compelling storyline. You slowly watch his downfall into authoritarianism and cruelty and it's a painful read but so, so good. Suzanne Collins gave so much backstory and explanation for things that happen later. None of it felt forced or thrown in there just because. Things like The Hanging Tree song and Snow's connection to it being fully explained makes the rest of the series feel so much more real and everything has a lot more significance than it did. Also learning that Snow (with the help of Dr. Gaul) made the Games into the spectacle we see in the original trilogy ties everything together in the best way possible.

Representation: Pluribus, a club owner and smuggler close with the Snow family reveals that he used to have a husband. One of the Covey Baird girls has a girlfriend.

Summary: The writing style between this book and what I remember of the original books is definitely different, and it was weird to me at first but ultimately, as it's from Snow's perspective, it makes total sense and adds to things. Snow is an unreliable narrator from the jump, but you don't really realize that until nearing the end of the book. This book really just adds to the series as a whole and takes to an impossibly high standard for an already legendary dystopian YA series.

Quotes: "I'm so blameless I'm choking on it."-Sejanus Plinth (pg. 73) "He comforted himself with the thought that she was old and no one lived forever." (pg. 161)

[kellyvela]

Idk why some fans get so pressed when ppl bring up comparisons of sansa to lyanna bc ned directly does it himself… obviously arya is the main lyanna parallel but it doesn’t mean that sansa has nothing in common with her. Sansa also like lyanna was a lady trapped in a tower.. - it is the same ppl who get mad when fanart is made of sansa w/ the winter rose like she’s a stark from winterfell she’s allowed to be associated with the flower of the north 🙄

It's a bit of cursory reading, because most people can read in the text that Lyanna and Arya share the Stark look, the wolf's blood, the horse riding, the fighting with swords, the fondness of flowers, but it seems than only a few can recognize patterns or make associations that aren't written. As I just said in this post:

Lyanna running away with Rhaegar started a rebellion, killed her father and big brother, killed a lot of innocent people and destroyed the royal family by killing some of them and making the rest a pair of exiled beggars. And it also killed her, leaving her son an orphan. A tragedy.

Sansa doesnt' have the Stark look, she doesn't like to ride or fight with swords, but like Lyanna, Sansa fell for a royal blondie and their relationship ended in war, with her father and big brother killed by blondie's family and with her trapped in some tower of Maegor's holdfast. A similar tragedy.

But it's also a bit of a bigger issue, the fact that a lot of people don't consider that Sansa is a protagonist, but they love a character that was dead before the series started as a protagonist. So, deeply in their error, they wonder: How dare Sansa fans can even think to associate Sansa with our beloved Lyanna?

And it gets worse when people think that it's totally OK to associate a blue winter rose with a character that only had a vision of one of them, someone who doesn't even know what type of flower that is, but's it's an unforgivable sin to associate a blue winter rose, that only grew in Winterfell's Glass Garden, with someone who actually was born and raised in Winterfell and remember very well the Glass Gardens and the flowers that only grew within its glass walls.

[elusiveweekend]

Games of X

Emma Frost is the White Queen, the girl who glows, destined to rule from the way she simply carries herself. I am the rebel, the volunteer. I am everything they stand against. I am their worst fears in flesh and blood.

We are not the confused kids from last year. We aren’t intimidated by them like we used to be. They’re intimidated by us, and they love us for that. They love the darkness the Games rubbed on us, and how less storybook it makes our story.

We are the star-crossed lovers. We are dangerous, we are lethal, and we know it just like everyone else does. We hold the power. So let them chant, let them point, let them clap, let them scream— as they should. 

— Scott Summers in The Games We Return To, Part 2 of Games of X

Once upon a time, the fourteen mutant districts of Panem rose up against the Capitol, which later became known as the First Rebellion. The mutant rebellion was crushed. One District, the fourteenth, was destroyed entirely. The other thirteen barely survived. When it was over, the Capitol decreed that those thirteen Districts - as a brutal reminder of their treasonous rebellion - would forever suffer a punishment, once a year.

The Hunger Games. Mutant children between the ages of 12-18 would be reaped via lottery to fight to the death in an arena. Two tributes would be reaped from each district every year. One male, one female.

Games of X is a series taking place in an X-Men/Hunger Games universe. If you like both, feel free to check out...

The Games We Play (50025 words) Chapters: 19/19 Part 1 of Games of X, Covering the Events of The Hunger Games For the 74th annual Hunger Games, 18-year-olds Scott Summers and Emma Frost are the tributes of District Thirteen. May the odds be ever in their favor.

The Games We Return To (27716 words) Chapters: 13/? Part 2 of Games of X, Covering the Events of Catching Fire Six months after being crowned as the victors of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Scott Summers and Emma Frost have returned to their lives in District Thirteen. But with the Victory Tour and the Quarter Quell approaching, will everything go as smoothly as they hope?

[thebookwormslair]

Are you still reeling from the magic, romance, and epic battles of Sarah J. Maas' "A Court of Thorns and Roses" series? Well, fear not, for I have a treasure trove of recommendations that will keep you captivated long after the final page. So grab a cup of your favorite brew, snuggle up in your cozy reading nook, and let's dive into a world of enchantment, humor, and swoon-worthy characters!

"The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black: Brace yourself for wicked faeries, political intrigue, and a fearless protagonist who must navigate a treacherous court to survive. This tantalizing tale will have you clutching your heart and begging for more.

"Graceling" by Kristin Cashore: Enter a world where some are blessed (or cursed) with unique abilities. Follow Katsa, a fierce warrior, as she embarks on a dangerous journey filled with unexpected allies, high-stakes quests, and a blossoming romance.

"Uprooted" by Naomi Novik: Prepare to be enchanted by a dark and atmospheric fairytale that delves into the mysteries of a malevolent forest, an enigmatic wizard, and a brave young woman determined to save her village from an ancient evil.

"Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas: If you haven't already dived into Maas' other spellbinding series, now is the time! Join assassin-turned-heroine Celaena Sardothien on a gripping adventure filled with action, magic, and a dash of romance.

"Red Queen" by Victoria Aveyard: Welcome to a world divided by blood, where the color of your blood determines your fate. Follow Mare Barrow, a lowly Red thrust into a world of Silver royalty, as she discovers her own shocking powers and becomes embroiled in a dangerous rebellion.

"The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss: Lose yourself in this beautifully written epic fantasy that follows the life of the legendary Kvothe. Filled with intricate world-building, captivating storytelling, and a touch of musical magic, this book will leave you craving more.

"The Bear and the Nightingale" by Katherine Arden: Immerse yourself in Russian folklore as you journey with Vasya, a courageous young girl with the ability to see mythical creatures. Rich in atmosphere and folklore, this bewitching tale will transport you to a world of wonder.

"An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir: Brace yourself for a heart-pounding adventure in a ruthless empire. Follow Laia, a slave girl, and Elias, a highly skilled soldier, as they navigate their paths in a world of oppression, danger, and forbidden love.

"The Wrath and the Dawn" by Renée Ahdieh: Prepare for a sumptuous retelling of "One Thousand and One Nights" that will sweep you off your feet. Delve into a world of romance, mystery, and secrets as Shahrzad captivates a king with her storytelling prowess.

"Shadow and Bone" by Leigh Bardugo: Enter the Grishaverse, a world where magic and darkness intertwine. Join Alina Starkov as she discovers her untapped powers, faces dangerous enemies, and grapples with matters of the heart.

There you have it, dear readers, a captivating collection of books that will transport you to worlds brimming with magic, romance, and thrilling adventures.

[ao3feed-sladedick]

War has Come While Night Hath Fallen over our Kingdom

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/EDgzIGq by InkBlot31 Fantasy, dark ages au of Wayne and uni - in this. The warrior and barbarian king to the country of Defencia, Slade, has taken over the kingdom belonging to the house of Wayne. However, the true king has simply vanished, leaving his sons and daughters within the keep to fend off the invaders. The king soon learns that the children all are adopted and not the true blood of Wayne, all but one child who is still in question... The eldest, Prince Richard steps up and has made clear that he will not let his family and the kingdom his father has saved come to any harm. For this promise to be kept, his hand must be given to the new king, whereas in this defense, many have objected to this union. In Defencia perhaps bedding minor royalty is not considered a crime to be suited by the gods, yet in the house of Wayne's book, there will be a rebellion if the king goes through with his plans to take over all of what the prior missing king has built. Yet Richard is only being kept until the real heir is revealed to all to bear witness. Will the prince make sure that the tyrant in charge cannot harm his own kin, and spread his rule to any neighboring cities in the process? Words: 1678, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Batman (Comics), Deathstroke the Terminator (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage Characters: Dick Grayson, Slade Wilson, Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, William Randolph Wintergreen, Rose Wilson, Grant Wilson (DCU), Talia al Ghul, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Tim Drake, Lucius Fox, Duke Thomas, Kate Kane (DCU), Adeline Kane Wilson, Jericho - Character, Jim Gordon, Catalina Flores, Koriand'r (DCU), Victor Stone, Garfield Logan, Komand'r (DCU), Raven (Teen Titans), Malchior (Teen Titans), Joker (DCU), Alfred Pennyworth Relationships: Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson, Bruce Wayne/Slade Wilson, Barbara Gordon & Jason Todd, Slade Wilson/William Randolph Wintergreen, Dick Grayson & Rose Wilson, Talia al Ghul & Damian Wayne, Talia al Ghul/Bruce Wayne read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/EDgzIGq

[itskeisy]

In your opinion, please rate thg movie series with 1-5 scale.

(1 = I hate it, 3=neutral, 5 = I love it.)

1.The Hunger Games :

Things that you like :

Things that you don't like :

2.Cathing Fire :

Things that you like :

Things that you don't like :

3.Mockingjay

Movie 1 :

Movie 2 :

Things that you like :

Things that you don't like :

Thank you 😊

@curiousnonny

The Hunger Games - 3.5

👍 the casting, the introduction to the world of Panem specially district 12, the costumes for the capitol, district people and tributes, chef kiss to Jen acting when before entering the arena, the brutality of the blood bath, Peeta along Katniss the bow and she smiling (so pure), the great closing scene with Snow.

👎 the shaky camera, the obvious lost of raccord in “I volunteer” scene, black buttercup, the directing of Katniss and Peeta in the cave, Peeta lack of weapon at the end.

Catching Fire - 5

👍 Great dialogue, next level of design production for the districts, capitol and the arena, the opening scene, showing Katniss ptsd, Katniss and Peeta’s distance at the beginning and eventually their reconciliation, the visit to district 11, the tour in general, the “-will you stay with me -always” scene great adaptation for the books, showing the sparks of the rebellion in the districts, the scene of Snow mansion, the reaping scene, Effie butterflies dress, the introduction of the victors, next level tribute parade, the costume of Katniss and Peeta in the parade ufffff, the painting of Rue, Finnick (no need to say more), the interviews scene, Katniss wedding dress turning into a mockingjay, Katniss entering the arena, the arena itself, the psychological brutality scene of jabberjays, the perfect “I do. I need you” scene, the scene when Katniss blows the arena and Snow watching, when Katniss learns that Peeta is in the Capitol, the ending scene Katniss fiercely looking directly to the camera/us.

👎 the extra and unnecessary Katniss and Gale kiss.

Mockingjay Part 1 - 4.5

👍 the opening scene with Katniss says her list, the dark and serious tone of the movie, Katniss visiting a destroyed district 12, Effie, the district 8 scene and action sequence, Katniss and Gale arguing over Peeta interview, Katniss singing the hanging tree, the sequence of districts rebelling, Snow trying to subdue the rebellion, Katniss shattering watching Peeta suffering, the sweet moment between Katniss and Prim telling her about her training to be a doctor, Katniss realizing what Snow is doing while playing with buttercup, Katniss and Finnick taking about how Snow is using Peeta, the roses scene, the rescue sequence with Finnick dialogue, Snow telling them is a trap, Finnick and Annie reunion, Johanna in very bad shape, Peeta attacking Katniss scene, the ending scene with Katniss seeing Peeta through the glass.

👎 the eliminated scene of Finnick in boxers

Mockingjay Part 2 - 4.9

👍 Hijacked Peeta, Katniss and Gale fragile friendship and how different are their perspectives, Katniss and Gale taking when the bombs fall on district 2, the scene when Katniss talks and is shot at district 2, the scene with Snow killing with poison, Johanna and Katniss talking how they are messed up, Katniss visiting Peeta (that hurt so bad), Finnick and Annie Wedding, the music when dancing, Katniss dancing with Prim, Rebels doing the three fingers at Katniss when she arrives to the Capitol, when Finnick says “welcome to the 76 hunger games”, Katniss being annoyed by the cameras haha, Peeta joining the squad, Bogs telling Katniss that he plans for her to have a long life and about Coin, Finnick with Peeta in the background, scene with Katniss and Peeta, and Katniss telling thing that he likes, the sequence of the black ooze, Bogs you will be greatly missed, Peeta attacking Katniss and killing of the squad, the squad fighting over the holo, Peeta telling them to kill him, Finnick smiling seeing his picture, the sequence of the mutts, Katniss and alerta saving each other fighting the mutts, Finnick heroic entrance fighting and saving Katniss, the stay and kiss with me sequence, the seven when Katniss confesses to them and how Peeta talks to her, the little girl watching Katniss and her crying for her mother (so sad I know it’s heartbreaking), The scene of the victors voting, Peeta being annoyed by Katniss and Haymitch vote, Peeta saving Katniss of taking the nightlock, Katniss and buttercup scene if chef kiss, the entire montage of Katniss and Peeta growing back together, the epilogue.

👎 Bogs telling Katniss to kill Peeta if she have to

Thanks for the ask ;)

[orlissa]

January reading summary

My one New Year’s resolution this year was to read fifty books in 2023–that would mean 4.17 books per month, just for fun math’s sake. In January, I managed to finish nine. Okay, that’s a bit of a fib, because two of these nine were started back in 2022, and one was read twice (once when I translated it, and once when I proofread the manuscript, but I’m gonna count those too). Still, it’s a pretty strong start. Anyway, I thought I’d do like a monthly summary of my reads, partially to motivate myself, and partially just to review to books I read, because we Leos thrive on attention. So, January reads, here we go:

Richelle Mead: The Indigo Spell/The Fiery Heart/Silver Shadows/The Ruby Circle – I read these right after each other (I started The Indigo Spell on December 31), as a part of my Vampire Academy re-read I started early December, so they kinda bleed together in my mind and I’m not even gonna try and write separate reviews of them. Truth is, I like 75% percent decided to read Bloodlines because I wasn’t ready to let go the Vampire Academy world yet after finishing Last Sacrifice–I just needed more Rose and Dimitri. Sure, there were things I liked in Bloodlines beyond their cameos, like the new magic system, the theme of rebellion against oppressive structures, dealing with parental trauma, and I especially enjoyed the whole re-education sequence in book five (there are very few things more terrifying than psychological torture, and the whole storyline of Sydney not giving up and fighting against it was absolutely fascinating). Still, I couldn’t get into the characters as much as I did with the original series, and, let’s be honest here, the last book sucked. The plot was all over the place, and the author basically fridged two women for a fanservice twist within a storyline with a hamfisted outcome (I mean, as a fan I was very much serviced, but it could have been done in a better way).

John Gwynne: The Hunger of the Gods – This was my translation project, so one of the books I started last year and the book I read twice from this list. As for the book itself… So, it’s a Viking-lore inspired epic fantasy (second in a trilogy) with a huge cast, where warring factions are allying with gods to gain power over the continent called Vigrið. Is it something I would have chosen to read for myself? No, it had way too much blood, eye-gouging, disfigurement, and child abuse in it for my taste (extensive facial scaring of characters has always made me squeamish). Was it objectively a good book? Yeah, sure. There is a wide range of interesting and diverse characters with depth, an exciting plot, and remarkable worldbuilding. Do I manifest the editor stepping on a Lego? Yeah, that too, because on the textual level the book had some issues that had me wanting to rip my hair out. But if you are into hard-core bloody fantasy and Norse lore, yeah, I definitely recommend it.

George Takei – Justin Eisinger – Steven Scott – Harmony Becker: They Called Us Enemy – I read this one in preparation for a course of mine which I won’t be teaching after all. Still, no regrets here (I mean, I’m sad I won’t get to teach this class, but I’m not sad that I read this book). So it’s George Takei’s memoir about his family’s time in internment camps for Japanese-Americans during WWII, while also dealing with the impact that time had on his later life, in a graphic novel format. It’s poignant and heartbreaking and honest, and really helps to put this segment of American history into perspective.

Ali Hazelwood: The Love Hypothesis – I read this book out of morbid curiosity, because I’ve seen how divisive it is (having started out as a Reylo fic, the author talking about how her agent is feeding her tropes, etc.), and honestly, I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Sure, there were icky parts, like it took actual willpower not to try to equate the main characters with Reylo/the actors, and not to try to match the supporting cast to the… well, to the Star Wars supporting cast (which I really needed to do, because I don’t like the new Star Wars, and although he has my absolute respect as a human being, I do not find Adam Driver attractive at all), the author sometimes really went overboard with the “OMG, what an actual giant the male lead is”–gushing, the sex scene had some questionable lines/metaphors, some of the side plots had a distinct fanfic crowd-pleaser feel (like Malcolm and Holden, who I’m pretty sure were originally Finn and Poe, going from “vaguely aware of each other’s existence” to “in a stable, have met the parents, banging like rabbits relationship” in like three days), and the ending was definitely rushed. However, on the other hand it was a fun little rom-com with a witty language and some commentary on sexism and sexual harassment, and although I’m not in STEM, the quips about academia and PhD candidacy really, and I mean really resonated with me. I’m definitely going to read more of the author’s stuff.

Brodi Ashton – Cynthia Hand – Jodi Meadows: My Imaginary Mary – I’m a big fan of The Lady Janies-series, but I’ll be the first one to say that they seem to be running out of steam. Sure, I know this book wasn’t even the original plan – they wanted to do one with Marie Curie, but they had to scrap that idea for some reason, so instead we get Mary Shelley and Ada Lovelace –, but still, in some aspects this book falls really… flat. While in the previous books the fantasy element felt like an integral part of the world, here it’s just… there, just thrown in, and the whole “fae godmother” introduction is just lazy writing (literally, a character just appears, brings one protagonist to the other, introduces them to each other, tells them she is their fae, not fairy, godmother, and she is now going to teach them magic. Just like that, in medias res, deus ex machina, and all that jazz). At the same time, Pan is sweetheart, the pop culture allusions are a stroke of genius, and the whole discourse about what is life is nice. So, yeah, the style is great, the message is great, but the plot is meh at best.

[arjaandsimoni]

Table of Contents

Before we get going, I want to give credit where credit is due. This is half a work of original fiction, half a work of fanfiction with elements borrowed from the work of other authors as well. Those are as follows:

The Wulfshead Club and several other elements are from the works of British author Simon R. Green. His stories are full of action, humor, and more campiness than a Cub Scout Jamboree.

One of the antagonists in the series is based on a character from The Hollows series by American author Kim Harrison. I loved her work so much I wanted to include my own take on him as tribute. If you ever read this Kim, I hope you like it!

Several of the elements used are from the various Pen & Paper RPGs from the World of Darkness universe. Their works are a great inspiration for storytelling and I love using them in this series. I tend to lean more New WoD than the older stuff mind you. (That said, it is not a 1:1 copy. I did add my own touches with some of the details.)

This is an ongoing work of fiction that is a collaborative effort between myself and my partner. Its actually why we're married now in fact. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. ^_^

Prequel: Case Files of Nelen Fullmoon

Prologue

Chapter 1: Stretched Necks in the Black Hills

Chapter 2: The Howling House

Chapter 3: Black Eyes Among the Briars

Chapter 4: Scarlet Night

Chapter 5: Saints & Sinners

Chapter 6: Hitchhikers

Chapter 7: Stray

Chapter 8: The Everblooming Rose

Chapter 9: The Price of Power

Chapter 10: Call Me Al

Chapter 11: The Maven's Avatar

Chapter 12: Wulfshead's Free Drinks Policy

Chapter 13: McSpooky

Chapter 14: Broken Dolls

Chapter 15: Onwards, to India

Book 1: The Sword of Franklin Fullmoon

Prologue

Part 1: The Bird and the Monkey

Chapter 1: The Fullmoon Witches

Chapter 2: Snakes Along the Riverfront

Chapter 3: Flying Free

Part 2: Stephy, Left Behind

Chapter 4: Flying Solo

Chapter 5: Call Me Tex

Chapter 6: The Rose's Revenge

Part 3: From Red to Black

Chapter 7: Kidnapped... or not?

Chapter 8: Family Matters

Chapter 9: Simoni

Part 4: Nelen's New Job

Chapter 10: An American Warlock in Jaipur

Chapter 11: A Sicilian Surprise

Chapter 12: Fur and Fangs

Chapter 13: Outsourcing

Part 5: Hearts of Ice

Chapter 14: Free

Chapter 15: Memories of Loss

Chapter 16: The Icebound Heart

Chapter 17: The Fae Prince's Pledge

Part 6: Aces High

Chapter 18: Luck Ain't All Good

Chapter 19: The Dark Ride

Chapter 20: Thorns

Chapter 21: Bet Your Life

Part 7: Power Outage

Chapter 22: Franklin Fullmoon

Chapter 23: Return to Arcadia

Chapter 24: Wings of Flame

Chapter 25: The Lotus of Brahma

Part 8: Shattering

Chapter 26: The Raven Rebellion

Chapter 27: Inishmore

Chapter 28: Iravati

Chapter 29: The Siege of Castle Fullmoon

Epilogue

Book 2: Revenge of the Rakshasa Prince

Prologue

Part 1: House Roche

Chapter 1: The Promised Christmas

Chapter 2: Hunting in Eternal Darkness

Chapter 3: The Cheron Group

Chapter 4: The Wheel of Fortune and the Moon

Part 2: The Lord's Arrow

Chapter 5: Rakshasa

Chapter 6: The Road to Thalassery

Chapter 7: Wings and Scales

Chapter 8: Rakshasa's Regret

Part 3: Sins of the Past

Chapter 9: The Dreaded Sting

Chapter 10: The Big Easy

Chapter 11: Wrath, Pride, and Prejudice

Chapter 12: Just Say No to Supernatural Drugs

Chapter 13: Hunter's Night Out

Chapter 14: The Devil and the Magician

Chapter 15: Blood, Freely Given

Part 4: The Thief of Time

Chapter 16: A Summons from the Prince

Chapter 17: The Blessing of Cernunnos

Chapter 18: The Ancient Plague Returns

Chapter 19: Temptations

Chapter 20: Embrace

Chapter 21: Temporal Chaos

Part 5: The Prince

Chapter 22: The Manticore's Feast

Chapter 23: The Emperor and Judgement

Chapter 24: Shadow and Regrets

Chapter 25: Cold Blooded

Part 6: Revenge

Chapter 26: Guilt and Consequences

Chapter 27: South to Sri Lanka

Chapter 28: The Tower and Death

Chapter 29: Revenge of the Rakshasa Prince

Epilogue

Book 3: Bad Blood, Old Sins

Prologue

Part 1: Fangs and Frost

Chapter 1: Blood on the Snow

Chapter 2: Tapping at the Window

Chapter 3: The New Boss

Chapter 4: The Dusty Man

Part 2: The Mill Creek Monster

Chapter 5: Urban Legend

Chapter 6: Inhuman Academia

Chapter 7: The Devil in the Details

Chapter 8: The Mill Creek Monster

Part 3: Who's in Charge Here?

Chapter 9: Entering and Breaking

Chapter 10: CLANG!

Chapter 11: Bad Blood

Chapter 12: Sausages

Side Story: The Hunter in Darkness

This is actually not written by me, but rather by my partner. The characters in these stories came from both of us. Some were all mine originally (Nelen, Dawn, and such) whereas others were their creation (Arja, Natasha, and so on) and a few we created together (Isolde, for example.)

Alice and House Roche were their own creation however, and recently they've been bitten by the writing bug and have begun penning a backstory for them! This story takes place around the same time as Case Files of Nelen Fullmoon, focusing on Alice Roche and her allies as introduced in Chapter 2 of Revenge of the Rakshasa Prince.

Chapter 1: Perils in Paris

Chapter 2: Noblesse Oblige

Chapter 3: Scars

Chapter 4: Rivalry in Darkness

Chapter 5: First Day in the Field

Chapter 6: Song of the Smiling Knight

Chapter 7: Aquamarine

Chapter 8: The Good Doctor

Chapter 9: The Winner of the Game

[harocat]

FYI I did sign up for the shoujo/josei/yuri Gotcha For Gaza on twitter! I would be unsurprised if I didn't get an assignment, but I'm offering the following:

Madoka Magica: Homumado only (NO Rebellion)

Akatsuki no Yona: Hak/Yona only

Macross Frontier: Sheryl/Ranka or series gen only. Will do both movies and tv anime.

May be willing to write if needed:

Yuri titles: Flip Flappers (Cocona/Papika), Gundam: Witch from Mercury (Sulemio), Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans (Atra/Kudelia), Yuri Kuma Arashi (Ginko/Kureha, Lulu gen), Otherside Picnic (Toriko/Sorawo)

Titles with yuri fanbases: A Place Further than the Universe, Carole & Tuesday (Carole/Tuesday), Love Live (NozoEli), Tales of Zestiria (Rose/Alisha), Gatchaman Crowds (Hajime/Utsutsu)

Donations end 06/23.

💕

[achaotichuman]

Chapter 23 of A Court of Song and Desolation is out now! Summary- She had eyes like starlight and a grin that could outshine the moon, "We'll rule the world."

"What if we fail?"

"Then we'll burn it all down."

In hindsight maybe it could only have ever ended like this. Making a man who was never made to rule, High lord. This was all inevitable.

With his Court in ruins and everyone gone, Tamlin lives amongst the broken pieces of his Court and has no intentions of changing that. Lucien, however, will not stand to leave his oldest friend alone.

When Lucien takes Tamlin back to the human lands, they discover a darkness coming for Prythian. If something does not stop it, it will completely rewrite the way Faeries and humans alike live as they know it

*Previously titled Get out while you still can! (Please don't leave me)*

*Alternative Summary- Magic dumbasses obliviously pining for each other try to save the world.

Fandom- A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J.Maas

Chapters- 22/71

Rating- Explicit

Archive Warnings- Rape/Non-Con, Underage, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Categories- M/M, F/M, Multi, F/F

Relationships- Tamlin/Lucien Vanserra, Past Tamlin/Feyre Archeron, Past Lucien Vanserra/Jesminda, Azriel/Eris Vanserra, Feyre Archeron/Rhysand, Nesta Archeron/Cassian, Tamlin & Lucien Vanserra, Tamlin & Eris Vanserra

Characters- Tamlin (A Court of Thorns and Roses, Lucien Vanserra, Original Female Characters, Jurian (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Vassa (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Andras (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Original Male Characters, Elain Archeron, Eris Vanserra, Azriel (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Death-God Kosechi, Morrigan (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Cassian (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Nesta Archeron, Tarquin (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Tamlin's Brothers (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Amren (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Feyre Archeron, Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses)

Additional Tags- Tamlin Redemption (A Court of Thorns and Roses), Depression, Eating Disorders, Slow Burn, Justice for the Hewn City, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Secret Relationships, Mating Bonds, shape-shifting magic, Flashbacks, Self-Harm, Found Family, Abandonment Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Implied/Referenced Sexual Assault, Grief/Mourning, Day Court magic, Bisexual Elain Archeron, bisexual Tamlin, Forced Marriage, Welcome to Tamlin's Bisexual Panic, Exploration of Spring Court Magic, anger issues, repressed trauma, Panic Attacks, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Pining, Mutual Pining, Jealousy, Possessive Behavior, Demisexuality, Overthinking, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Sexual Abuse, Eventual Smut, Torture, More Hurt before Healing, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Elain Archeron being the best, Blood and Gore, Horror, Rebellion, Body Horror

Series- Part One of A Court of Outcasts, Thieves and Assassins

[praeteritus-memories-muses]

Name: Ajax Childe / Tartaglia

Series: Genshin Impact

Continuity: Video Game

Age: 20

Height: 5'11"

Birthday: July 20th

Birthplace: Snezhnaya

Orientation: Bisexual

Species: Human

Occupation: Fatui Harbinger

Sibling(s): Teucer, Tonia and Anthon

Bio:

Childe, who's true name is Ajax, comes from a large family in Snezhnaya with not much to their name in terms of mora. They weren't entirely poor, but a large family meant that Childe often received hand-me-downs from his siblings and not much to eat in terms of food.

His name alone was after a great adventurer from a fictional story his father loved throughout his life, which surely engraved a thirst for new sights and adventure within him. Yet soon that love of adventure, which would've surely made him an admirable member of the Adventures Guild as an adult, had started to twist into a thirst for bloodlust after countless battles within the Sneznaya government due to the Tsarista, the cryo archon, waging a rebellion against Celestia and the other archons. This news shocked many elders within Snezhnaya, even Childe who had always seen the cryo archon had a fragile but loving heart.

At the age of fourteen, he fled home with nothing but a piece of bread and a sword in hand in search of new battles and adventure to be found. He'd fight bears, wolves and other wild vicious animals with nothing but his bare hands and sword. That is, he was alone until he met a mysterious Swordswoman.

He ventured with this woman into the Abyss, a corrupted area of Tevyat that was comprised of the cursed citizens of the ancient nation of Khaenri'ah that was destroyed by the archons.

Childe was inside the Abyss for 3 months, yet not a single soul knows what happened. He won't talk about it, not out of trauma, but out of sworn secrecy to it's secrets. Yet no time at all had passed in the human world when he returned, his sisters and mother telling him that he was gone for three days.

Yet something in the Abyss changed him. He no longer was shy around others. He was charismatic, confident, trouble making, aggressive and argumentive around other people. Yet his parents and siblings would only see the side he wanted them to see - which was a charismatic and confident teenager.

Yet Childe would start to get into fights. Each one making him crave more of that high that victory brought. His fights would get so bad that he would get into one with a Fatui, and his defeat resulted in his father having to settle matters. With no money to give for the Fatui soldier to leave his son alone, he had no choice but to enlist Childe into the Fatui for the Tsaritsa.

Reluctant and angered, it took a long time for Childe to finally get used to the life of a military soldier. His father hoped that make being in the military would calm him down, instead it only made him crave more bloodshed and war. At some point, he realized that he wanted to be on top as the greatest warrior who ever lived. One that people would write stories and ballads about, not power but glory instead.

Childe rose through the ranks and climbed all the way to the 11th Harbinger of the Fatui, one of the highest ranks you can get. He's met with the Tsaritsa several times and even speaks with her regularly. Despite being the archon of ice, her heart was certainly warm.

During his time in the Fatui, he changed his name to Childe. Mostly to protect his family but also to match this new cold persona he was trying to don. His name as the 11th Harbinger is Tartaglia, chosen by the Tsaritsa.

Childe is charismatic, friendly, confident, argumentive and filled with a lust for fighting and blood. He's mastered several weapons and he currently wields a bow solely to get better at it like he does with other weapons.

He will also never turn down a fight. Someone wants to fight him? He will challenge them, even if it means certain death for him. Yet as much as he craves fighting, he loves and adores his family. Thanks to the money a Harbinger makes, he visits home once every six months to give his family all sorts of gifts - especially toys and dolls for his younger siblings.

Though only his oldest sisters, mother and father know about his true role as the Fatui. His younger siblings are kept in the dark until they're old enough to understand, and hopefully warn about never working for the Tsaritsa.

Childe is currently stationed in Liyue Harbor though, tasked with taking the Godhood away from the geo archon for the Tsaritsa. He hates how warm it is, and misses the cold of Snezhnaya, but he welcomes the new opportunities to fight. After all, he only seeks the glory and high of battle.