#I actually haven't read Bride yet but I think I have to because a few non-fandom friends read it and are suddenly inexplicably into abo | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

pruneunfair · 21 days ago

Text

Ranking all the OI I read. Part 1: the lesser.

It'll be like my tier list except with added stories from the haven't read yet section and of course my opinions.

Since Tumblr only allows 30 images per post and a daily pass based on how many pictures can be posted at all. I'll be posting this list through multiple parts starting with the worst. Get ready because there's gonna be a lot of negativity right now.

Starting with the tier I like to call "Absolute dog shit." Terrible plots, gross content being glamourized and little to no potential at all.

honestly picking the worst of the worst was hard cause there's so many to choose from.. and I think the title of the absolute worst doesn't go to Remarried empress or Today the villainess has fun again..

Its this one: beware of the brothers

I really can't say I was surprised 😭. I mean.. look at the damn title. The FL gets adopted into the family because she looks like the ML's dead sister and it just.. escalates into step-bro love. "But it's not related by blood-" still incest and even if they didn't grow up together, WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO FUCK SOMEONE WHO LOOKS LIKE YOUR DEAD SIBLING!?

The order of slave breeding

Yes this is an actual manhwa.. I genuinely wanna know why the author just looked at themselves in the mirror and said "Yes this is a good idea." As the title suggests.. it's about a slave merchant for a FL and her slaves falling in love with her and as if it couldn't be uncomfortable enough it is one of the few manhwa with a dark skinned ML. I don't care how many times they'll offer excues for the lead I don't fw slavery being used as a romance device in media.

I belong to house Castillo

Technically I didn't read all of it, I just read the spoilers for the rest of the chapters but to be fair, I just got finished cursing myself by reading stepbro fantasies and master/slave ships, I'm not trying to give my FBI agent a reason to search my hard drives. It's a basic and cliché found family where the FL Estelle is sold by her mother to her father and the ML is a 17 year old who basically grooms her..why? Because raising your love interest is the "only" way to make a story stand out amongst the other generic found family tales.

I tamed my ex husband's mad dog.

More cases of grooming except this time it's the FL as the perpetrator. ML looks like he's 8 but he's apparently 16.. so we got a groomer protagonist in the form of Reinhardt who also neglects her first child and favors her second child she had with her victim with the excuse of not wanting to care for her son being that he looks like her toxic ex. Lady what? That boy deserves his own villain arc holy shit.

No more turning a blind eye.

This one really dissapointed me 😔. The cover looked stunning, the artstyle while a little off was still eye catching and the title sounded promising. Nah this is a hunk of junk that had a gentrification plot for some reason.. and you were supposed to sympathize with the guy who wanted to render hundreds of people homeless to make room for art galleries or whatever it was they wanted?

The dragon kings bride

I already knew this one was probably gonna suck judging by the title. First off it treats dark skinned people like barbarians, the ML Hakan meets Lucina when she's a child, Lucina is threatened with death if she doesn't marry him and you can probably guess where it goes. Like I said I don't really have a right to be shocked but it still goes on the list for its weird obsession with Lucina being so tiny that having sex with Hakan could kill her along with a not so hidden pregnancy fetish.

I became the tyrants secretary.

Its just workplace sexual harassment, theres not much to it. Cannot stand the ML who is a basic garbage human and Rosalyn is a block of wood when it comes to personality. She wants to do all these things but she has no spine and no will to actually do them but at the same time shes so good at everything on a whim. I usually don't mind a clueless FL but Jesus christ! She makes Adrien Agreste look smarter!

The villains savior

Gotta say the artstyle is really pretty and the FLs design is so cute. Everything else though is pretty bad. The point is basically the lead Ezlay is trying to essentially "fix" the ML as the title suggest. A lot of people dislike this one because Ezlay is very emotional and cries too much but that's honestly the least of the issues here. Now to be fair, Aseph is a villain so it's expected that he's gonna suck but that doesn't mean Ezlay needs to have the personality of a rock either, it's not that she cries a lot that annoys me, she's literally just a male fantasy personified. All she is absolute patience and acceptance for what Aseph does to point of enabling that toxic behavior.

Now we enter manhwas that are horrificly awful, not much difference except these ones have a bigger grain of potential

Lucia

This one got a lot of hate tiktok so naturally I had to read it and yeah, it was pretty bad. The artstyle though just.. I'm sorry but Lucia's face is literally just 👁 👄 👁 and thats not even mentioning the ML Hugo. It's really crinegy and it tries to fill that void with poorly made smut. The plot is also really and I mean REALLY dead set on 1950s values for women and the relationship between Lucia's and Hugo is downright toxic. In fact I don't even think there's a plot.. it's just porn. The only reason it's not in dogshit tier is that it's so iconic for being awful that it deserves to be higher up.

When the villainess is in love.

Okay all I can give this one is that Libertia has a better character design than Lucia. She's a mary sue but at this point that's a lot of leads nowadays so it's not a total shock but this is definitely a case where the story would be so much better if it was the actual Libertia as the protagonist instead of a carbon copy of the ogfl taking over. The worst part though is the fashion and I normally do not care about how dresses look in OI as long as they at least look good and fit the setting.. and dear God a lot of those dresses are nightmares to look at. Thankfully I had heard the novel was better.

Today the villainess has fun again

not a fan of the protagonist. Reilynn is really insufferable to follow since she's basically just an entitled asshole who thinks that just because she got transmigrated as the wealthiest woman in the land that she must be in the right because she's not like Iris who is a basic pick me girl. Beyond the fact that watching her throw money at people to get past an obstacle without effort she's also heavily written as a pedo because out of her options which had 2 green flags her age, she chooses the slave she bought who acts and looks like a 10 year old boy with attachment issues.

Try begging

what is with Solche and their weird obsession with rapist male leads? It's somehow worse then cry or better yet beg. Basically the FL Sally/Grace is a spy and when the ML Leon finds out.. he basically tortures her and SA's her multiple times and somehow they fall in love. Do with that what you will, the only slack I will kind of give Try begging is that it at least warns you of what your getting into beforehand. I really hate that Solches writing actually has so much potential to be amazing yet they use their talents to make rape fetish content. I want to know why manhwa tiktok likes this so much, they're all about girl code until a rapist looks hot (Leon isn't even hot, hes mad ugly)

Abandoned empress

Ah yes, good ol abandoned empress, the manhwa communities favorite punching bag so it's only right it lands here. For all the writers out there if your making a character you'd want the readers to support as the love interest you typically would give them an interesting personality and to tone down anything you think is too much for a healthy relationship. Abandoned empress decides to do the opposite of that and even after scenes of Ruve abusing his wife Aristia by cheating on her, beating her, SA'ing her, killing her dad, and causing her to miscarry so you would naturally think "okay clearly Ruve is the antagonist." But instead they pulled some bullshit "but he's not doing it anymore because he was poisoned in the last timeline!"... what!? Were there any new writers by any chance because how did we go from a abusive monster to a misunderstood Lil guy? I would say more but I think everyone already agreed a long time ago Abandoned empress is ass.

Revenge on the real one

the protag is essentially those villainesses in regression stories that cause the heroines initial downfall. I was already aware of what would happen before I even read and let me tell you it was accurate. The protagonist Helga is AWFUL. The torture she puts Hillian through is overkill and at this point Hillian deserves her own regression story to stand up to Helga because my girl was not that bad for her sister to ruin her life because of a stupid tragic origin story. The worst part is the Helga fans I see on places like tiktok who just don't want to admit their FL is a bad person. "Oh but Helga past was so sad! It's not her fault she's like this." Don't mean she has to banish her sister from her own nation when Hillian was innocent.

Villain Dukes precious one.

I really dislike the reincarnated as a baby trope and I can only ever tolerate it when it's just for a few little chapters. They always feel like those weird ass Elsagate videos with embarrassing humor to come across as funny and this one is no different. Even after the FL grows up the plot is still bland and cringe inducing. I don't have a lot to say about this one other then it is weird as hell. Apparently it also got a little incest-y so no thanks!

Poisonous Lily

While the characters looked basic in terms of design the title sounded intriguing. Unfortunately the translation is horrible, they can't even get the whole Lily flower theme right on the tapas version by giving her tulips to carry on her wedding. The dialog is..interesting to say the least. I won't lose it too much though on this one though since I'm pretty sure this is a lower level book trying to make it out in a sea of over advertised manhwa

I thought my time was up.

You know those porn/no plot tags on ao3? That's basically ITMTWU in a nutshell. Within only 20 chapters, the male lead Asrahan is already obsessed with Lariette after chapters of her violating his personal space to force a relationship between them. The whole magic plot is pushed to the side, Asrahans curse isn't allowed to be an actual rotting flesh curse like it's described as cause he's still gotta be pretty, and the rest of the plot is basically just soft core porn and fanservice that does little to actually move whatever is left of the plot.

For my derelict favorite.

The. Hypocrisy. How is this book gonna make the entire message about deconstructing main character centered morality and then almost immediately backpeddaling with justifying Hestia for attacking a woman who doesn't know her for rejecting her favorite man and proceeding to just ruin her day whenever she can. Hestia would say "im not like other girls." Hestia would be an avid fan of those trust fund baby GMV. Hestia would put her hair in a messy bun, shit on whatever is popular and act like she's making a statement . Even calling her Hestia feels like straight up disrespectful to the real goddess of the hearth who funnily enough is known as one of the most chill Greek gods.

Marry my husband

now Marry my husband is not insanely problematic wheras it's just cliché, predictable and in general pretty bad. It is a fast food manhwa designed to fulfill the classic top boss takes good care of you fantasy so naturally a lot is put on hold to showcase the sweet relationship between the central characters and almost everyone needs to have a lover. It's so bad it's actually kinda funny because the villains are so cartoonishly evil for office workers. Sumin is out here speaking in 3rd person, dressing in clothes found in the little kid section of Walmart and makes comical comments about her desire to ruin Jiwons life, Minhwan is basically a borderline discord mod who casually killed jiwon in the first timeline and goes "Oh well." and there's this random ugly old man who's name I can't remember who's the only one interested in Sumin till the end because he basically wants em younger without the risk of going to federal prison.

Remarried empress

I don't think i need to explain much at this point, if you know my account then you already know how I feel about remarried empress. Season 1 was pretty good though.

Divorcing my tyrant husband

I think we all know at this point that's whenever a title has the word "divorce" 9/10 of the time there is never going to be divorce and it'll devolve into the FL changing her mind and staying with her trashy ex husband because he now decided that Robelia wasn't like other girls and left his mistress in the dust. The plot kinda started getting out of hand when Robelias love interests expanded to one of her obsessed slaves and a Duke to prove that Alexandros was the better option. The villian Aisha is a joke who gets her ass handed to her over and over because "damsel woman always bad." and the art starts to lose its touch. I usually don't mind when artstyle changes but dear God do some of these characters look a Lil fugly.

Cry or better yet beg.

The final story that is in the awful section, why? Because it has the most lost potential. As terrible as this CoHo equivalent is, it details the very realistic parts of being a mistress to a nobleman. In most other stories, the mistress is an evil wench who could easily back out but in cry or better yet beg, Layla is unable to escape Matthias's abuse because it could risk her uncles job. There's a lot to this manhwa and novel that could've made a tragic story about a girl trapped in an abusive relationship with little help, the art is gorgeous and the characters for the most part were well written. It's a real shame that it turned out to be a rape apologist work instead.

next up are the mediocre manhwas, finally there will a little more positivity.

The villainess is a marionette

its.so.boring! This one was hyped up all over the place on Instagram and tiktok and the art looked stunning so I gave it a shot. This is definitely one of those stories that only got popular because of its art in my opinion because the plot is so confusing. Events are happening left and right, the pacing goes from too fast to too slow, characters personalities and traits keep warping, and while this might just be the result of poor adaptation her brother comes across as incestuous a couple of times. while Cayena isn't the worst FL, she's a mary sue by all definitions. Sorry but it's a bunch of jumbled wires. The reason it earns a spot in "it's okay" is because I heard the novel like usual is better so it might not be the fault of the original author

I was the male leads ex

It wasn't bad just boring but a little less boring then the former I'll give it that. The artstyle looked prettier in the beginning so that was kind of sad to see it change in later chapters. What drew me to keep reading was the chance that the ogfl Julianna may not be evil but even a potential love interest. So I got excited and apparently there's the idea that Julianna is actually her brother in disguise which.. would just ruin it tbh, there goes any chance at a ogfl being a human being and not a plot device. Not a huge fan of Erica or really any of the love interests.

From maid to queen

This is the newest of the lineup I read and it was actually interesting for once to see a new story where the MC was the concubine. First off the maids feel less like women employed to do the chores of the palace and more like the cartel 😭, in early chapters whenever Urania is aiming to be the concubine, being lazy with her job or getting comfortable with a powerful man in general they're already out with sticks ready to ruin her day and they even try to kill her. Lot of people don't like that Urania isn't a girls girl but honestly I can't blame her for wanting more out of life then poverty, where she comes across as stupid is that she's still wanting that role even after it got her killed last time. I think that it could work though since it shows that urania is more human and not a perfect goddess of a woman however that does not make up for the shit world building (like what the hell was that mushroom that could turn into a perfect still corpse of you 💀)

The villainess maker.

Ill admit I'm a little harsh on this one on my tier list. The plot still isn't great but there are so much worse out there so it ended up moving up on the list due to default. The plot is mostly just bland and generic down to all the characters and the tropes. Ayla is a girlboss in the villainesses body, Charlotte is a super "revolutionary" kind girl turned wicked wench and the ML is another "touch her and I'll kill you" type. What i will give the Villainess maker is the distinct artstyle. It's not as stylized and while it does get lazy at the end it still is very recognizable.

Abellas dessert shop.

Its another extremely underrated manhwa that's another isekai about a wronged woman looking to move on from her shitty fiancé and start a dessert shop. Ngl the moments where Abella is forced to put on a kind face despite her cheating fiancé or her ex friend popping in is definitely relatable especially in the workforce. Still a little bland but wholesome.

I didn't mean to seduce the male lead.

Eleanor is the FL hired to convince the ML to accept women into his life with the hopes that he will fall in love with the ogfl Irene. Tbh this one can get very icky with how it tries to force the notion that you must fall in love but the guy just instantly falls in love with Eleanor so.. I guess that's a little better? Regardless though i will not fault this manhwa too much because unfortunately the author died before the story was over so it deserves a little slack since it never got the chance to be more. Rest in peace author.

Who made me a princess.

Ill be straight with this now: it's Mid. Objectively the story isn't too terrible and I do find Athy a good protagonist not to mention my love for Jennete but everything else is pretty "meh." Not a huge fan of Claude from his design to his personality, the ML is another case of a grown as immortal meeting his wife when she's still a child (theres a little credit ill admit for Athy being mentally a grown woman but that doesnt stop me from thinking its uncomfortable to acknowledge) It can be cute sometimes and I'll give it that but I don't think I'll ever reread it, just not for me.

Actually I was the real one

Good god this was such a bastardization of the original novel. With that said I'll admit i was still entertained reading it since you could say that the novel wouldn't be an instant cheat sheet to learn what was gonna happen. Still it could've at least tried to be a loyal adaptation. They give Keira 2 options to choose as a love interest when she had none in the source material, Zeke is pushed to the side and the maids honestly get on my nerves with their one note personalities. They also seem to forget that Cosette is literally being possessed by a demon he'll bent on destroying humanity (which she succeeded in the first time) because what was built up as an amazing antagonist is just a joke now. The only other redeeming factors are that in the Manhwa Cosette is still alive and the whole elemental plot stays constant. Despite my complaints on the adaptation it is still a interesting read but the novel will always beat it no matter what.

I know it sounds like I'm just being a negative Nancy with all of these and I'm sorry for being so negative but the next part will be more positive.

Next time on part 2 will be the decent stories.

16 notes · View notes

magpiefngrl · 4 months ago

Text

mid-year book tag

Thanks for tagging me, @bloody-wonder! It's become a fun tradition to do this every year and I've been eagerly anticipating it :)

This hasn't been as prolific a year for me as the last several years have been. I've read 34 books by end of June, so about 10-20 less than I used to, and a lot of these have been rereads. The past couple of months have been super busy and I read a lot of fic, but struggled to finish novels. Fingers crossed for a better reading summer.

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2024? I haven't read a book that blew me away so far. I've mentioned some of my faves here. I did enjoy most of my reads this year, but there isn't one book that stands out. (a fic, does, though. More on that later)

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2024? Dark Heir by Pacat. I was very invested, went back to read it again a week later, and it's made me very excited about the last novel.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To? The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo is definitely on my list (this will wait for 2025). There's also a new fantasy novel called Foul Days by a Bulgarian author that I'm curious about. Finally, Rebecca Roanhorse's Mirrored Heavens comes out soon but I still haven't read the second one in the series, so it'll also have to wait.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2024? Like you, KJ Charles's The Duke at Hazard is the one I'm most eagerly waiting.

5. Biggest Disappointment? I've been reading The Master and Margarita for two months now, forcibly stopping myself from DNFing it these days, because I don't actually hate it, it's just I can't bring myself to read it. But I also want to have read it, to be done with it. Idk why I'm struggling so much. Perhaps I'm not in the mood for it and would appreciate it at a later date. Based on the title and the positive reviews, I expected something more fascinating.

6. Biggest Surprise? The above, I guess.

7. Favourite New Author? Somehow, the only new authors I've read this year are Aliette de Bodard and Lois McMaster Bujold, and Bujold is the better one of the two. (The rest of the authors were people I've read before and I knew what their writing was like.)

8. Newest Favourite Character? Miles Vorkosigan, for his cleverness and his ability to always get in trouble and then to get creatively out of it.

9. Newest Fictional Crush? Not quite a crush, but my latest obsession is Bucky Barnes, entirely because of the fic I mentioned above (Out of the Dead Land, orphaned) which gave me the worst fic hangover. It's a stucky fic, a ship that never interested me, and it gave me feral feels about Bucky; it made me go back and rewatch a few Marvel films (and I had to torrent them since I'd ended my disney subscription; in other words, I had to go to some trouble); and it was a fic I kept thinking for days after I finished it. I'm actively stopping myself from rewatching Winter Soldier again today. And yes, not a book character, but the obsession is based on a fic and he's fictional so I say he counts :)

💕Best Ship💕 I loved Asmodeus and Thuan in de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen series. Asmodeus is a Fallen Angel who likes stabbing and torture, Thuan is a dragon prince who tries to temper down his stabby husband. Will and James from Dark Rise are also a ship I enjoyed, though I'm more interested in their past selves.

10. Book That Made You Cry? There hasn't been one this year so far. And I cry easily, and I consider books that make me cry Superior. This tells you how mid the year has been.

12. Favourite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year? I really liked Dune II but haven't read the book yet so don't know if it was a good adaptation. It was definitely a great film.

13. Favourite Review You’ve Written This Year? Have written a couple of longer reviews on GR but nothing that stands out as more creative or unique. I've been thinking about posting reviews on my website and I'd like to figure out a unique or unusual or at least a me way to do them.

14. Most Beautiful Cover? I read almost exclusively on my Kobo and pay scant attention to covers.

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year? Many!

The Master and Margarita! hahah sobs :((

Finish a Lymond reread

reread tgcf now that I got all the novels

Harrow the Ninth

Some more Vorkosigan novels

Vita Nostra, which I've just begun

a couple of novels I bought YEARS ago and still haven't finished

and if I can read at least one of my 60-odd unread physical books I'll consider it a triumph

Tagging anyone who wants to do this! Perhaps @skeptiquex @hoko-onchi-writes @wolfpants @lettersbyelise and @gracerene might want to get the ball rolling?

2022 mid year post

2023 mid year post

#mid year book tag #2024 books #books

10 notes · View notes

francesminos-tt · 4 months ago

Note

thoughts abt EP 3?

One word to describe my thoughts of ep3 will be simply, disappointed. This show just keeps delivering the worst takes and destroy every single one of the characters, and it has become quite annoying, to be honest.

I will start with what I do like about ep3. I think Baela is my favorite character so far, or perhaps the show runners haven't gotten time to destroy her yet. Baela seems reasonable, brave, compassionate, and has a general grasp of politics that sadly few characters do in this reason. Alys is another pleasant surprise. I like her looks, and the mystique around her is quite intriguing, making me wonder what her real agenda is. I just hope the show doesn't let her be Daemon’s lover (since they deleted Nettles, so if Rhaenyra is going to suspect Daemon of cheating, the only possible choice now is Alys). Also, I like the opening scene of Blackwoods and Bracken having a scribble. It shows us the grudges of these two houses, and the actors did a fairly good job at creating a teenager fighting scene LOL. But, I have to point out, I do not like the show just omitting the whole battle of the Burning Mill. This battle is not of large scale, but it shows the power dynamics of the Riverlands, and is the first battle to draw blood in the Dance. It also introduces characters like Black Aly, who is another amazing female character that has her own importance in the Dance, but the show never gives them a chance to shine.

Now, move on to things I don't like, which are quite a lot. Firstly, I hate most of the characters in this episode, including Rhaenyra, but what makes me furious the most is the show’s depiction of Rhaenys and Corlys. Rhaenys is the epitome of a proud and fierce Targaryen, and she will not tolerate usurpers. She died fighting said usurpers. She is not naive enough to believe that peace is still possible after the death of Luke and Jaehaerys. I mean, wake up. Even Aegon knows better to sack Otto and promote Cole, because he needs a Hand who knows how to lead a battle instead of a mere politician. Actually, I think what makes Otto and Tywin essentially different is that Tywin is not only a politician, but also a military strategist. Rhaenys’s view sounds way too modern. It is the show runner’s attempt to impose modern values on a fantasy world that is known for its cruelty and savagery. Also, I despise Corlys and his hypocrisy in this episode. Wdym he just simply ignores Rhaena and Joffrey as his heir? Has the show runners even read the original book? Even if Corlys doesn't want Joffrey, who is allegedly a bastard, he has no reason to set Rhaena aside. Rhaena doesn't have a dragon (yet)? Fine, but guess what, Addam doesn't either! From last episode, I don't think Addam has already claimed Seasmoke. Even if he did, it is just stupid for Corlys to ignore Rhaena. Whoever Addam’s father is, even if he is legitimized, Addam was still once a bastard, so it is wise to strength Addam’s claim by betrothing him and Rhaena (that’s the reason of Luke and Rhaena’s betrothal in S1). I know the show is just trying to follow the book, where Rhaena and Joff is sent to the Vale and Corlys recognizes Addam as his heir. But. The book has some legit reasons of doing so. First, in the book, Joffrey is betrothed to the Manderlys in White Harbor, so Rhaena cannot marry him, which is a typical practice in medieval times to marry the bride to the groom’s brothers should the groom die prematurely. Second, Corlys recognizes Addam after he claims Seasmoke, and is based on the claim that Addam is Laenor’s son, not Corlys’s own (true or not, this is the right parentage to claim). Third, he did this after Rhaenys died. If Corlys does what he does in the show, he will anger three Targaryens, Rhaenyra, Rhaenys and Daemon, and why would he do that? Who will give Addam’s offspring a dragon egg or the chance to claim a dragon? Targaryens hold all the dragon resources, and that’s the source of their power. Corlys wants dragons for the Velaryons, and I assume he wants more than one. The show changes so many things that, at this point, letting the characters do what they did in the book seems very out of character.

Lastly, I don't even want to talk about Rhaenyra’s trip to KL. I see her fallout with Daemon as her unable to trust him anymore because Daemon did things behind her back, but what Rhaenyra did is more outrageous and unreasonable that I think it is this behavior that drives her ally away, not the allegation of baby killer. Let me explain. Imagine you are a noble supporting the Blacks. You send troops and resources to help the Queen’s cause, because one, you honor your oath, and two, you want to have some kind of reward or benefits after her grace takes back the throne. What will you think, if you find out your queen puts herself in danger by sneaking into enemy territory to try and negotiate peace? Is she negotiating peace, or planning to bend the knee? What will happen to your house if Rhaenyra just gives up her throne and the Greens begin the political purge? If I am a Black supporter, and I hear of Rhaenyra’s doing, I will seriously consider the possibility of switching sides. Another point I want to make is that, Rhaenyra’s visit is not only unnecessary, but also useless. I don’t think Alicent is an eligible negotiator in the first place. Even if she agrees to the peace, what difference will she make? Is she able to convince her son and the council to accept the peace treaty? I don't think so. She doesn't even seem to have an ounce of power over Larys, let alone Aegon. And if you think Aemond will support her, you don't know Aemond at all. At this point, I don't even care about Aegon’s sly and Aemond’s cock at this point, because they are not even close to other shitty characterizations.

All in all, I don't like this episode, and it’s fair to say I don't like this season so far. The only thing that keeps me going is Gwayne’s face card.

Thank you for attending my Ted talk.

#house of the dragon #hotd #my asks #bad writing #bad characterization

10 notes · View notes

leslutdepointedulac · 7 months ago

Text

13 Book Tag Game

Tagged by: @bubblegum-blackwood Thank you! 💞

1) The last book I read:

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice. I'm currently doing my annual re-read of TVC from start to finish but it's taking me longer than last time for some reason.

2) A book I recommend:

Loveless by Alice Oseman. Ik it's not the only book out there to explore asexuality and being aromantic as well, but it's the first one I personally read and I think it's a really good example of it.

3) A book that I couldn’t put down:

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson. Predictably, it's more vampires lmao. I wasn't initially sure about how I would feel reading something in second person, but it actually works really well imo. I really love how it's told by one of Dracula's brides; I can really get into the characters, and understand her situation.

4) A book I’ve read twice (or more):

So many of my books I've read several times, but one in particular is Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver. Actually just the whole Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series. I grew up on them, and I've read the whole series several times over. I like that it's set six thousand years ago, because I don't think I've personally ever read anything in the fantasy kind of genre in that time period. This series has a special place in my heart.

5) A book on my TBR:

I have too many. I think one that I do really want to get to though, is Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I've wanted to read it for a few years now, and I've had the book since last year but I haven't gotten round to it yet.

6) A book I’ve put down:

Normal People by Sally Rooney. I got it as a birthday present from someone in my family a few years ago, and when I saw what it was about it didn't sound like my kind of thing but I figured I'd give it a chance. Yeah, it wasn't doing it for me lmao. I was bored tbh and the lack of speech marks around dialogue was confusing me. Overall it just wasn't my type of thing anyway and I only got a few pages in before I put it down.

7) A book on my wish list:

I've been really wanting to get a copy of the Grimm's complete fairy tales. I know some of how a few of the fairy tales originally go, but I've been wanting to read them all properly for years now.

8) A favorite book from childhood:

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. I read this book religiously as a child. I would read it and then as soon as I was done, I'd read it again. I'm honestly not sure why, but there was clearly something about it that resonated with me, even as a kid. I actually still have the same copy I owned as a child, I don't think I'll ever get rid of it. It's very special to me.

9) A book you would give to a friend:

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. Idk what you want me to say lmao. It's LOTR, everyone should read it. I know it's a trilogy, not just one book, so I am cheating a bit here, but it's too good not to mention. It's fantasy at its finest, what can I say.

(I was gunna say Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, but that's obvious coming from me and I don't want this whole thing to be overrun with TVC lmao.)

10) A book of poetry or lyrics that you own:

I won't lie, I don't actually have any of either, I've never really been interested in things like that. It's just not my thing.

11) A nonfiction book you own:

Buried by Professor Alice Roberts. I haven't actually read it yet, but it goes into looking at burials from centuries ago and how people would have lived in different periods of time, based on burial sites.

12) What are you currently reading:

The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. Again, this is because I'm doing my annual re-read of TVC, but it's taking me an unusually long time to get through it this time round.

13) What are you planning on reading next?:

Apart from moving onto The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice, I think the next thing I want to get to is Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. I've never read it before (Ik don't shoot me), not because I didn't want to, but just because I never got round to it. But I got it recently so I'll be reading it soon!

Tagging: @desertfangs @teethingpains @cinnamonclove but no pressure of course ❤

#tag game #my vampire chronicles

6 notes · View notes

mermaidsirennikita · 9 months ago

Note

I’m going on vacation tomorrow (which is very exciting) unfortunately I’m a super anxious traveler🙃 Do you have any ideas for vacation reads? I was thinking of getting Bride by Ali Hazelwood but I feel like I want a few more options. Thank you!

Sure--and have fun on vacation! I don't super enjoy flying... at all, so I get it. Bride is definitely a good one!

I mean, in terms of just wanting to get absorbed, I really can't stop singing the praises of The Kingdom of The Wicked trilogy and Throne of The Fallen. It's been a while since something has been so good that it's given me a book hangover, but that series... got me good.

Grace Callaway writes great vacation reads, imo, because they're both super entertaining and funny/adventurous. Try her Lady Charlotte's Society of Angels series if you haven't read anything by her yet, they're all great.

Jennifer Ashley's first four Mackenzie books are also great if you're in the mood for a Scottish historical series. Super hot, super romantic, kinda dramatic, often funny while maintaining a core of real emotion and relationship pathos.

It's never a bad time to get into Sierra Simone! I just ran through her New Camelot trilogy when I read the books last year. Sometimes I think a vacation is a great time to just inhale books when you're chilling wherever, or when you're on a plane, in a car, etc.

Joanna Shupe's Fifth Avenue Rebels series feeeels like vacation to me. It actually begins when everyone is at a house party in Newport, soooo.

The Earl Takes All by Lorraine Heath. I mean, if you haven't read Gorilla Twins, now is the time to do it.

Mila Finelli's Kings of Italy series! All great, but I read the first three when I was on two different very long bus rides lol. CHANGED MY LIFE.

Heated Rivalry and The Long Game by Rachel Reid. Why not read a duology that's funny, sweet, and hot, about rival hockey players who are secretly in looove?

#romance novel blogging #lol last year when i went on my first ever solo beach trip #i just like #laid on the beach most of the time reading #it was bliss tbh

3 notes · View notes

toku-fangirl-2015 · 2 years ago

Text

My 2023 bullet journal setup!

New year, new notebook! 2023 will be my 5th year (!) doing a bullet journal. I'm using a B5 size journal from Archer & Olive, which is the same size and brand I used for my 2022 journal. I like having the extra space (the most popular size is A5, which is a little smaller).

My cover page features Celeste from my favorite new-to-me thing of 2022, Animal Crossing New Horizons. She shows up on your island when there are shooting stars, and she'll tell you stories about the constellations and give you space-related DIY recipes. (More pics and details under the cut)

Next in my new journal setup is a grid spacing sheet and a page for theme ideas, broken down into different categories. I used the theme ideas page last year when I was having trouble deciding what to do, so my list is a little bit shorter until I come up with more ideas to replace the ones I used in this past year.

My final new-notebook-setup spread is what I call "scribble sheets." You could also put a brain dump page here. This is my place to try out different color schemes, test markers to see if they still work, or practice different doodles and font styles. Basically I'm giving myself permission to be messy here, because I like to keep the rest of my journal looking neat and pretty.

I combined my 2023 cover page and future log, which is really only possible because I'm using a B5-size notebook. The months are kind of hard to see in the photo, but they're written in with white gel pen on top of the black headers. I used an exacto knife to trim away the washi tape that overlaps some of the boxes, to make it look like it's behind the box. I had to be careful to make sure I wasn't cutting through the paper too, but I really like the effect.

I kept the style pretty simple throughout this setup because I'm trying out a bunch of new spreads (I normally just do a future log at the beginning of the year and maybe one or two others). I wrote everything in a bubble font or a typewriter-style font, and added little star doodles and washi tape. I also kept the white lettering on black headers, which is much easier to read in person.

My new spreads are all inspired by JashiiCorrin on YouTube. I'm excited to do the "Now and Again," which is basically one of those ask memes that make the rounds here. You fill it out at the beginning of the year, and then again at the end. For the year in pixels, I'm keeping track of how much sleep I get and also what hobbies I'm doing. I was in kind of a rut in 2022 so I want to get back to doing more creative things. I have different symbols to draw rather than coloring in the boxes with different colors, because I don't like having to keep track of all the different color pens to fill the trackers in. It looks pretty, but for me it's not worth the hassle.

I've been doing a monthly cleaning log, but I like the idea of only having to write it out once for the whole year. Should save me some time with my monthly setups. My 23 things to do are also broken down into categories: chores, things at the top of my watchlist, craft projects that I have the materials for but haven't done yet, and a few miscellaneous things that I want to get done.

Snapshots of the year is another one that I'm excited to try. In the first box, I penciled in a few ideas of things to write for each month. I've been doing daily highlights pretty much since I started my journal, so I think it will be fun to add some monthly highlights too. Media consumed is divided into books, movies, and TV shows.

My final setup spread is one that I actually did a couple years ago at the end of the year, inspired by Plant Based Bride on YouTube. While I liked having a mini version of all my cover pages, doing it at the end of the year left me trying to remember exactly which supplies I used for each month. My plan for this year is to do the mini version along with my monthly setup, and then by the end of the year they'll all be filled in so I can look back at everything without having to recreate 12 themes all at once.

Bonus pic of my favorite new idea, also from JashiiCorrin: a grid spacing ruler! It's like the grid spacing page at the beginning, but since it's a separate paper, you can use it to actually measure thirds or halves or whatever without having to count the individual boxes. I have the horizontal measurements written on the other side. It's already come in super handy.

#bullet journal #oh hey i'm creating content

17 notes · View notes

muchalucha91 · 2 years ago

Text

I made a list for webtoons, might as well make a list for manga/anime! I wasn't really allowed to watch too much cartoons TV growing up, so for the past few years, I've been "catching up" so to speak on the anime I missed out on aaand also watching newer ones lol Anyhoo, here's what I've seen/read so far (in alphabetical order):

Arte (Hulu) Manga continues

Black Butler (Hulu) ((full disclosure, I wasn't super paying attention when I watched this, so I have to watch it again lol))

Blue Exorcist (Hulu) ((I haven't finished it yet))

Cardcaptor Sakura/Clear Card Arc (Netflix) ((One of my faves as a kid, I had a board game for it, even! It has since been lost to time, though. T_T))

Cells at Work (Netflix) ((Also haven't finished yet lol))

Corpse Princess (Hulu) ((See Black Butler lol))

Dance with Devils (Hulu)

Demon Slayer (Hulu) ((haven't seen a lot yet, please don't come for me, I'm trying lol))

Devil is a Part-Timer! (Hulu)

Diabolik Lovers (Hulu)

Dragonball/DBZ/DBS (Funimation) ((I got Funimation just so I could watch Dragonball, then I figured I might as well get a refresher of DBZ since I hadn't seen it since it was on Toonami, all while my BF and I were watching DBS on Toonami/Adult Swim lol)

Fairy Tail/100 Years Quest (all the seasons were on Hulu, but they took all but 2 down, so I've been watching it on Funimation) I am SO excited to see 100YQ animated! It's been fun to read.

Food Wars! (Hulu)

Fruits Basket (both runs are on Hulu)

Fushigi Yuugi (Hulu) ((I actually don't know if I finished this...after a while I was just waiting for it to be over and it just. wasn't. ending.

Horimiya (Hulu)

Inuyasha/Final Act (Hulu/Netflix has the movies) ((another fave from my childhood))

Itazura na Kiss (Hulu) ((I'm not sure why people like this))

Jujustu Kaisen (Hulu) ((I think I started reading this after I finished watching it, but I've been super busy and forgot lol))

Kaguya-sama: Love is War (Hulu)

Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits (Funimation)

Kamisama Kiss (Hulu) ((ugh...I love this and it's criminal that the anime didn't finish with the manga))

Kimi ni Todoke (Hulu)

Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life (Hulu)

Little Witch Academia (Netflix)

Magic-Kyu! Renaissance (Funimation)

Mahoutsukai no Yome [The Ancient Magus' Bride] (Funimation) ((I love this, too, but I had to take a break from the manga because I was getting irritated with the FL and the choices she was making lmao I've been meaning to pick it back up, though, it really is very good!))

Maid Sama! (Hulu)

My Love Story! (Hulu)

Noragami (Hulu) ((made me cry in a way that my BF asked me what was wrong lol))

Ouran High School Host Club (Hulu) ((I'm sorry, I don't get the love for this, but I also haven't been able to read it yet, so maybe I will once I do))

Pokemon [Kanto-beginning of Hoenn] (Hulu) ((I have not kept up with it over the years and the only reason why I know of any of the newer Pokemon is because of PokemonGo and the new Pokemon Snap--which has been really fun so far--lol))

Ranma 1/2 (Hulu)

Rurouni Kenshin (HBO Max) ((I liked this, but I thought the story was super choppy))

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts (manga only for now, but I think I just saw that an anime is coming soon!!) ((this is so beautifully drawn and sooo well written! It made me audibly react sometimes)

Sailor Moon [OG] (Hulu) ((My absolute favorite when I was a kid! My mom even watched it with me lol I wanted to be Sailor Mars sooooo bad I always kept my hair long just like her! I've got her as a keychain right now lol))

Say "I Love You" (Hulu)

School Rumble: 1st-3rd Semesters (Hulu) ((I didn't even watch the last episode. Literally nothing happened and I just felt bad for the guy. I couldn't watch it anymore lol)

Snow White with the Red Hair (Hulu) ((I hope it gets more seasons, but I also hope it gets better animation. I know people worked hard on it, but it does not do the manga justice. It's so beautifully drawn and written, this is for sure one of my favorites!))

Spice ad Wolf (Hulu)

Spy x Family (Hulu) ((It was popping up so much on my tumblr around ep 4 that I had to know what people were talking about and I'm so glad I did!))

Vampire Knight (Hulu) ((Didn't/Couldn't finish it))

Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina (Hulu)

Yashahime (Hulu) ((It's not what I was expecting/hoping for, but I've had fun watching it))

Yona of the Dawn (Hulu) ((this NEEDS more seasons, the manga gets SO INTENSE))

You're Lie in April (HBO Max is where I watched it, but I think it's on Hulu, too) ((ugly cried))

Yu Yu Hakusho (Hulu) ((I only saw a few episodes as a kid, but I remember really loving the art style and the voices. It's still one of my faves))

Yu-Gi-Oh! (Hulu) ((I watched this every time it came on Toonami, I had a whole deck that I lost--which I'm still sad about--but I have a new deck and sometimes my BF and I play each other lol))

I've got an excel spreadsheet with these and others that I want to watch, but haven't yet, totaling 126 lmao As of right now (1/2023) I have no desire to watch Attack on Titan, One Piece, or Naruto (again, please don't come for me and PLEASE don't try to convince me), but I welcome any other recommendations and/or discussions/chats about any I listed!

#anime and manga #anime #manga #anime and manga recommendations

2 notes · View notes

mediaevalmusereads · 11 months ago

Text

A Christmas Bride. By Mary Balogh.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Series: Stapleton-Downes #7

Summary: The very wealthy Edgar Downes has promised his aging father to finally take a bride—specifically, to wed a titled lady by Christmas. London is full of pretty, proper, and eligible misses, but it’s the widow Helena, Lady Stapleton, in a shocking red dress, who captures Edgar’s attention. Helena is intrigued by the seductive stranger—but he’s simply not in her class. Marriage, of course, would never do. But in a season of miracles, something wondrous is about to happen.

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: graphic sexual content, unplanned pregnancy

Overview: I had a lot of fun wading into the world of Christmas romance last year, so I figured I'd continue my journey by picking up a few books by Mary Balogh. I haven't read any of Balogh's work yet, so maybe this wasn't the best way to start; but even so, I'm glad I did. This book in particular did some interesting things, but ultimately, it just wasn't my jam. Thus, it only gets 3 stars from me.

Writing: Balogh's pacing is a lot slower than I expected. A lot of time is spent in the heads of our two protagonists, so we get a lot of interiority and a really strong sense of who they are. Unfortunately, this also means that Balogh has the tendency to repeat a lot of ideas, so the writing can border on tedious.

But if you like the characters, it might not be a negative experience. Balogh's prose is also clear and expressive, so it feels like a romance just with a more realistic pace. Personally, I liked that everything slowed down, even though sometimes it slowed too much. I felt like there was much more time to explore character without a contrived plot forcing the narrative onward like a train.

Plot: The plot of this book follows Edgar Downes, a 36 year old businessman turned lawyer who resolves to marry before Christmas. Edgar's father is aging, and as the only son, Edgar feels a responsibility to beget heirs before his father dies. Not wanting to put it off any longer, Edgar visits London in order to scope out eligible young ladies.

His plans are turned upside down when he meets Lady Helena Stapleton, a 36 year old widow who is fiercely independent and fiercely alluring. Despite his best efforts, Edgar is drawn to Helena, and the two have a one night stand after a ball. Soon after, Helena learns she is pregnant, and the two have to navigate what to do amidst competing goals for their futures.

However, because of the pacing, moments within this plot felt repetitive and there were few milestones that marked the evolution of Helena and Edgar's developing relationship. I felt like Balogh ruminated on the same ideas over and over again without showing how the characters are changing, and not much actually happens outside of the courtship and marriage, so there is little external pressure.

The things I liked most about this plot centered around the slow, easy way Balogh explores ideas such as domesticity and family. There's a moment when Helena helps a child climb a tree, for example, and it struck me as simple yet effective because it comes at a moment when characters are anxious that Helena has no affection for children.

I also liked the way Edgar risked his relationship to make things better for Helena towards the end, and to be honest, this is where most of the tension and character transformation happened.

Also (and this isn't much of a spoiler), I'm just not personally a fan of unplanned pregnancy as a way to introduce drama and stakes. It's just one of those things that doesn't appeal to me, and I don't think Balogh made this one interesting enough to change my mind. While I did appreciate that Helena didn't have an automatic maternal instinct, I also don't think the drama of the unplanned pregnancy gave Edgar and Helena common ground over which to bond. Granted, their chafing against one another could have been a good obstacle to work through, but again, it seemed like they had few milestones and primarily just fought with one another.

Characters: Helena, our heroine, was intriguing in that she struggles against being confined by marriage and domesticity. While I've read my fair share of independent heroines, I haven't read many who chafe against the ideas of a husband and a family as much as Helena. I liked that she was introspective enough to recognize that she valued her freedom yet also saw her constant traveling as an attempt to escape her self-loathing. It rather reminded me of a few male archetypes, and it was interesting to see these ideas applied to a woman. But as interesting as those ideas were, they did become repetitive because Balogh spends so much time in her characters' heads. Helena eventually began to grate on me because there was very little evolution in her arc; she just seemed to change all at once towards the end.

Edgar, our hero, was fairly respectable as far as romance heroes go. He didn't really have any behaviors that struck me as problematic or flaws that he needed to overcome. The closest he got was being somewhat controlling, but even then, I didn't get the vibe that he was toxic (just one of those people who wanted things to happen according to a plan). I kind of wish Balogh had shown us more instances where Edgar's controlling nature becomes a problem, just so we can see how he learns to let go or loosen up.

Supporting characters were fine, though a little too perfect. I loved the loving relationship that Egar had with his father and sister, though I also felt like they didn't push him or challenge him in ways that made them interesting characters. The same is true for Helena's aunt and the various other characters that hang about our protagonists. Even Fanny, the young girl who Edgar pursues before marrying Helena, is too sweet and obedient to be interesting. This by no means is a call to make characters more toxic or have unforgivable flaws, but I do think more could have been done to make them contribute more complexity to the narrative.

Romance: I personally found the romance between Helena and Gabe to be underwhelming. At first, I was kind of on board for a plot in which Edgar desires a woman that he shouldn't want to to have. However, as the story progressed, I felt like most of their time together was spent arguing. Helena especially began to irritate me because she was always trying to pick a figt and baited Edgar into arguing with her. Edgar never really rose to the challenge, but their dynamic felt cyclical and it was hard to see how exactly they were falling in love.

TL;DR: A Christmas Bride does a good job of thoroughly exploring character, but its slow pace, repetitive prose, and storyline just weren't engaging for me as a reader. I appreciated a lot of what Balogh was trying to do, but part of me also wished for a bit more drama and a true romance to develop in this Christmas read.

0 notes

servin-up-surveys · 1 year ago

Text

survey #167

How did it feel outside today? It's hot and EXTREMELY humid. There's been a chance of rain on-and-off all day.

Are there any animals in the room with you? Yeah, Roman is actually snoozing on the floor, to my right.

How did you spend yesterday afternoon? Girt and I played some of Elden Ring.

Are any of your siblings taller than you? Yeah, I think the only two shorter than me are Nicole and Misty? I know Nicole is very close, though.

Name a song that reminds you of a past relationship: "The Mortician's Daughter" by Black Veil Brides.

When did you last have a nightmare? A few days ago. My fucking nightmares/terrors have RANDOMLY resumed again, for absolutely no reason I can identify. They're happening most times I sleep, even during much shorter naps again...

What's the goriest thing you've ever seen? A large rat cleaved in half (it was frozen/thawed, not alive when it happened just to clarify). I was volunteering at a raptor rehab center that day and fed the rat to some vultures. The interior gore was pretty gross, it was cut in half horizontally through the abdomen and also warm and it just made it grosser, haha.

Have you or do you attend pep rallies regularly? No, even in school I was the one student the teachers let stay behind in class to read or something; even those that didn't know me THAT well, they knew pep rallies really, really stressed me out and were just a totally unpleasant, unenjoyable experience for me. They were way too fucking loud and I found it really anxiety-inducing when everyone would like rapidly stomp on the bleachers for whatever dumb fucking reason people did that.

Have you ever seen a building on fire in real life? Yes, a house in my childhood neighborhood completely burned to the ground one evening, it was very scary to watch from across the street. I don't think they've rebuilt the house since, last I saw it was just the brick foundation.

Have you kissed anyone and their first name started with an F, D, or L? A "D," yes.

Have you ever been in therapy for anything? I've been in therapy consistently since the 6th grade for mental illnesses.

Do you think clowns are creepy? They don't personally creep me out, no.

If you had to write an essay about a popular song... what would that song be? Probably "Zombie" by The Cranberries, ig. It's an incredible social commentary that is very profound and cleverly written imo.

When did you last have some fruit? I had a big strawberry last night.

What's something you have to look forward to? My niece has her birthday party this weekend.

Is there any part of your sexual/romantic history that you have not told your current significant other about or that you will not tell future partners about? There's only one thing he doesn't know, but not because I'm actively being secretive about it; if it was ever relevant to mention, I would without any awkwardness.

Have you ever developed feelings for someone whose sexual orientation was incompatible with yours? Yup.

How many relationships have you been in that actually got sexual? Three-ish. Sara and I never went all that far, but I'd be lying if I claimed we never did anything that wasn't clearly sexual.

Who performs the most random acts of kindness out of everyone you know? Mom, easily.

Are any of your pets “overweight”? No.

Who’s the most romantic person you ever went out with? Jason.

Last person to tell you that you smell good? Girt.

Last person you told that they smell good? Also Girt.

What shows do you watch? None habitually right now; Girt and I haven't really settled on a new series since finishing Dark. We did watch the first episode of a Danish Netflix show called The Rain yesterday, and we're both interested enough to watch the next, but I'm not totally sold on it yet, I feel like a potential entire series' worth of plot has happened in the PILOT episode, it was so fucking quick so I have no idea what more it has to offer. Girt's not 100% into it yet either, but cliffhanger episode ending tho.

Is there anything you are craving right now? Little Caesar's cheesy bread like you wouldn't fucking believe lmao, my period is absolutely coming judging by my appetite and cravings.

Think back to the last person you kissed, how many times have you laughed with them? Probably more times than I've laughed with absolutely anybody.

What are five Halloween costumes that you’d like to wear in the future? My ULTIMATE dream is a female Pyramid Head, and I'm also super into the ideas of a handmaid from The Handmaid's Tale, a Bloody Mary-inspired look that's gonna be a play on my middle name being Marie (Bloody Marie, get it, fucking hilarious right), female iteration of the stereotypical devil, and Morticia from The Addams Family.

Who did you have your first kiss with? Do you remember what color his/her eyes were? Jason's eyes were brown.

Whose Facebook timeline did you post on most recently? Pretty sure Mazzy's, for their birthday.

Have you ever had a restaurant dish that was made with bugs? If not, would you even want to try one? No, but I would if it was a reputable location. People don't wanna accept it, but bugs as part of the human diet is our future, and I've heard SO frequently that they're not even as bad as society wants them to be.

Which edible flowers have you tasted? I've tasted honeysuckle honey before, idk if the flowers themselves are edible. I don't think I've tried anything else.

Who was the last non-relative woman you spoke to in person? Girt's mother Shelia.

What was the last video you added to your favorites on YouTube? I just checked and it was the piano version of "Mein Herz brennt" by Rammstein, the video where Till still sings along though.

Who was the last person that apologized to you? Pretty sure Girt, a few days ago he raised his voice to his nephew to close the front door because Charlie was about to go out, and even though he didn't need to (it wasn't really a yell), he apologized to me anyway because he knows men raising their voices scares me. Even though he didn't need to like I said, I still appreciated him being aware that it might have affected me.

What comes to mind when you think of pregnancy? I have an immediate "ew" reaction/just a general gross feeling, how it all works is so disgusting to me. I want NOTHING else living in me other than myself and mandatory beneficial bacteria. I know that if I ever do decide to have a kid, pregnancy is going to be extremely fucking difficult on me mentally.

Do you prefer bar or liquid soap? Liquid for sure, I despise bar soap.

Do any of your family members have an upcoming birthday? My older sister and then her daughter literally two days later.

What is your favorite flavor of Jolly Ranchers? Either watermelon or strawberry, I'd need to taste them again.

Is your favorite animal endangered? Thankfully not, I think I would be in a constant anxiety attack if meerkats were even SLIGHTLY endangered, haha.

Are you better at writing fiction or non-fiction? Fiction, but I think I'm good at writing either.

Have you ever dated someone one grade/year above or below you? Jason was two years above me.

What is the middle name of the last person you texted? Marie.

Have you ever come close to drowning? No.

So… remember Girl Scout cookies? Any favorites you had/have? My favorites were peanut butter patties/Tagalongs, Adventurefuls, and thin mints.

Why did you ignore the last person you ignored? It was more stupid scam messages on deviantART about buying some photos as NFTs; I get them a lot and they're all very clearly fake, always VERY similarly written or even matching word-for-word, and besides I wouldn't allow my art to be made into NFTs anyway.

Which cartoon character would you want to keep as a pet? I think an Eevee!

Do you like chocolate milk? Oh yes, for sure.

What is something you hate, but wish you loved? Hot weather; especially as someone who wants to be a nature photographer and lives in a pretty hot state, being able to handle warmer temperatures would be extremely convenient for me.

What’s the cutest thing your S/O does, but denies it’s cute in any way? His laughs, especially when he's tickled. I torture him with it lmao

Who have you hugged in the past month? Girt, Aubree, Ryder, Emerson, both Ashleys in my life, Girt's Ashley's boyfriend Erich, Shelia, Girt's maternal grandmother, and maybe my mom and Girt's nephew, I can't quite recall.

Last bad news you heard? My sister Ashley has some health stuff going on that might put her in the hospital if it's not fixed soon.

Have you ever dined alone at a restaurant? No.

Have you seen a baby being born in real life? No, I never want to. Well I've seen cats give birth, but I've never seen a human baby be born.

Do any of your exes know each other? Jason and Juan knew each other/Juan had beef with him over a girl, Jason and Girt (he was my ex once) have met, Girt knew Juan (I don't think well though, more a "knew of" situation), Sara and Girt met once, and it's definitely possible Tyler knew Jason or Juan, but idk that for sure.

What’s an opinion you find impossible to take seriously? Flat earthers, like I just can't w/ y'all

Have you ever changed in front of the last person you kissed? I suppose I might've changed shirts in front of him at some point, but I actually don't think I have. I'd do it if I really had to, but I generally go into the bathroom because of my self-image. Doesn't matter to me what he's already seen, I don't want him to if I can help it.

Do you have any goats? No, but I think they're super cute. There was a period of time where my little sister "owned" a show goat, maybe two one after the other, but the goat stayed on her best friend's property since they had the proper supplies to provide for goats. I'm pretty sure she named one Oreo.

Do you hang out with your sibling’s friends? No.

Have you experienced any severe side effects of medications? Yes. One affected my mood horrifically, like I became a demon child, I had one for a short while that pretty regularly caused vomiting, and the original form of Wellbutrin I was on caused severe hypomania in me, which is apparently a very rare side effect; I could find very few documentations of it, but it was DEFINITELY the Wellbutrin. This isn't a severe side effect in and of itself, however the effect has absolutely stacked to a very severe degree: dry mouth. A lot of psych meds cause it, and because I'm on a large number, my mouth is usually insanely dry, like you would not believe how uncomfortable it becomes at a certain severity.

On Facebook, do you have people listed as your siblings who aren’t really your siblings? I did when I was younger, but haven't for a very long time.

Have you lost any close family members to cancer? Both my grandmothers died by cancer, but I wasn't close to either of them; I actually very much disliked my mom's mom. I think Dad's dad mighta also died of cancer, but I can't quite remember. I can barely remember him at all, just like his mom, sadly.

Do you know anyone who doesn’t have a middle name? Yeah, my boyfriend doesn't have one, but I'm assuming it's because he's a junior; his sister has a middle name, so it's not a case of their parents just not doing middle names.

How often do you check your emails? I've gotten into the habit of doing it/cleaning it out daily. I have job alerts set up for things photography-related so I try to stay on top of new positions opening up in my area.

Would you want your kids to have your hair color? I don't care at all about this.

Have you ever had a big YouTuber reply to a comment you left on their video? Not reply for truly big ones, but I've gotten a few hearts on replies from bigger folks.

Have you ever given a lap dance? No, I'd be waaay too awkward for that shit.

#survey #surveys #random questions #personal questions

1 note · View note

ball-of-catgirl · 3 months ago

Text

I'm skipping things that I have genuinely no idea what they are.

My wife and I are literally Farcille. Like we are just exactly that dynamic. I mean sometimes I try to argue that I'm sometimes Falin instead of Marcille but all of my friends strongly disagree with me when I say so. They're probably right, but I still feel embarrassed to say so. Which probably makes me even more like Marcille.

I'm somewhat familiar with Percy Jackson but never got into it

I could not get four episodes through Tokyo Ghoul without being pretty turned off by it. Just felt like an entire series about torture porn / how bad of a time the main character is having.

I think Sailor Moon is alright but I also strongly associate it with an abusive ex of mine, so it's hard to stay positive about it.

I hear a lot of good things about Bloom Into You, and it's been on my to-read/watch list for a while, but I've never gotten around to it. Plus I just like and prefer several other really good yuri series.

My mom really likes Rent, and I have a vague recollection of it being alright.

I'm familiar with Madoka and have heard good things about it, but never really gave it a watch.

Isn't Sally Face that character from Nightmare Before Christmas? That's all I know ;w;

I like Hatsune Miku a lot :> but I am also incredibly terrible at rhythm games like Colorful Stage (I actually have an amazing sense of rhythm, but my reaction time and processing speeds are low and I get overwhelmed extremely easily by a bunch of notes flying at me ;w; )

All I know about Assassin Classroom is they've got a femboy who's also technically more or less transmasc (another one of those weird problematic anime femboys whose existence is "justified" by the shaky "we raised him as a girl because we wanted a girl" thing that literally nobody does in real life and that transphobes constantly quote as being a real phenomenon alongside turning the frogs gay)

I used to like K-ON! but nowadays I kind of just associate it with racist people on the Internet and that sort of soured my thoughts on it...

I'm strongly aware of Animal Crossing but have next to no interest in it, it's just not really my thing. My friends all like it, though. I also like watching Hunter's videos on technical breakdowns of the many glitches of the old AC games :)

I hear good things about Scott Pilgrim but haven't gotten around to consuming any of the media. Been meaning to check out the Takes Off spinoff show since it's supposedly really good and I like the premise, but that's been on backburner.

Kirby's fine I guess?

Demon Slayer rang to me like yet another extremely generic shonen anime and I quickly lost interest in it, sorry. I think shonen peaked with Naruto and that's about it.

I think a friend of mine likes Baby Metal but I can't be arsed to ask about it. I like some metal. Don't really go out of my way for it, though.

Hate Genshin Impact with a passion, as a game developer sick of both the normalization of gacha mechanics and the extremely lazy "game" they slapped on top of said mechanics. No shut up I don't have the hoyoverse launcher installed on my computer what are you talking about

As I said in the replies, rare MDQ sighted? I enjoyed the comic overall after everything has been said and done. It had a few rough patches and irritating arcs that I kind of excuse because I know the artist was going through it at the time. There were also more than a few mildly uncomfy moments with stuff like incest and lolicon mentions and whatnot. Still an overall fun time with a satisfying conclusion in the end. Plus Malori is so me and/or my wife. Cerik also reminds me a lot of a close friend of mine.

Yeah, I fw DDLC hard. I want to go visit a quaint little coffee shop with Monika and talk with her about coding stuff and I'm so normal about her. Also Natsuri for life. Bisexual disaster Sayori is my spirit animal.

Bride of Chucky? I dunno I'm not into horror movies usually

I'm familiar with Coraline and have heard good things about it but I've never watched it.

I think I recognize Gumi or whatever? Don't know much about her though haha

har har hahar har, har hahar hahaaaar (I, like, vaguely fuck with the community of FNAF but also have a general disdain for it and the games and Scott Cawthon as a creator. I also am close friends with at least two people who are strongly exposed to its brainrot and often participate in discussions with them over it. I think there's merit to the series somewhere in there, but also just have too many problems with it. Follow me on my VTuber alt persona for more information on my relationship with FNAF as there's an additional element I don't like disclosing on my personal, that being the game I'm working on.)

Opinion on Honky Starbucks is basically the exact same as Genshit Impadded huh what no what are you talking about I don't already have like fifty hours in Zenless and bought the first season battle pass and rolled on every banner so far shut up that game doesn't exist aaaaaaa

IT is probably one of the few pieces of horror media I kind of fuck with, but more on a critical level, i.e. recognizing the level of genius Steven King is on with it.

325 notes · View notes

shiny-jr · 3 years ago

Note

I'm not sure if anyone's thought about this, but I always wondered why disney chose these specific villains. I mean the other 5 have some magical properties but Queen of hearts and Scar (from what I saw in the movies) dosen't have any magical properties. What do you think?

I just think that there's a possibility they chose the villains closest to their heart or childhood. I don't know about you, but most of the villains they chose are more memorable than say, Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Shere Khan the tiger from The Jungle Book, Shan Yu from Mulan, etc. Actually, I kinda wanted to talk about twst and comparisons to disney movies (specifically the events). So more below.

I was talking about this a while back with a friend, but I noticed there's a lot of connections between side characters and events to actual disney movies or shorts. So a lot of people know that Yuu's room is very very similar to a room from a Mickey short called "Through the Mirror." I haven't watched it, but I will eventually. Anyways, here's a picture and comparison.

This is relating to the main story, obviously, but you know what struck me? When I first got into twst and read translations and videos of the story, I got hit by a weird sense of deja vu and nostalgia when I saw the ghosts. It was only later did I realize why. There was this Mickey short I watched very often as a child called "Lonesome Ghosts," and guess what? The ghosts look kinda familiar.

Anyways, there's that. As for the events, I don't remember a lot of them off the top of my head but I can recall a few. I think some of the events do have ties to real disney movies, but not all of them. Take the Beanfest event for example. It was about students in a farmer team against students in a "monster team." Farmer? Monster? Beans? Yeah, sounds a lot like Jack and the Beanstalk. "But wait, disney doesn't have a movie like that!" Well, actually, they do. I remember, because I used to watch if often too.

Not only that, but think of the Ghost Bride event. It's not officially translated yet as it hasn't come out on the English server, but I have read fan translations. Let's see, it's about a ghost who died a tragic death and wants to marry for love but kidnaps a person in the process in order to forcibly marry them while placing the others through various challenges... Why does that sound familiar?? Oh yeah, that's literally the plot of "The Haunted Mansion." Eliza is the ghost bride from twst and Elizabeth is the ghost woman from The Haunted Mansion. It doesn't get much clearer than that.

And the last one I can think of has less evidence but I'll stick with it. You know that wish event? Seems like it's referencing Pinocchio, you know with how the old man wished upon a star for a son and a good fairy granted his wish? Then Pinocchio later wished to be a real boy and his wish was eventually granted too? Yeah, it just made me think of that.

Anyways, that's all I got right now.

#shiny speaks #twst #twisted wonderland #twst event

62 notes · View notes

wrenreid · 3 years ago

Text

Conflict of Interest

Chapter Ten: Work Hard

You haven't been able to meet Spencer outside of class all week. Studying and training is keeping you busy.

The red flush that creeps up your neck and onto your face every time his eyes meet somewhere near your vicinity is quite inconvenient. Especially since he looks around the room as he speaks. Those few moments when he makes eye contact with you in class make your cheeks burn red, maybe that's why they're called the apples of your cheeks.

Phantom pleasure begins to tingle on your neck every time you lock eyes with Dr Reid. Your mind and body brings you back to the image of his lips sucking your neck, your hands in his hair. Everything. It's utterly annoying.

You're seated at your desk, studying for midterms when you get a text that reads:

"Hey! How is studying going?"

Spencer. You smile softly and answer.

"It's all right. Totally bored now though."

"Take a break?"

"Suggesting I take a break with you;)?"

"Actually, not what I meant. Haha. But doesn't sound too bad of an offer."

"I was just playing. No time for distractions. Midterms are next week. I have to do well."

"Y/n, you're a straight A student who has probably never done bad in her life. You're going to do great."

"Thanks, doc, but I will still be studying like my life depends on it. And your sexy face is distracting me already."

"You can't even see me."

"Imagination, genius."

"You think about me? How cute."

"Shut up. I'll see you Monday!"

"Be sure you rest."

"Yes sir."

You jot down some more notes from the text book, then decide to go out for coffee. Spencer was right, you definitely needed a break.

You walk about a mile, a little less, to a coffee shop and take a seat after placing your order. You stuck with the basics: iced vanilla latte, caramel on the bottom with oat milk, and a blueberry muffin.

The coffee shop is nice, has a modern yet cozy sense of style to it. The floor is black tile, and on the walls are paintings and photographs done by local and underrated artists, mostly abstract. The seats and couches are comfortable, decorated with a few pastel throw pillows tossed on top.

You take a seat on an off-white chair, leaning against the back and pulling a book out of the little tote bag you brought with you.

Science fiction has always fascinated you. That's the genre you'd picked out for the day. Time travel, aliens, experiments, that sort of thing just draws your attention.

"Y/n!" The young barista calls, placing your order gently on the counter. You shut the book and stand up, getting your things and returning back to your seat. You sip your coffee happily, stirring it around by swirling the cup gently.

You cross a leg over the other and return to the page number 7 in your book. You get lost within the pages, the story, as you drink and eat.

Picking up your cup and trying to take a sip, then realizing it was now empty, you decide it's time to head back.

Nina is back in your dorm now, sitting on her bed as she takes a few notes in blue ink. They have a cup of coffee in between their legs, the notebook on her right thigh as she writes.

"Ugh I hate studying," she groans.

"Me too, but I'll hate failing even more."

"Is it even possible for you to fail?"

"Yeah, it's just been a hot minute."

Nina laughs softly and sets her own down.

"We should watch a movie tonight."

"Okay," you smile. "I'm down."

"Good!"

_____

A few hours later, Nina and you play Corpse Bride on your projector. It is October after all.

"Tomorrow, come over." Your phone dings.

"And why should I?"

"Because I'm not going to let you fry your brain by staring at a textbook all weekend. C'mon, it's Saturday."

"Hmm I suppose I can be convinced.”

"Good! There will be food."

"I'm definitely convinced now."

"Who are you texting?" Nina asks.

"A friend I made at the coffee shop."

"Well turn your phone on silent, I'm trying to watch here."

You laugh softly. "Sorry."

"I'll see you soon:)"

"Yes you will," you text back with a smile and put your phone away, turning your attention to Emily and Victor on the screen.

You're not entirely sure what Spencer has planned for tomorrow, but he did promise you food, so you're pretty content in going over.

Eventually, you and Nina fall asleep a little before the movie even ends.

chapter eleven

-sorry this is so short-

tags: @reidscake @reidsmilf @reidslovely @awhoreforspencerreid @sexualityisajoke @nomajdetective @kenreadsfanfics @assemblemotherfuckers @calicocatty @hotchandspencearedilfs @kodiakwhiskey @rory-cakes @kbakery <3

88 notes · View notes

killerandhealerqueen · 2 years ago

Note

the WIP, hand it over

Appreciate you asking, bestie.

So, what I have in mind is writing another wuxia au for Killer and Healer because I had a great time writing the last one (and I always like to write an au at least twice (mafia aus don't count, I love mafia aus so I'm always thinking of those fuckers)) and it's gonna be a multi-chaptered fic and a case fic...but with a twist! It'll be a supernatural wuxia case fic au. (explanations are gonna get long so it goes under the cut)

So, Jiang Yuelou is a detective/royal inspector/crown prince (this last part is kept a secret for reasons I haven't figured out yet) and Chen Yuzhi is a fox spirit doctor who works in the "Ghost Market" of the kingdom. Why is it called the Ghost Market, you ask? Because that's where all the "weird" happens...it's where the demons, mythological creatures, and outcasts live. (It also only opens at night so...Ghost Market).

I've got I think at least 8 cases planned out

Illegal black tea/herb being sold/is killing people - the case that leads Jiang Yuelou to Chen Yuzhi because the tea/herb is only sold in the Ghost Market and Chen Yuzhi is a doctor in said Ghost Market so he'll be able to recognize the tea/herb (lowkey inspired by the first case from Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty)

Ghost Brides (or Jue Yuan) - Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi leave the city of Jing'an and head to Yingtai, where their women are either being "sacrificed" as "ghost brides" or their women/daughters are stolen by the jue yuan (this case is kinda iffy because ghost brides are an easy fix, the jue yuan are a little bit more complicated and since I want each case to have a happy ending, I'll have to decide which one I wanna go with...the Jue Yuan would be more interesting because it would force Chen Yuzhi to disguise himself as a woman to get capture by the jue yuan so that he and Jiang Yuelou can wipe them out but again, if you click on the link and read about the jue yuan, the whole premise of them is a little....hmm. Idk, we'll see)

Missing children - Guhuo Niao - Nanzhou - after solving the last case, Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi head to Nanzhou to solve the case of missing children who are captured by the Guhuo Niao (a nine-headed demonic bird sometimes transforms into a human woman that kidnaps children). A happy ending, of course, the children are found and the Guhuo Niao is defeated/sent on her way/killed (I gotta figure out how I wanna get rid of her)

Jiangshi - Guangzhou - Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi then head to Guangzhou to deal with a case of Hopping Vampires (or Hopping Zombies) (this idea is courtesy of @tolkiennaite111) and they find out that some fucking quack wants to see if they can reanimate the person they love...so to see if he can, he creates a bunch of Jiangshi, who are pretty much killing/absorbing the qi of the people in the village

Poison - Tianjin - if there's not a poisoning case, what's the fucking point, you know? Do I actually know what I'm going to do for this case? Nope. All I got is that it's a poisoning case in Tianjin and Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi have to go solve it

Now, the next three cases I'm having Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi go back to Jing'an but these three cases are gonna be connected. So, we'll start with an assassination attempt in an inn (someone tries to assassinate Jiang Yuelou while they sleep) and while Jiang Yuelou is fighting off the assassin, someone else is kidnapping Chen Yuzhi (because they know he's a fox spirit) and taking him away to join a circus full of creatures/humans that can shape shift into different demons.

And once Jiang Yuelou realizes that Chen Yuzhi is gone it's a full on manhunt. But they can't find him and Jiang Yuelou is called back to the palace by the emperor (his father Bai Jinbo) and tells him to get ready because in a few weeks time, there is going to be some sort of big celebration and people from all over the kingdom are gonna be coming.

So Jiang Yuelou prepares and then on the day of the celebration, the fucking circus shows up and all of the humans in the circus are in their animals forms but they have no control over their own mind and body because the circus master has had a longstanding grudge against Bai Jinbo and so wants to use the celebration as a great time to assassinate the emperor.

So he sends his "animals" to attack the royal court and Chen Yuzhi, of course, goes straight for Bai Jinbo but Jiang Yuelou quickly stops him and stops the guards from killing him because that's not a demon, it's a person, it's his person, don't kill him. Thankfully Chen Yuzhi is able to shake off the incense/concoction that was in his body and instead attacks the circus master in his demon form but is hurt because fuck one of the royal guards who thinks that Chen Yuzhi is an actual demon.

Again, happy endings all around, but there is a good hurt and comfort scene of Jiang Yuelou having like all the healers, both from the kingdom and the Ghost Market, heal Chen Yuzhi because he can't lose him. How am I going to end this fic? No idea. But this is what I've got so far. Probably won't end up writing it until my winter break because I've got grad school stuff and other WIPs to worry about at the moment, but I'm excited for this one...I think it's gonna be good

Thank you again for asking me about this, oh it feels so good to get it out of my system

#sass answers #raffa edition #sass talks about her writing #Killer and Healer #wuxia au

7 notes · View notes

pynkhues · 2 years ago

Note

Random question, but I remember reading an ask of yours a while back about how you would recast good girls and thinking it was so much fun!! So, if there was a modern-day Friends (or a modern-day version of any of your favorite sitcoms/shows), how would you make it different? Would you make any changes to the main ch, who would you cast? Etc etc ♡

Ah! Thank you, anon! I genuinely love doing recasts, so I'm delighted you liked that one, and am thrilled you sent another!

Friends is actually such a tricky one, because it was such a perfect little catalyst in terms of its cast and its characters and their chemistry, and I think we've seen over the years how hard that is to replicate (because lord knows networks have tried). But! I love the challenge, soooo lets start with the cast:

Okay, yes, I loved her in both Bridgerton and Sex Education, but to me Simone Ashley is really an actress who's still growing, much in the same way Courtney Cox was in Friends. In so many ways, I can't imagine a greater role to grow in than Monica, who's equal parts funny and dramatic, protagonist and antagonist, romantic lead and narrative foil. She's a character who's always moving, and I just feel like Simone could play that so well.

Full disclaimer: I haven't seen How I Met Your Father yet, but I've always thought Suraj was an actor who should've had a better career. From Life of Pi to Homeland to Happy Death Day 2U, he's got both the range and the charisma. Ross isn't an easy role to play, and I feel like he could bring out the best sides of him. Plus seeing him play Simone's brother would be a delight, and I feel he'd just be an incredible romantic lead toooo....

I mean, come on, this feels like a no-brainer, right? I can't imagine an TV actress currently working who could better embody Rachel's charm and confidence and throughline vulnerability than Victoria, and I feel like her arc of runaway bride to successful and independent woman would just be one she'd embody so well.

I always feel like Darren sells the comedy in Never Have I Ever better than the dramatic sequences, and his himbo-with-a-heart-of-gold stylings just feels totally perfect for Joey.

In sooo many ways, I feel like Cheyenne in Superstore is an AU version of Phoebe, haha, but they're different enough too that I feel like the role of Phoebe would be something Nichole could really pivot to something fresh, modern and exciting. Plus she's so cute and I love her.

Chandler was genuinely the hardest one for me to cast. There are definitely older actors who fit the bill (Adam Scott being the one who immediately leapt to mind), but no one who fit that mid-to-late-twenties range that would be needed for a re-cast.

After a lot of thought, I landed on Shameik, which the more I think about, the more I love. Chandler's not really an easy role to play - he's got this not-quite-warmth-not-quite-coldness to him that's defined by an acerbic sense of humour and a genuine loyalty to those around him, a boyishness that's somehow contradicted by being the only one with a 'real adult' job at the start of the series, to moving from quippy sidekick to true romantic lead. It's not an easy role to balance, but Shameik's done all that and more across his career. To see him do it in the one role - and to do it opposite Simone and Suraj in particular - feels dreamy as all hell.

As for changes, yeah! There are a few. The biggest change I'd make to the show would be scrapping the plotline with Rachel's pregnancy. I don't think the show needed it, and the fact that it resulted in her staying in New York at the end of the show's run was, I think, a real betrayal of her character.

And this might be a controversial opinion too, but I think it was a bit of a betrayal of Ross' too. I forever wish the show had gone deeper in exploring Ross co-parenting Ben with Carol, and the fact that Ben was really overshadowed in later seasons for Emma really bummed me out.

In that sense, I think if I was to reframe the series, I'd definitely be making Carol and her new partner, Susan, and Ben much more prominent characters, and have Ross and Carol co-parenting being a bigger part of Ross' overall arc. (Also, okay, hear me out - Kiersey Clemons and Tati Gabrielle as Carol and Susan respectively)

The show wasn't Great with sexuality in general, but it kind of had these built-in avenues to explore it in much more exciting and authentic ways than it did, and Carol definitely offered that, but so did Chandler's father, who I'd love to write in in a bigger way, and I think it genuinely makes sense that both Joey, Phoebe and Rachel at least be bi.

Otherwise, I'm not sure! What do you think?

#this was such a fun one to think about anon!#thank you!#should i create a recast tag #since i've now done gg dawson's creek and friends?#it feels right haha #recasting asks #chandler x monica was always my fave on that show #the writing on rachel x ross needs a B I G update but the potential really is still there #jennifer and david having good chemistry carried them through a lot though haha #friends #welcome to my ama

6 notes · View notes

giorno-plays-piano · 4 years ago

Text

The Spider's Bride Part 3

Pairing: spider!Bucky x Reader

Warnings: yandere, obsession, stalking, forced marriage.

Words: 2422.

Summary: Whoever your stepmother sold you to, he wasn’t as honorable as she claimed.

Part 1

Part 2

P.S. I just remembered I haven't explain arachnids' family ties yet - even though Bucky says he has "sisters", they are actually his cousins, daughters of his aunt. Since the ones of his kind had always lived in a very big families, cousins were considered "sisters" and "brothers" because of their closeness to each other.

_________________

You spent the next two weeks in your chamber again - apparently, Bucky's spells were truly very poweful as you slept the whole day after returning home from the nursery. He even had to have a check on you, but the healer assured him you'd be alright soon. Bucky had to be more careful from now on.

However, he was rather surprised you didn't cry after your awakening and said nothing to him about your visit to the town. Judging by the way you behaved, maybe you were not as shocked as Bucky expected you to be. He was so relieved.

Arabella was visiting often. She didn't enter your rooms as a precaution - she said it was too early for that - but stayed right behind the doors, either singing or talking to you. Despite being reluctant at first, as the days passed, you talked more and more about everything you wanted to know. A part of him was jealous. In the end, he could tell you of all the things you were curious about as well, but you refused to talk to him much. Arabella asked Bucky to be patient. In the end, it was him you considered her captor, not her.

The more time you spent with her, the calmer you seemed. You started eating better, sometimes even complimenting him for the food he brought you directly from the surface; the man heard less and less of your crying. Eventually, you even started to move within the house to borrow new books from the extensive library Bucky made exclusively for you. Of course, he still kept his human form whenever you were with him.

"Bucky, we discussed a few things this morning with Arabella." You said to him when you brought back empty dishes from your room and started washing them despite Bucky protesting it. "That potion I asked you to give me the first day when you brought me."

He stiffened at your words since he knew perfectly what potion you were talking about. What on Earth Arabella was thinking?

"She told me how your spells work and how humans can get addicted to that. I understand why you don't want to cast more charms on me." You rinsed the large silver dish and put it to the side to let it dry before storing them in the cardboard. "But she said that if you added a three drops of love potion to my drink in the morning, it may ease my worries."

"Dear Lord." He grunted, taking away your cup and clenching his teeth. Maybe his sister was an expert in potions she had been preparing for decades, yet he couldn't believe she offered you something like that right after telling him to not use magic.

"Please, Bucky. She said it's safe."

"Oh, and how would she know this? I don't remember her treating any human females for long."

Controling himself was rather complicated at this point, but he knew he was overreacting. Undoubtedly, his sister would do nothing to harm you in any way. He just didn't trust the methods he knew nothing about, and risking your health was out of question.

You sighed, taking the apron you stole from your betrothed off and folding it neatly. The more you stayed here, the more acceptable your life seemed to you, and sometimes you hated it with all your heart. Your bed was nice and warm; your food was always ready for you when you became hungry; your room was reserved purely for you, and no one could enter it without your permission; you had many gorgeous dresses your stepmother could never even dream about. Although the thought of Bucky in his true form still made you feel disgusted, you couldn't wish him to die anymore. More and more you thought someone like him didn't deserve it just because he was ugly. Regardless what your instincts were telling you, he treated you better than any human did, didn't he?

You had a better life down here since the times your mother left, and thinking of that hurt.

However, you did want to wipe off the memory of Bucky chasing you the day your stepmother brought you to the cave. Sometimes you saw his eight long dark legs in your nightmares. This was what you talked to Arabella today, voicing your concerns to help you do something with it. Maybe if you could erase this, your feelings towards the man you couldn't escape would change faster.

Arabella didn't agree to wiping off that picture out of your mind as the spell that she would need to cast was unpredictable at best and could take half of your memories. As you knew little about magic, she spent some time explaining to you how the charms worked and how they affected both arachnids and humans. Indulging yourself into taking too many soothing spells sounded like a bad idea now, and you understood Bucky's reluctance to cast them.

Nonetheless, she offered you a better way to ease your worries. Love potion didn't bring the ones of your kind any particular harm, though it wasn't powerful enough to keep you in love for a long time. However, a small dose of it could keep your worries away, the woman said. If you and Bucky agreed, she would ensure the potion to be made perfectly.

But he just had to be so goddamn stubborn! You learned that despite his scary appearance and the fact that he'd been through the war from its beginning to the very end Bucky was a hopeless romantic. He probably hoped the issue would be solved somehow purely by itself. As much as you would like it to be true, your mind refused believing that marrying an arachnid wasn't frightening.

"Listen, I know you care." You rubbed your eyes with the back of your hand, turning to him. "But I need help. I know soothing spells aren't safe, so we need something else. Please, let's try this out. If you see I don't react as I should, we'll stop right away. What harm could 3 drops of potion bring, anyway?

He groaned at your persistance, but you weren't giving up just yet. You spend half an hour talking to him purely about the potion and the possibilities it could bring you until the arachnid gave up, surprised you stayed with him for so long by our own will. More than that, Bucky was content with your desire to get rid of your fears and even change the way you thought of him. Maybe it was for the better. Maybe trying giving you a few drops of a potion would help.

When he let you drink water mixed with potion, he was afraid to see the immediate changes, but nothing happened. You stayed in your room, reading the new book Arabella brought you. Your cheeks weren't heated; you gaze was focused on the text; your relaxed body wasn't shaking. It seemed perfectly okay.

Tomorrow morning he gave you three more drops as his older sister had prescribed, and nothing had happened after that, too. Bucky wasn't even sure it made sense to keep giving you the potion, but you said you were feeling a little better, so he believed you. However, the third day you spent solely in the library, not even locking yourself in your room as usual. Apparently, Arabella's advice had been way more useful he had anticipated at first.

The forth day you suddenly asked him to show you his true form. You wanted to give it a try, you said. If you got scared, he could cast a soothing or sleeping speel anyway. Since you were persistent, Bucky eventually gave in, but it didn't end well - you vomited on your own shoes at the sight of his horrifying spider form.

The morning of the fifth day Bucky had fought his desire to pour the whole bottle of potion into your drink and finally see you smiling at him.

The seventh day was better since his sisters visited, taking human form. They brought you gifts - ivory hair comb and hand mirror, pearls and laces. Although you tried refusing their presents because you felt ashamed you could give them nothing in return, they laughed it off: while human traditions required the family of a bride to pay the dowry, arachnids' custom was quite the opposite. You thought the reason was the lack of females in their society, but Bucky's sisters assured you it had nothing to do with it. Actually, they had adopted this tradition from the dark elves who had been their mates from the ancient times. Arabella also told you while the kingdom you belonged to was patriarchal, theirs wasn't much so. She said that despite having seven children - quite a normal thing for a female arachnid - she wasn't the one who would always take care of them as her husband was equally resposible for the brood. He fed them, bathed them, taught them, and brought them to bed just like she did. It sounded almost insane to you.

Then you returned to talk about their marriage traditions, and sisters were excited to tell you how their husbands courted them before they gave their woves. Apparently, all of them except Bucky had been already married.

"You know, the good thing is the courtship period isn't restricted by any laws." Dahlia, the youngest one, said. "While it lasts, a suitor and his family should pamper future bride. When my daughter will grow up, her betrothed will bring her gifts, too."

You tried your best to think of them as humans. Then the talk of their families was much less scary to you as you imagined them wearing beautiful laced silver dresses on the day of their weddings just like women of your kind did. Did arachnids wear dresses at all, despite when they took human form? You doubted it. Their large spider bodies could only be covered with two dozen meters of fabric, and moving with those on top would be too complicated.

You sighed when the doors to your chamber were finally closed as Bucky's sisters left. The deep sense of guilt had long settled in your chest. All of them were kind to you. No one had ever forced you to scrub floors or cook before the sun rises to have the breakfast ready when everyone gonna wake up. You had forgotten how the broom felt in your work-weary hands. Even though you did nothing at all, you were fed, clothed and given whatever you asked for.

Why did it have to be like this? If Bucky had been cruel to you, it would be so much easier to hate him and wish him to die. But now you couldn't. He didn't deserve to be detested only because of his form.

Wiping your tears away, you returned to bed and wrapped your warm blanket under yourself.

____________

"You shouldn't creep on her all the time, brother." Dahlia shook her head disapprovingly. "You don't give her privacy."

"She doesn't know I'm watching her while she's alone." When he protested, Arabella shot him a serious glance.

"Your obsession with her will do neither of you any good. Remember, though humans are not as conscious as us, they can still feel the emotions of others. She'll get scared."

"She's already scared!" He barked at the woman, furious, his hands clenched. "I don't change my form even when I go to sleep. I've stayed like that for the whole week! And she's still frightened. She still doesn't let me touch her. Maybe she never will. The only time I get to see her happy is when she's reading in her chamber all by herself, and you're telling me I can't do even that?"

"Do you know uncle had always been watching your mother, Bucky?" His second oldest sister intervened with her quiet and calm voice, her gentle hand brushing against his tensed shoulder.

The man stilled, his angry expression turning terrified in a matter of seconds. No, he didn't know, or rather didn't think of it much. Although his mother died shortly after giving birth to him, the dark obsession of his father with her was... dreadful. Bucky had never thought his feelings towards you could remind him of that. How could it be? Wasn't he much more gentle? Kind? Human?

"Bucky, you're a good man." He heard Arabella whispering to him softly. "You're better than him, you had always been. But if it continues like that, it will get worse. I told you, give her time. Have patience. She has suffered no less than you did, and she can't help you heal if she hadn't recover herself."

"I want nothing but love her." He said in desperation, covering his face with his huge palms.

"Then trust her. Look, she got so much better she didn't even cry when we came. I know you want her to jump into your arms, but it just doesn't happen that way."

Miria patted his head gently and nodded, agreeing to her older sister. They had slowly regained their huge and shiny spider-like forms right in front of the house Bucky lived in, strangers walking the street nearby paying them no attention as it had been a common magic ritual.

"I have to remind you my husband had spent half a year courting me." The youngest sister said, trying to cheer him up. "And he belongs to the same kind as us. Didn't stop me from believing he would be a terrible husband, though."

Bucky forced a faint smile. It was true, and he remembered how desperate the guy had been when Dahlia refused walking with him in the forests again and again. But she wasn't scared of him; she didn't hate him because he had eight nasty long legs making a terrifying sound when he walked. It was different.

He felt tears gathering in his eyes and blinked, quickly gathering himself. Bucky wasn't pathetic to the point he could goddamn cry in front of his own sisters.

"Thank you for your advice. I will do whatever I can." His voice sounded tired when Arabella dropped a kiss on his cheek and motioned others to follow her to the street.

Soon he was standing outside all by himself, watching the lamppost's flickering light. The nights were growing colder, and he shivered, turning his back to the black gates and marching straight home. He didn't know by the time he entered the hallway you had already consumed one third of the bottle with a love potion Bucky stored in the kitchen.

__________

Tags: @finleyjayne @alexakeyloveloki @helenaeisenhower @villanellevi @hurricanerin @void-hoechlin @abyssaint @navegandoaciegas @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @ladyacrasia @iheartsebastianstan @rosalynshields

#bucky barnes #dark bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #dark bucky barnes x reader #yandere

346 notes · View notes