#Poor Katarina

[freedomforthewin]

Do You Want to Build a Snowman? (Part 3)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Content Warning: Betrayal by a best friend, sexual harassment, and implications of sexual coercion.

———————Four Years Later———————

“Guess what?” John asked excitedly as he came up to his mom, his hands holding both sides of a large sheet of paper.

“What?” she asked, smiling at him.

“I got an A+ on my amusement park design!” he said, showing her the design he drew, which also had the grade written on it.

“That’s great, honey!” She took the picture and held it with one hand and put her other arm around him, pulling him into a side hug as she looked at the drawing. “This is really good, John.”

“Thanks. I’m going to show it to Katarina,” he said happily. He took the picture and turned to head to his sister’s room.

“Wait, honey,” Mrs. Egan called out. John looked back at her.

“Katarina isn’t doing too well right now,” Mrs. Egan said, her voice quietening.

“Why? What happened?”

“She and Drake stopped being friends,” Mrs. Egan said solemnly.

“What?!?! But…why?”

“He wasn’t a real friend. He was just pretending to care about her.”

John stared at her, appalled. “Why would he do that?”

Mrs. Egan hesitated before carefully saying, “Some people are just like that.” She hoped he wouldn’t press for more. He was a bit young to know the details.

“That’s not a good enough reason,” John grumbled, angry at Drake.

“I know, sweetie. I know.

“Just leave her alone for now. I think she just needs some space to deal with this. You’ll see her at dinner. You can tell her about your amusement park project then.”

“Okay.” He calmed down and thought for a moment. “Can you help me make some sugar cookies to help her feel better? Those are her favorite.”

Mrs. Egan smiled warmly at her loving son and agreed. It was Friday after all; he didn’t have school the next day.

They went to the kitchen and set out the ingredients and supplies. Mrs. Egan preheated the stove as John greased the cookie tray. Then John poured and mixed the ingredients as his mom supervised. A few minutes later, Mrs. Egan stepped in to mix, knead, and roll out the dough. Then they took glass cups to use as round cookie cutters. After they put the tray of cookie dough in the oven, John wiped up the counter as his mom did the dishes. When he was finished, she had him go continue working on his homework, and she finished the rest of the dishes. When the cookies were ready, she took them out of the oven to let them cool, and then she left the kitchen.

John came back a little later to check on the cookies. When he saw they were ready, he put enough cookies for Katarina and himself on a plate, got another plate for himself, picked up some napkins, and headed to Katarina’s room.

———————————————————————

Katarina had her textbook for her Scene Design class open and was trying to focus on what she was reading, but her mind kept drifting back to Drake.

How could he do this to me? We were friends for so long. We had cared so much about each other. I did at least; I though he did, too.

Her breath hitched, and she placed her hand over her mouth. Her eyes narrowed in pain.

We had been there for each other. I thought surely there was no way he would do this to me. No way would he end up being one of those guys. No way would he do this to his best friend.

Her eyes filled with tears. She sniffled, and then she reread the text from her friend Louisa.

Oh my God! I hate him. Guys are just…ugh…Seriously, how pathetic is it that when guys get older they need to be taught to see girls as people instead of objects? It’s not a hard concept to understand! I’m so sorry Drake tricked you into believing he was different but then did this to you. It would have been bad enough for him to do this to any woman but to do that to his own best friend? That’s beyond messed up.

Her message brought a sad smile to Katarina’s face.

———————————————————————

John knocked on the door.

“Cassie?” he called, referring to Katarina by her nickname. “It’s Bucky.”

“Do you need something?” he heard Cassie ask. Her voice sounded a little shaky.

“Mom told me about Drake,” he said. “Can I come in?”

“This isn’t really a good time, Bucky.”

“I know you’re upset, Cassie,” Bucky said. “I’m here to help you feel better. Please let me in.”

She didn’t answer.

“Please?” Bucky pleaded.

That did it. He had abandonment problems from the Gale situation. She didn’t want to worsen them by refusing to let him in, too.

“Okay, you can come in.”

Bucky opened the door and saw his sister at her desk, turned away from him, her head bowed. He heard her take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Bucky closed the door and walked to her.

He set the plates and napkins he was holding onto the desk and placed his hand on Cassie’s shoulder. Cassie let out a hitched breath, and after a few moments, her sad eyes met his solemn ones. Bucky gently pulled her to the bed, and they sat down on it. He wrapped his arms around her, and she clutched him, a sob escaping her lips.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

She sniffled and took a few shaky breaths.

“What did, what did Mom tell you?” she asked, a slight tremble in her voice.

He told her, and she confirmed it.

“I don’t understand,” she said brokenly, a tear falling down her face. “He had always seemed like he cared. I don’t understand how he could do this to m-me.”

John pulled her closer to him, holding her tightly as she cried. He rubbed her back as she sobbed, his heart breaking from her pain.

How could Drake do this to her? John thought, upset. He was supposed to be her best friend. He was supposed to care about her.

He just comforted his devastated sister and didn’t let go of her until she eventually calmed down.

“I can’t believe it took him years to tell you he didn’t care about you,” John muttered.

“He didn’t actually tell me. I figured it out.”

“How did you figure it out?” John asked.

“He kept pressuring me to give him something he wanted. Something inappropriate. I said no, but he still kept asking. Over. And over. Again. I realized he wasn’t treating me with respect and wasn’t going to, so I ended the friendship.”

“I’m sorry,” John said morosely. She gave him a sad smile.

“What was it that he wanted so badly from you?” he asked quietly.

“He,” Katarina started before she let out a harrowing laugh and shook her head, realizing how this was going to sound to her little brother, “he wanted me to send him pictures of me without any clothes on.”

“What?!?!” John was horrified.

“Yeah.”

“He’s weird!” John muttered in contempt, his 10-year-old face in a pout, which made Katarina burst out laughing.

She decided to play into it.

“Yeah! He is weird.” She smiled at John.

“Why would he want that?”

“A lot of guys get like that when they get older,” she said, her smile fading. “These thoughts start to come into their heads, and they start wanting to see girls like that.”

John made a disgusted face. “I hope I don’t want to see that when I get older.”

Cassie smiled at him before looking down. She thought about telling him it’s normal for a lot of guys to like stuff like that and that that’s not wrong, but she decided against it. He was only 10; he was too young to understand that.

“Either way, forcing and guilting girls into showing you pictures of themselves naked is bad,” she said quietly.

“I’d never do that.”

Katarina smiled gratefully at her brother. “I know. And not all guys would do that.” She paused before sorrowfully saying, “There are, however, a lot who do pressure girls into doing inappropriate things and don’t take “no” for an answer. And treat girls like girls are objects instead of people. And mistreat girls.”

“But why?” he asked worriedly.

She shook her head. “They choose to become like that.”

“That many guys?”

“Yeah.”

“Am I doomed to become like that?” he asked, scared.

Katarina thought carefully before saying, “Only if you choose to.”

John was silent at first before he nodded firmly. “I won’t.”

She nodded back in acknowledgment.

“You always have a choice in deciding who you want to be. Sometimes there might be…obstacles…that make it harder to be who you want to be, but that’s all they do: make it harder. They don’t eliminate your ability to do better. They don’t eliminate your ability to be who you decide you want to be. You still have a choice. And if you need help to do better, you can choose to get help.”

“Okay.”

Katarina smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back.

The naked picture thing is enough, she thought. He doesn’t need to know about the other thing Drake kept pressuring me to do. John’s too young to know. Oh God, I probably shouldn’t have told him about the picture thing in the first place!

Alright. It’s okay. It’s okay. What’s done is done. He saw me upset; of course he’d want to know why. And I was too upset to keep it in. It’s okay. What’s done is done.

Now it’s about keeping things real but age appropriate. This obviously wasn’t enough of a puberty and sex talk, but I think this might be okay for now. He’s only 10.

She tightened her arms around Bucky, and he did the same to her. She rested her head against his shoulder.

All the tricks of the trade that Drake pulled to try to get me to do it with him…I hate him.

I wish all guys chose to do better. Too many choose to be slaves to their desires. That’s so weak of them! How could they choose to be so freaking weak?!?!

She stayed in her brother’s arms a little longer. After she pulled out of the hug, she looked at the cookies her brother brought. Her lips curled into a smile.

“Mom made sugar cookies?”

“Both of us. I know they’re your favorite, and I wanted to help you feel better, so I asked if we could make them.”

Katarina was touched.

“Thank you so much, Bucky. That was really nice of you.”

“You’re welcome. I brought some extra ones so that I could have some, too.”

“Okay.”

“And Katarina?”

“Yeah?”

“You didn’t deserve what he did. You deserve better than him.”

The older sister smiled appreciatively at him.

“Thank you, John,” she said softly.

He smiled back.

They started eating the sugar cookies as they talked about school. Katarina showed John a painting she had made for her Scene Design class, and John thought it was really good. John then told her about the A+ he got on his amusement park drawing. She congratulated him and asked to see the design. He went to go retrieve it and then happily showed it to her. She was impressed with it.

They continued to talk about school and funny moments that had happened in their classes, some of the little things in life that made it worth living.

When Katarina seemed like she was better, John got ready to go. He took their plates and napkins and then kissed his sister on the cheek before leaving.

———————————————————————

John was on his way back to his room when he saw Gale’s closed door. He paused, staring at it.

It had been a while since they had last spoken. Since he had even seen Gale. After that last day, John had just stopped trying with him.

Gale’s silence when John had asked him if he wanted to play anything with John had stung. They had been best friends. John hadn’t done anything to Gale; there was no reason why Gale should have wanted to avoid him like that.

John kind of wanted to just walk by the door, like he had done the past four years, and say nothing. Gale had made no effort to see him, so clearly Gale was fine without him.

Right?

But maybe…just maybe…ugh. John didn’t know.

Then he thought of something. John had wanted to play with Gale when they were younger, but playing with Gale meant Gale would have had to leave the room. Maybe, for some reason, Gale had just not wanted to leave the room.

Maybe John could try something else. Maybe he could try talking with Gale. Talking about anything. Maybe he shouldn’t ask Gale about leaving the room or ask what was going on though. That might get him to push John away again. But maybe, if John just talked to him like normal…

It was worth a try. As upset as he had been, he still had been missing Gale.

He went up to the door and knocked.

“Who is it?” he heard a voice call.

“It’s Bucky.”

“Bucky?” Gale went closer to the door, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to know how you are doing.”

“Oh…I’m…I’m doing fine…How are you?”

“I’m okay now,” Bucky said, settling himself on the carpeted floor, his back against the door. “It was hard earlier. Cassie was crying.”

“Why? What happened?” Both boys were fond of her.

“Her best friend kept pressuring her to do something inappropriate. He wouldn’t stop, so she ended the friendship.”

Gale groaned. “That’s horrible.”

“Yeah. She was really upset.”

“I’m sorry that happened to her.”

“I am, too.”

“What did he pressure her to do?”

“As crazy as this is going to sound, he wanted her to send him pictures of herself naked.”

“What?!?!”

“Yeah!”

“He’s weird,” Gale muttered.

“I know, right???”

They continued to talk, the tension between them slowly dissipating. Bucky was so glad to finally be able to interact with him without getting pushed away.

“I have to go,” Bucky said after some time, regretfully. “It was good to talk to you, Buck.”

“It was good to talk to you, too, Bucky.” A hint of longing crept into Buck’s voice, though he tried to keep it at bay. Bucky heard it though.

He wanted to ask Buck what was going on, why he wouldn’t come out. But Buck had just started interacting with him. He didn’t want to do something that might make Buck push him away again. So, as hard as it was, John held his tongue.

Meanwhile, Buck bit his lip, trying to keep himself composed.

He had missed Bucky so much. He badly wanted to tell his best friend what was going on. But he couldn’t.

God, this was so hard.

Bucky laid his palm against the door. Buck, feeling that, laid his palm in the same spot on the opposite side of the door. The two of them stayed like that for some time, separated by a door but together in heart.

“Bye, Buck,” John then said softly.

“Bye, Bucky,” Gale answered back, trying, but failing, to keep the pain out of his voice.

John closed his eyes sorrowfully and stayed in place for a few more seconds. Then he took his palm away, looked at the door for a few more moments, and then walked away.

Gale kept his palm there just a little longer before he lowered it.

[zhorrot]

I love going to Aether resorts because it’s so random and really shouldn’t make sense in canon. But Alm, Roy, the Black Knight, at least two Azamas, Ephraim, and Jagen just decided to stare off a cliff for five minutes while Katarina and Myrrh were wondering what the fuck was wrong with them. Before Myrrh decided to join them, and Katarina figured she’s the only normal one here

[alwaysoc]

[puma49]

Riot personally came to my house to shoot me in the knee with this new chroma

Hoarding 40 mythic essence for how many months now, just for them to make the chroma that i wanted and give it a new obtaining system,probably bringing the gatcha mechanic considering that one of the icons is a milestone reward

This better not be whats happening

[arataka-reigen]

Katarina Claes is lactose intolerant for sure

[noxianwilled]

— which rage language are you?

step back

usually, you're able to bottle up your emotions and ignore the frustrations. but, after weeks of shoving everything down, your body needs a release, and i pity the poor person who managed to piss you off. it's screaming crying, shouting, kicking lockers, whatever you can do to get it out of your system. it's a whole jean grey moment, fire and fury blasting out of you.

TAGGED BY: @evelicious ty ♥️ TAGGING: @yunalai @axewhirl @rahorak @agonizedembrace @visionoxus hmmm idk who to tag if you wanna do it consider yourself tagged

[sandymybeloved]

they remembered Sara Kingdom and Katarina, but not Leela??!! the disrespect

[edgysemi]

Ha. Haha. Talon’s entire motivation had just been cancelled. Hahahaha. What the heck :’) I refuse to take this comic as canon, k thanks

[questionablecuttlefish]

In defense of KataGaren...

Seen this ship cop a bit of flak after the Bite Marks video dropped...I think mostly because Arcane Only fans taking their first look at Katarina and going "PLEASE TELL US SHE'S A GIRLKISSER OH WAIT WHAT"

I mean she could be, I don't make the rules. But bashing poor Garen over it is a bit uncalled for and just plain mean. KataGaren's actually one of the few M/F League ships I kinda like.

Hear me out.

It's actually two-sided and they're actually on equal footing.

I know, shocking right, but most of the other M/F ships where they aren't either already a couple or already freaking married are in some way one sided? The Guy Likes The Girl and we either never get to see how she feels back or she has no idea who TF he is and is weirded out when he fail-flirts with her or there's some toxic power dynamic because League sure doesn't like giving its women agency in their M/F relationships unless the couple's introduced expressly as a couple.

There's an underlying comphet, "he wants her, so of course it's going to happen" that icks me out and I can't shake it away.

KataGaren though? They've got a pretty simple, straightforward 'loyal-warriors-for-rival-nations-but-we-had-a-couple-of-sword-fights-and-realized-we-are-hot-for-each-other-oh-no' dynamic.

The attraction is clearly mutual, they're equals on the field of battle and respect each other's prowess and loyalty to their nation even if they're enemies, no one is trying to fix anyone or manipulate anyone outside of the fairly transparent "I'll do whatever the mission takes, even taking you down" that they are both clearly aware of.

They just keep bumping into each other in dangerous situations and having flirty fights.

The straight-laced stoic paladin hero guy getting flustered but also excited by the flirtatious edgy assassin femme fatale who thinks riling him up is kinda cute actually oh wait damn do I like him never ceases to be funny.

Their dialogue in...LoR I think? Where they're throwing the expected threats at each other and then whispering asides planning a date later will never not be cute and funny.

Lux giving them both shit about it will never not be funny.

If you want to take it seriously, Katarina assassinating King Jarvan 3 is a pretty big point of conflict for the relationship if Garen ever finds out.

Garen would be the most boring character in League, Generic WhiteGuy Hero McChonkJaw, if it weren't for the fact that he's a GIGANTIC hypocrite

He's unswervingly devoted to his Duty And Honor as the front man of DEMACIAAAA including when he knows his duty is morally wrong.

But he genuinely loves his sister and has lied all his life to keep her secret safe.

And he's utterly smitten with a dangerous enemy agent who literally assassinated his king.

Katarina is a sexy edgy femme fatale stereotype on legs (and what legs they are) but as depicted in the Kat comic and some of her other material, she's also kind of a goofball and in her own special way, a gigantic faildaughter.

So there's an element that KataGaren is this edgy ship but it's also basically vanilla-flavored enemies-to-lovers and that's sometimes just fine.

And they're also kinda a pair of doofuses who are barely equipped by their respective traumatic nationalist upbringings to navigate whatever's going on between them.

She's got a couple of F/F ships if that's more to your taste and that's totally fine.

But there's nothing wrong with KataGaren and I like it.

[awez714]

more lappels designs but its doogile and anco!! again fic by @ilyfynn

indivs+ closeups

details:

doogile: walter hood, weapon(double sided scimitar) also named walter, feinberg pin (poor guy just wants his dog 😔), same bottom mask and shoes as lowkey, top half of mask is like Katarina’s (from league but i like the arcane artstyle of this)

anco: pulsar pin and matching earring with pulsar, similar color scheme between the two (i literally color picked from pulsar so), dagger as his weapon (was gonna be different but i got lazy sorry), two different colored gloves no reason to why

i had fun drawing so yay go read lappels 😁😁 i might design someone else but idk we’ll see haha…

[sleepyxcocoa]

Isekai Female Protagonists

You know, I feel it’s ironic that the current isekai female stories I read nowadays have badass girl bosses as the protagonists, meanwhile my favorite of them all and the one that got me into the genre in the first place is Katarina Claes, the OG lovable dumbass of a protagonist. She’s just too adorable for this world. 😔🫶

(I have a feeling that if Katarina was in a room with these protagonists, like Melissa Podebrat and Penelope Eckart, they’d probably treat her as the surrogate younger sister that needs protection and that headcanon just makes me want to melt-)

(She’d be perfect sugary therapy for these two, especially for poor Penelope)

[freedomforthewin]

Do You Want to Build a Snowman? (Part 2)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Knock knock knock.

“Gale!” John said, a hopeful smile on his face as he called from outside Gale’s room. “It’s snowing outside. Do you want to build a snowman?”

“No, thank you,” he heard Gale answer.

“Oh,” John’s smile faltered. “Okay...um…maybe later?”

No answer.

“Is everything okay? I haven’t seen you in forever.”

No answer.

Just then, Katarina Egan came into the hallway and saw John at Gale’s door.

She had been asleep when John had gotten injured from Gale’s ice magic, and no one had woken her up because they had needed to prioritize getting John medical help as soon as possible. But in the morning, her and John’s parents had caught her up on what had happened and what the new situation between John and Gale was.

She had understood that her parents were trying to keep everyone safe, but she hadn’t been thrilled about how they were deciding to go about it (“They’re best friends. How could you separate them???” she had asked incredulously.). But the Egan parents had refused to budge on their decisions.

———The Morning After John’s Injury———

“What about the witch you had gone to for help with John? You could ask her to help Gale,” Katarina suggested.

“The witch is no where near as powerful as Gale,” Mrs. Egan said. “Her magic isn’t even similar to his; her powers are healing and making potions. She can’t help Gale.”

“And even with milder magic like that, she had to go and live away from society to stay safe,” Mr. Egan added. “If other people find out about Gale’s powers, he won’t be safe either.”

That was true. Magic wasn’t common, and people feared what wasn’t common. And that fear could lead to dangerous consequences.

The witch in the forest kept to herself, and most people didn’t know about her magic. The only reason the Egans knew about her secret was because she was a distant relative on Mr. Egan’s father’s side. They didn’t really know her; they had just been briefly told of her.

Katarina was quiet for a few moments.

“John’s going to have to know about Gale’s powers at some point,” she said.

“No, he isn’t. And you are not allowed to tell him. No matter what,” Mr. Egan stated.

“It’s for his own safety, Katarina,” Mrs. Egan said. “If he knows about Gale’s powers, of course he’s going to want to involve them in their play. Then he could get hurt again.”

Katarina hesitated but then reluctantly agreed.

She asked one last thing:

“How are you going to explain to John why his best friend is going to stay away from him for good?”

They didn’t have an answer.

————————Present Day————————

Katarina looked sadly at the sight in front of her.

“Buck,” John tried again, using the nickname he had given Gale, “what’s going on?”

Silence.

“Come on, John,” Katarina said solemnly, coming up to him.

“I don’t understand,” John said, looking at his older sister. The expression on his face was similar to one of a kicked puppy.

“Let’s go. Just leave him be,” she said quietly, offering her hand to the little boy. He took her hand, and she gently led him away.

———————————————————————

“Vroom, vroom.”

John played with his toy cars, sitting on the floor next to Gale’s room.

Gale heard John play and sighed to himself. There was no need to wonder why John was sitting outside Gale’s room of all places, playing, when John could have been playing somewhere else: John missed him and wanted to play with him. Gale closed his eyes, a pained expression on his face.

John then tried to play that there was a car chase. He tried to make it exciting, with booms and crashes, but it just wasn’t as much fun playing that by himself.

John got up and knocked on Gale’s door.

“Buck, do you want to play cars with me?”

“No, Bucky,” Buck’s voice answered, calling John by John’s nickname. “Please go away.”

John was quiet for a few moments.

“Do you want to play anything with me?” he then asked.

No response.

John’s breath hitched, and his lip began to tremble. Tears started welling in his eyes.

Katarina came into the hallway and stopped at what she saw: her little brother was in front of Gale’s room, looking like he was starting to cry. Katarina sighed.

“Come on, John,” she said quietly, walking up to him and reaching for John’s hand. “He needs to be alone right now.”

“But why?” he asked in a small voice. Katarina had never seen him look this sad.

“He just does,” Katarina said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“But he’s my best friend,” he said, his voice cracking on the last word as he threw his arms around his older sister and buried his face into her shirt.

The 16-year-old wrapped her arms around her six-year-old brother, holding him close to her.

“Come on,” she said after a few moments, her voice solemn. “Let’s go.”

John sniffled and then slowly let go of her. Katarina put her arm around him. They proceeded a few steps before John leaned his head harder into her side, his shoulders shaking and his mouth wobbling. They stopped walking, and she rubbed his side a few times, trying to comfort him. Then they walked away.

Meanwhile, Gale sat with his back to his door, his eyes glassy.

Yes, I want to play cars with you, John, he thought as the tears began to fall.

[redsavant]

"Inept Villainess" 1 Review

With the release of volume 8, I've been inspired to continue on from my more general series review with more focused posts on the books and/or story arcs in this criminally underrated series. Please see that link for an overview!

I'll try to avoid spoilers that are too direct or reference things from future books, but I will be discussing plot developments in the books/arcs themselves.

It's a long one under the cut!

Setting And Plot

So! Book 1. We're introduced to the Maiden Court - a system where each of the five powerful clans of the vaguely China-like nation of Ei sends an Imperial Consort-in-training to study and compete for the position of future Empress. if you've read The Apothecary Diaries, this setup will be familiar, with a women-only district and individual palaces for each Consort*. Kou Reirin, darling princess of the Kou clan and favorite to win the crown prince's favor as Empress, is attacked by Shu Keigetsu, the envious and widely disliked "rat" of the Shu clan - and wakes up in the dungeon in Shu Keigetsu's body, set to be executed for "her" brazen assault. Unfortunately for Keigetsu, Reirin narrowly escapes execution. *This setup was apparently common in historical China, but TAD definitely brought it into the Japanese fiction sphere, I think.

Exiled to a run-down storeroom on the outskirts of the Shu Palace, Reirin-in-Keigetsu is scorned by everyone she meets. Not only for "her" attack on the Kou Maiden, but it quickly becomes clear that Shu Keigetsu has earned her reputation as a nasty and volatile mistress. The only one willing to even get near Reirin is a half-foreign lady-in-waiting named Leelee, and even that turns out to be an attempt on her life.

Of course, Reirin isn't going to give up that easily. This is where the twist comes in: while she may look like a coddled and wilting flower, it only looks that way because Reirin's constitution is catastrophically poor, with her body attempting to kill itself almost constantly. She's survived as long as she has through sheer grit, backbone, and medical knowledge, and now that she's in Keigetsu's robust and sturdy body, she feels terrible that the other girl is stuck with her nightmare. So, she starts figuring out how to get back to her own body - before any of the other assassination plots swirling around the Maiden Court can bear fruit.

The first book wears its influences on its sleeve very hard. I've already made the Apothecary Diaries connection, but it also hits a LOT of beats that will be familiar to readers of "villainess" isekai series, or isekai in general. She's publicly rejected by her semi-fiance Crown Prince Gyoumei, everyone around her is surprised by "Shu Keigetsu"'s sudden change of personality, and she even gets into field work like Katarina of All Routes Lead to Doom. The early parts of the book sort of cram through these setup beats, and if you're familiar with the tropes it may drag a little. Once the book is done getting all the setup out of the way, though, it finds its feet pretty fast.

The setup of the five clans is also pretty fun. Drawing on the Chinese wuxing or five-element classical philosophy, each clan is assigned a patron element. Since magic is real in this setting, the clans' natures do influence their members, with members of the fiery Shu clan being highly expressive and emotional, members of the Water-based Gen clan embody "still waters run deep," and so on. Like most other things about the series, this grows in complexity in later books.

Characters

Nakamura's characters are probably the strongest part of the series. Reirin is a charming protagonist, and her rapport with Leelee works well. While details on the Maiden Court itself and the five clans are a little sparse in the first volume, the character interaction sparkles. Not everyone is particularly deep - there are a lot of sneery court ladies who are as detailed as they have to be and no more - but the two protagonists, as well as supporting characters like Leelee, Reirin's original handmaiden Tousetsu, and Empress Kenshuu are colorful and sharp. This remains the case through the rest of the series, too.

It's not all good, though. Part of the teething problems of the first book include Crown Prince Gyoumei. Possessive, unreasonable, and arrogant, he's almost unrecognizable in book 1 compared to his appearances in later books (which is to say, he develops well - but you have to get through the first book to see it). It's helped by the fact that Reirin is just as put off by his attitude, so it's not intended to be appealing, but it is still not great.

A lot of the appeal of the two protagonists is potential at first. In the first book, Reirin has shades of Too Good For This Sinful Earth; she's gentle and understanding to everyone, but still has a diamond backbone, and nonetheless charms everyone she meets. In contrast, Shu Keigetsu is immature, nasty, and volatile. She's totally unprepared to live life in Reirin's aggressively suicidal body, and begins to panic as she realizes the gravity of what she's done. Both of them, the selfless and the selfish, get a ton of character development over the course of the series once they start interacting.

All of this to say, the characters are almost all very layered and believable people who grow and change over the course of the series. If you're put off by a character at the start, chances are good it's for a reason that gets addressed via character development later.

Okay, But Is It Gay?

Weeeeeell... strictly speaking, yesn't. Keigetsu is explicitly bisexual, and while Reirin only ever focuses on how attractive she finds other women (mostly Keigetsu), she's not opposed at all to marrying Gyoumei and becoming Empress. The way the Maiden Court is set up, all the Maidens will eventually be married to the Prince. This is why I bring up Gyoumei as a "teething problem" in book 1, because he's very possessive and might be off-putting. However, the core relationship of the series is between Reirin and Keigetsu. There are countless places where they only ever have eyes for each other. (That said, since this is technically a review of book 1, you should know that they don't actually meet face-to-face until book 2.) Though, there is a canonical queer romance involved in the plot of the first arc; the society of Ei is heteronormative, but that doesn't mean the narrative is. If you have a semi-open mind and you like a bisexual polycule branching out from a central WLW couple, there's a lot of material here to work with.

So, The Verdict?

That's a hard question. Is it a good or bad thing for the first book in a series to be the weakest one? On one hand, a bad first impression can turn people off something they might enjoy. On the other, once you get through the rough patch, it's all upward from there.

The way I see it, think of the first half of volume 1 as getting through the rind to reach the cheese. Volumes 1 and 2 are really meant to be read together as one arc, so if you do intend to pick up the series, I recommend getting both so you get a taste of what the actual meat of the series is when Reirin and Keigetsu start interacting in person and the various plots of the Maiden Court really kick into high gear. If you can power through the first book, you'll find a terribly underappreciated gem of a series that deserves so much more attention than it's getting.

(Yes, this one also turned into more of a general review...)

[logo-comics]

Pairing: Maria x Catarina

Title: Raindrops

"I've done exactly as I'm supposed to," Katarina ranted miserably, ignoring the rumbling of the grey sky as she kept her eyes locked onto Maria's own, "He needed me, or at least, he found me entertaining, which was, I thought, the closest he could feel to love. I don't blame Keith for resenting me. I can understand that. The others, I don't. I've never bothered with them, and yet they hate me. Why? Am I truly so unworthy of love?"

In that moment, Maria was reminded of empty classrooms and scornful faces from other children. Slowly, ignoring the rain that was beginning to pour, she approached Katarina Claes and enveloped her in a gentle hug.

She would figure out the rest later. Right now, the poor girl needed someone to be the friend that Maria had always hoped for growing up. Someone needed to do it, and that someone would be her for this beautiful, heartbroken noblewoman...

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Katarina's story always makes me so sad. My poor baby was having visions of her death before she died. She thought she had to die because it was foretold. She was little more than Cassandra's slave in Troy. When she met Two, they determined that she HAD to die to prevent a Dalek invasion. Three whole months worth of her adventures with One and Steven were erased from the timeline. She expelled herself out of an airlock to stop the invasion. Her body was recovered floating in space by River Song only to be stolen by the Nine.

My poor babyyyy

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Reader - A House Is Not A Home Part 3/8

This damn chapter 😭😭

Ruben's wife dies during childbirth along with their son. Ruben hasn't been in a relationship since. Y/N is a single mother to a four year old boy. She buys a house in the small town that Ruben lives in. The house needs alot of fixing which Ruben helps with, resulting in him slowly falling in love with Y/N. However, falling in love with Y/N makes Ruben feel like he is betraying his dead wife.

Enjoy!

You and Ruben found a good rhythm. He helped you clear the ruins of your house, loading the waste onto his truck in order to take it to the local junkyard. Despite spending three days clearing the house it still felt like you were only scratching the surface.

"Once we've cleared the last of the wood, you'll be able to move back in." Ruben assured.

"Yes, that or I might have to move into the barn." Your attention was drawn to to the old shed out by the fields. To both yours and Ruben's suprise, it had been able to sustain the harsh winds from the storm.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Ruben said.

"Why not?" The barn looked perfectly inhabitable to you.

He didn't answer, as there was no reason why you couldn't have access to somthing on your property.

"I'm serious Y/N."

He tried to stop you as you started crossing the field, making your way towards the barn. Ruben claimed that it belonged to him and he intended to keep it that way.

"I thought you were a real-estate agent?" You said, still marching on towards the barn, Ruben at your heals.

"What, no." He frowned. "I own a hardware store in town. What made you believe that I was a real-estate agent?"

"You sold me this house didn't you?" Including the barn.

"Yes, because I used to own it."

You stopped walking. Ruben's chest heaved up and down with his heavy breathing.

"You used to live here? In this house. My house?"

Ruben nodded. "Yes."

"Well, what's wrong with it?"

"Huh?"

"The house, what's wrong with it?"

He frowned.  "Nothing?"

"Then why did you sell it to me, a perfectly fine house?"

Ruben looked taken back by the question, searching for a good answer without finding one. You were shocked and frustrated by this revelation, as you had always assumed that the barn was part of the property, your property.

"Well then,  if there's nothing else."

Determined to assert your rights as the new owner, you decided to enter the barn anyway. Ruben made one last attempt to try and stop you, but you pushed past him and walked inside. As soon as you did, you gasped in surprise. The barn was filled with all sorts of treasures - old furniture, toys, and even a baby's crib. It looked like someone had left everything behind without any intention of ever coming back.

"Ruben what is all...." You turned to look at him. He stood by the barn door, holding it open.

"Are we done here?" He asked, the expression on his face startling you.

"Um I....sure."

You left the barn, Ruben shutting the door behind you. The walk back to the house was quiet, awkward even.

"I have to get back to town, run some errands." Ruben stood by his truck, looking at you impatiently.

You nodded. "Okay."

"Do you need me to take you back to Kat and David's or...?"

They were letting you stay with them as long as you needed to

"No. I'll manage." You said.

Ruben nodded. "I'll see you later then."

He hopped into his truck and drove away. Leaving you stranded with your many questions. Back at Katarina and David's you told them what happened over dinner.

"Poor Ruben." Katarina sighed.

David wiped his mouth with a napkin. "We've tried to get Ruben to sell that house for years now. It's been very difficult for him."

"Why?" You asked.

Katarina reached for her husband's hand as the two of them bowed their heads in sorrow. David then rose from the table to retrieve something out of a cabinet. It was a picture of two young girls not older than ten years old.

"These are our daughters, Emily and Gina." David said, pointing to the image of the two girls. You never knew that the two of them had children. Where were they?

"Emily is our oldest."

"And brightest." Katarina smiled.

"But Gina, she had a spirit like no other, always running around, dreaming of being a firefighter..."

"Or an astronaut."

Katarina and David seemed to complement each other as the two of them spoke joyfully about their two daughters.

"But Gina she was special in many ways. You see she was born with a heart condition, genetically passed onto her. We knew her life would be different from her sisters, shorter that is. That's why Gina always lived her life to the fullest, always in a rush against time. She married young..."

"To the most handsome man she had ever seen." Katarina qouted her daughter, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"That man was Ruben." David confirmed. "They met as Emily and Gina were getting their degrees at the University of Manchester. Gina and Ruben were so in love, head over heels. And as Gina confirmed her pregnancy she told us about her and Ruben's plans to by a house, to move back home and raise their family here, where we could be with our grandchild all the time. But as her pregnancy enveloped there were a few complications..."

"Caused by her heart." Katarina took the turn to speak as David was unable to, struggling to hold back the tears. "She died giving birth to our grandson. The doctors says her heart simply couldn't take it."

Silence fell around the dinner table. You wanted to say something, anything, but there were no words to mend the pain that Katarina and David had to endure following their daughters death.

"And your grandson?" You dared ask, but by then Katarina and David seemed to have collected themselves.

"He passed away along side his mother." David said.

How tragic. You felt so sorry for them, for Ruben.

"As you can imagine it really took a toll on Ruben. Gina had been very upfront about her condition, but as stubborn as Ruben is his feelings for her never changed. A real good man he is."

"But..." Katarina said. "None of us expected her death to come when it did, let alone Ruben. The house he and Gina had built....he has never been able step foot in it again, let alone sell it. Well...until he sold it to you, of course."

Why was that? You wanted to ask. Why were you the exception? Just then your phone vibrated in your pocket. You looked to the display and excused yourself to take the call, slipping out onto the back proch for some privacy.

"Yes?"

"Mommy?"

"Hello baby, how are you?" Your heart swelled at the sound of your son's voice.

"Mommy, when are you coming home?"

"Did grandma tell you to ask me that?"

A chuckle. "Yes."

You smiled. "Well tell grandma that this is my home now, exactly where I'm at. It's your home too, you know?"

"When are you coming to get me?"

"Do you still mark the days on the calendar I bought you?"

"Yes!" Your son cheered. "Grandma helps me."

"She does, that's good. Ask grandma how many days are left until the train comes to pick you and grandma up to come and see me."

There was a muffled sounds on the other end of the line. Your son running with your mother's cell phone in his hands. You left the porch and puttered around in Katarina and David's backyard, careful not to step on any of the planted flowers.

"Mommy."

Your son returned to the line.

"Yes Johnny?"

"Grandma says there's ten days left until the train leave."

"Ten days. Well then, I'll see you in ten days baby."

"I'll see you Mommy."

"Love you, bye."

"Bye."

You hung up the phone, a large smile on your lips. That smile faltered however, seeing Ruben standing on the porch, arms crossed, fingers drumming his biceps.

"Ruben." You exhaled. You didn't think you'd see him for a while after your little disagreement at the house this morning.

"Aren't you cold?" He asked, somthing very distant in the way he adressed you.

"I was on the phone, I was just about to head inside." You said.

"With your husband?"

You frowned.

"On the phone." Ruben uncrossed his arms,  stepping down from the proch. "Was that your husband, Johnny?"

"Right, yeah." Ruben must have overhead your conversation. "I was on the phone with my husband...Johnny. "

"How is he doing...in the military?" He asked.

"Oh, you know..."

Ruben raised a brow. "I do?"

"He's doing military stuff, taking his time to check in on me." You said, trying not to shiver as the nights cold hit you. "What about you, what are you doing here?"

"Oh." Ruben perked up, fixing his posture. "I...I actually came here to apologize...to you."

"Me?"

He nodded. "This morning. In the barn. I overreacted. You're right, it's your property and you should be allowed to whatever you want with it."

You shook your head. "No Ruben, I understand. The stuff, if you want to keep them there you could. It's alot, and if you're just gonna leave hem there to rot...." You shook your. "Never mind. The barn is yours if you want it."

Ruben stood quiet, his eyes regarding you with slight suspicion. "They told you didn't,  didn't they?"

"What?" Heat rose to your frozen cheeks. "Kate and David...they told you about their daughter, Gina, didn't they."

You held your tounge but nodded.

Ruben sighed, his legs folding as he took a seat on the steps of the porch. You joined him, scooting close as his body generated more heat than yours.

"I should have told you about the house, who it belonged to before I sold it to you." Ruben ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Nothing required you to, unless..."

"Unless?" He turned to you, a wrinkle dented in his forhead.

"You know." You shrugged. "Unless the house is haunted or somthing."

Somthing changed in his face, laughter followed his newfound expression. Ruben laughed, to your suprise. It was lovely as you never heard it before. Ruben really didn't look like a person to laughed but it was lovely, as well as his smile.

"It's not funny." You said, playfully nudging his side.

"Haunted." He chuckled. "You truly believe that I could sell you a haunted house?"

"Well did you?"

Ruben's expression changed again, a look of terror."

"Did you?" You asked, scared as to why he hesitated to answer your question.

"No, Y/N. I didn't sell you a haunted house, although I admit that that house has been haunting me for years."

"I'm sorry about your wife." You said after a time spent in silence.

Ruben looked to you, tilting his head down to meet your eyes as your height difference was ridiculous. "Thank you, but it's been a few years."

"How old would he be, your son?"

You realized that the question had startled him as you felt Ruben's muscles tense beside you. Perhaps he hadn't thought of his son, nor his wife in years.

"Four." He said, nothing more, nothing less.

Four, that's how old , Johnny, your son was. You kept that to yourself though, as it was not the time to tell Ruben about your own family, especially since you had been lying to him about a part of it.

"Your cold." He said.

Ruben must have felt your body leaning closer to him, stealing his heat. Or he had just heard the sound of your teeth, rattling like bones.

Let's get you inside."

"I actually want to stay for a bit longer. They don't look like that in the city." You said.

Ruben frowned, but followed your gaze as your head tilted upwards, admiring the ray of stars in the sky.

He sat back down, but not without removing his jacket, draping it over your shoulders.

"It's a beautiful view, no?" He said. "Moving out here, Gina and I used to spend hours in the fields just watching them, the stars."

"How was she, Gina?"

You looked to Ruben, his eyes mesmerized by the stars. His profile was captivating, rough but sculptured, he was handsome.

"She was like no one I've ever met." Evaporating smoke left Ruben's mouth as his eyes shifted to look at you. "I miss her so much." He said.

It was implusive, yet not terrifying. Although you were practically strangers you felt comfortable with Ruben, connected somehow. And so you grabbed his hand, leaning your head to rest on his shoulder. You felt his palm twitch beneath yours, nevertheless he did not pull away. And so you stayed like that, sitting close, holding hands, with the stars watching over your heads.