#ae reads throne of glass

[ae-neon]

Reading Throne of Glass (16-18)

Tw: has mentions of rape and suicide

Recap:

Princess Nehemia has arrived at the glass castle. She and Celaena clicked instantly.

The king departed on a secret voyage.

Kaltain Rompier remains pretty and rich as fuck.

One of the competitors died a mysterious and gruesome death.

The competition to find a Champion for the King finally started. Celaena might have found an ally in Nox Owen.

Chapter 16

Celaena and Chaol are having an early morning jog.

Celaena tells us Chaol is jogging and sweating lightly in a white shirt because she knows I'll eat it up. And I did.

Celaena throws up a lot. Like I get it's a physical reaction. But...vomiting hurts. The intense muscle cramps, the acid in your throat, it hurts. Vomiting like this everyday should and would damage her body.

2 weeks since Endovier. 10 days since arrival in the capital. 3 days since the 1st Test. Less than 1 month total. 4 days til the next elimination. Keeping score cause sjm timelines are hilarious.

Everything Chaol does is amazing.

Nevermind, as all men do, he immediately did something to show me I was wrong lol. Humbled and humiliated as I should be.

He sucked on his lower lip for a moment. “When did you get those?” She knew he meant the three enormous lines that ran down her back. “When do you think?” she said. He didn’t reply, (...) “Those three, I received my first day in Endovier.” “What did you do to deserve it?”

What if I jump through the page and curb stomp him

She stared at him without entirely seeing him as the ash-gray sky turned into the bleakness of Endovier, and the hiss of the wind became the sighing of slaves. No, it's actually so devastating, what happened to sjm?? This is such good writing.

The next day at practice, one of the competitors tries to run. Got killed instantly by the guards. So at least the castle security aren't chumps.

Again Celaena makes it clear that her escape attempt at Endovier was a suicide attempt. During her chat with Chaol the previous day would have been a better time to first reveal this. They also talk about a woman in the mines who was raped and murdered. Chaol asks if anyone tried to hurt Celaena in the same way

She says she would have killed anyone that tried. But a part of her wonders if Arobynn had paid for her "safety"

I think revealing the escape attempt was actually a suicide attempt would have tied all this together better:

Celaena sees what happened to that woman, she thinks about why no one has come for her yet and realises 2 things: 1) they eventually will come for her, maybe not a slave but a high up guard even and 2) if it is Arobynn keeping her "safe" it's not because he cares about her life but about her body

And then when she snaps, all of this leads her to the attempted suicide.

Dying—rather than playing in the king’s game—was the only choice left to him.

Chapter 17

The Queen and the Crown Prince are hosting a ball or a banquet, or something.

What had his father been thinking when he decided to host this contest? Dorian is asking the real questions.

The queen doesn't know about the competition and the criminals living in the castle? Divorce your husband, ma'am

...she was swathed in yards of forest-green velvet and floating scarves and shawls of gold, and her crown upheld a sparkling veil...

...he was wearing an outfit of his mother’s choosing, sent to him this morning: a vest of dark bluish-green velvet, with almost ridiculously billowy white sleeves bursting from the blue-and-white-striped shoulders. The pants, mercifully, were light gray, though his chestnut suede boots looked too new for masculine pride.

The Havilliards are dripped out.

Rhysand is somewhere crying, still wearing black on black when it's not Illyrian Leather Wednesdays

I like Queen Georgina.

She's worried Dorian frowns too much, he smiles apologetically, they talk about letters Hollin has sent from school - Hollin is naughty and hates school, Dorian was always well behaved - and she tells Dorian he needs to start thinking about marriage.

Do you wish to become king and die without an heir so Hollin can take the throne?” He didn’t answer. “I thought so.” lmao

This moment that hints towards Georgina being racist doesn't quite fit for me. There's something weird about how sjm is handling Eyllwe but that needs to be its own post.

Georgina is right. Dorian should marry Nehemia. (Again, if there's a fic, I need it)

But his father never did anything without a reason—and from the few words he’d exchanged with Nehemia, he couldn’t help but wonder if she had her own motivations in coming here, too.

???????????????????????

Dorian himself is a rebel who told his father to his face that he doesn't want to rule conquered kingdoms but we're supposed to believe he's suspicious of Nehemia because she's rumoured to side with the rebels and wanted to shut down a labour camp??

Dorian agrees with the second bit not because it's slave labour but because he saw "the horrors Endovier inflicted on Celaena Sardothien's body" ????

Celaena hates the kingdom of Ardalan and it's king because he is actively committing genocide but she's glad the people of the White Fang Mountains were oppressed to the point the women and children took their own lives rather than be captured... Because then Chaol - who is in Rifthold and not Anielle AND already gave up his lordship, so actually completely removed from the situation - wouldn't have to fight someone like Cain???

The answer is no. I refuse

“It’s a pity that Lady Kaltain has an agreement with Duke Perrington,” his mother went on. “She’s such a beautiful girl—and so polite. Perhaps she has a sister.”

I literally told y'all: Kaltain Rompier is hot af.

Sarah J Maas make a woman an antagonist without implying she's hypersexual or a sexual abuser challenge: failed.

I wouldn't be bothered or inclined to ignore something like that but it's 3 for 3 and men are never held to the same standard so just like sjm and her stans I'm gonna ignore what I wanna ignore. Sue me.

I like Dorian but SJM will not convince me to sympathise with a man - a prince of an empire, mind you - because he's bored of his nice life.

The idea that Dorian is dissatisfied and feels trapped by his position in life could and should have been conveyed better than that.

Some nobles started dancing, weaving in and out among each other. Many were his age, but he somehow felt as if there existed a vast distance between them. He didn’t feel older, nor did he feel any wiser, but rather he felt . . . He felt . . . He felt as if there were something inside him that didn’t fit in with their merriment, with their willing ignorance of the world outside the castle. It went beyond his title.

This is better.

I hate when authors write nobles or royals who are so surprised and offended at the idea of marriages arranged for power or the producing of heirs. Be serious for a moment, I'm begging you, you are making your character look insane.

Especially since it seems like Dorian has slept with many of these women before. He feels they are good enough to fuck but they aren't good enough to be his wife?? As if they themselves aren't nobles?? Jail.

This immediately makes him look like not just a misogynistic pos - which can maybe excused within the narrative context - it makes him look like a pompous brat, which clashes severely with his "actually smart and rebellious Prince wearing the mask of a flirty brat"

Dorian leaves the ball, restless and comes across Celaena training but...

There she was. Her golden hair shone as she wove in and out of a knot of three guards, her sword little more than a steel extension of her hand. She didn’t balk at the guards as she dodged and twirled around them. Someone began clapping to the left, and the four dueling figures stopped, panting. Dorian watched a grin spread across the assassin’s face as she beheld the source. The sheen of sweat illuminated her high cheekbones, and her blue eyes sparkled. Yes, she was truly lovely. But— Princess Nehemia approached, clapping. She was clad not in her usual white gown, but rather in a dark tunic and loose trousers, and she clutched an ornately carved wooden staff in one hand. The princess clasped the assassin on the shoulder, and said something to the girl that made her laugh.

Nehemia x Celaena >>>>

If Celaena really is sjm's self insert, she had to have had a crush on a girl around this time

Dorian: omg this assassin can't be alone with the Princess! I must intervene.

The Assassin and the Princess: 🤨🙄😒 ummm, we're literally in the middle of something, please leave?

She shrugged and made to turn away. Irritated, but slightly curious, he grabbed her arm. Her turquoise eyes glittered as she stared at his hand, and his heart quickened when her gaze rose to his face. Yes, sweaty as she was, she was beautiful.

"Aren’t you afraid of me?” She glanced at his sword belt. “Or are you as deft at handling your sword as Captain Westfall?” He stepped closer, tightening his grip. “Better,” he whispered in her ear. There: she was blushing and blinking.

I get what's happening but I still feel more for her interactions with Nehemia and Chaol.

“It simply can’t happen. She’s here to learn our customs, not to spar.”

“She’s a princess. She can do what she likes.”

Yea. I really like Celaena. Dorian is down 15 points.

Dorian and Nehemia sparing is unexpected but okay.

I get why this is happening and if the core 4 were our main characters throughout the series I wouldn't mind but I wish SJM had grown out of having every character be able to physically fight.

Chaol and Celaena being fighters make sense, Dorian and Nehemia being able to weapon play to some extent makes sense as well but I want there to be a clearer distinction between the warriors and the politicians.

Chapter 18

Celaena smiled as she watched the Crown Prince of Adarlan lead the Princess of Eyllwe through the basic steps of fencing.

Consider: polyamory

Ah, the first mention of Sam, Celaena's old assassin boyfriend I think. Everyone and their mom is sad about Sam.

Princess Nehemia lunged, slapping Dorian on the wrist with her sword. Celaena bit down her laughter. He grimaced and rubbed the sore joint, but then smiled as the princess began gloating. Damn him for being so handsome! She leaned against the wall and would have enjoyed the lesson had someone not grabbed her arm hard enough to hurt. “What is this?” Dragged from the wall, she found herself facing Chaol. “What is what?” “What is Dorian doing with her?” She shrugged. “Sparring?” “And why are they sparring?” “Because he volunteered to teach her how to fight?” Chaol practically shoved her from him as he approached the pair. They stopped, and Dorian followed Chaol to a corner. They spoke quickly—angrily—before Chaol came back to Celaena. “The guards will take you to your chambers.”

Excuse you?? Rude as hell.

“That’s absurd!” she cried, and a pinch from Chaol kept her voice down. not to bring irl problems into it but on a serious note, sometimes I really worry about Sarah Janet. Pinching, as a sort of warning or punishment for "acting out" is actually one of the most common precursors of domestic violence.

I'm not saying Chaol is abusive or anything. This story obviously stands alone and has morality which is constructed with its context in mind. But Sarah never stops including serious but subtle signs of domestic violence in her romances - even the ones she herself believes to be best. I'm not talking about forcing someone to hike until they collapse or keeping personal information from them or even lashing out in anger - small things like following up disparaging language with assurances of love, pinching, being overly nice to everyone else but telling one person they have to act a certain way to earn that same level of affection etc the little things slip through the cracks and poison the minds of impressionable people

Celaena brings up her vomiting and the damage to her body. Very well done.

Anyways Celaena and Chaol argue and he orders her back to her room. The second Test is coming up the next day.

----------

The familiar cracks are starting to show - sjm will build up her characters to be a certain way then betray their characterisation through hypocritical thoughts or actions. She does this to try to show the reader that the character is changing how they think for the sake of the love interest but we're two weeks and less than 20 chapters in. It just makes the characters look flaky.

Overall I'm still riding the high of it being so much better than acotar

Chaol and Dorian are both down points

Nehemia and Celaena are precious darlings

Queen Georgina Havilliard is a legend. I love moms being moms.

[tomtenadia]

I posted 1,882 times in 2022

331 posts created (18%)

1,551 posts reblogged (82%)

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I tagged 331 of my posts in 2022

#rowaelin - 150 posts

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#aelin galathynius - 104 posts

#early morning reblog - 40 posts

#throne of glass fanfiction - 39 posts

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Longest Tag: 58 characters

#the other wants to see her throwing ass at the clubs in cc

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Cuddles for Rowaelin? ❤️

Thanks for the prompt

900 words of fluff

In your arms

Rowan was running late.

Work had been a nightmare and his boss had scheduled an extra meeting that had lasted longer than expected. He was now in the car and was driving trying to ran the few errands that his wife had dumped on him. Or more likely that had been assigned to him. His wife was seven months pregnant with twins and her doctor had put her on bed rest.

Aelin had hated it, but in the house he had created a system so that she had everything very close and no need to stand up.

Which meant that errands were his duty. Something he’d do gladly. The pregnancy had been a blessing and a surprise. Aelin had a lot of problems to conceive. They had been married for five years  and it took them few rounds of IVF and a few miscarriages before it finally happened. They were both in tears when the OB/GYN told them they were expecting twins. They went from being almost resigned to the fact that they might never be able to have kids, to this. Aelin’s pregnancy had been rocky though and she suffered from HG and a few times they had to have trips to the hospital because of her extreme dehydration. With time it had improved but other problems threatened to appear so Aelin was firstly told to work from home. Luckily his wife was a book editor and could easily work from home. Then a month ago had arrived the news of bed rest. Aelin had been mad but Rowan had bought her a lovely laptop table for her lap and a trolley to keep bed side with all she needed. 

He had planned to stop at her bakery and get her all of her favourite treats. That was the first stop, he could not risk not bringing home anything.

It was over an hour later when he finally managed to park in front of the lovely house they had bought in the outskirts of Orynth. It was so much later than planned but he had enough chocolate that she might forgive him.

With bags in his hands he opened the door and once inside removed his shoes “Aelin, I am finally home…”

In the kitchen he dumped all of his bags and walked quickly to the bedroom “Aelin?”

She was sitting with her back propped against the bed headboard and was concentrated on the screen of her laptop. Her specs reflecting the document she was reading.

“Ae?” He moved closer and brushed his hand in her hair.

“Hi you,”

She looked tired and Rowan worried.

“Sorry I am late, shitty day at work.” He stooped and kissed her then sat on the edge of the bed “are you okay?”

“Fucking nausea. I have eaten nothing but crackers all day.”

His gaze moved to the cart and saw that the crackers were gone and a few slices of apple lay abandoned.

“Shame,” he kissed her on her forehead “I had chocolate treats for you.”

“Can I have them tomorrow?”

She must be really unwell. It was very rare for Aelin to pass on chocolate.

“Let me get changed.”

He disappeared and Aelin caressed her bump. Their two girls have been very active and sleep had become a luxury too.

“Yes, dad is back,” she cooed.

Rowan appeared a moment later in short and a t-shirt and climbed on bed. Aelin moved her laptop away and extended her arms to him.

Rowan ignored her and his hands went on her swollen belly “Hello, my loves. Have you been nice to mum?”

He felt a powerful kick and Aelin groaned. Then he had an idea.

“What about we cuddle in the tub? Relax with me?”

She smiled and kissed him again “Please. I need to cuddle my dear husband.”

See the full post

73 notes - Posted August 4, 2022

#4

Second chances...

I don’t even remember how the idea of this fic came to more, but it’s a second chance Rowaelin. It was meant to be a short one shot... it turned out a monster of almost 6k words... and a bit of a rollercoaster. There is angst, but well.. as the title says...

CW: divorce, some hurt/comfort and a brief mention of a death (non MC I promise) I hope you will enjoy it.

Aelin walked around the living room collecting her stuff for work “Maya, are you ready? We need to go.” “I am coming, I am looking for my hockey bag.”

Aelin went to her daughter’s room and helped her find the bag. Maya was in a girls hockey team “Here it is. You are just as messy as me.”

Maya kissed her mother “thanks.”

The two left the house and went to the car “you got all your stuff at your dad’s?”

Maya nodded.

Aelin and Rowan were divorced. They had married at a very young age after they found out taht Aelin was pregnant. Rowan being the responsible one had offered to provide for her and thought that marriage was the best option. But they were young, Rowan twenty one and Aelin nineteen and the weight of responsibilities started to take a toll on them pretty quickly affecting as well their relationship. With the passing of time they came to the realisation that they had married for the wrong reason and slowly drifted apart, after each fight spread the abysm separating them even further. Until it was too much and the word divorce was mentioned. They agreed it was the best option especially for their daughter’s sake. So as little as two years later they had gone separate ways. Custody had been easy had agreed on sharing Maya equally.

And so they moved on with their lives, leaving behind that small parenthesis when they tried to be a family.

Aelin went to become a paediatric doctor whereas Rowan got hired by an engineering company and was now quite high in the company. They would see each other at school meeting or Maya’s games, but outside those engagements their interactions were minimal.

Maya knew better, though. When her parents were together she had studied their interactions. She saw them alone and together and only when they were with each other she could see happiness.

She was twelve and probably did not know much about love, but of one thing was sure, her parents, despite their stubbornness, still loved each other.

Her mission now, was to get her parents back together. Be a family again.

They eventually reached the school and Aelin leaned over to kiss her daughter “Dad will pick you up at practice tonight.”

Maya grabbed her stuff “Ok.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, mum.”

Maya left the car and Aelin watched her enter the school and sighed. A part of her hated when it was Rowan’s turn. A whole week without her daughter. She missed her and the house felt empty. 

Rowan though, had the same right as her. And while she had been terrified when she discovered she was pregnant, he had been her rock. He held her and spent the afternoon whispering it’s all going to be okay over and over again. Tears threatened to spill. Absentmindedly she touched the necklace and brushed the ring that hung from it. It was her wedding ring. She had removed it from her finger but always carried it with her. She kept telling herself that they had done the right thing, that Maya’s welfare was the outmost important thing… but it was hard and sometimes she wondered whether  it really had been the wisest choice.

She sighed once more and eventually drove to work.

*

Rowan had left work a bit early and arrived at the ice rink well before practice finished. He loved watching his daughter play even though it brought back memories of an alternate life from long ago. Maya was a forward and was actually really good at it. Both he and Aelin were big hockey fans and slowly had passed the passion onto her and when she was older and had begged her parents to join a team they had agreed to let her do it. He watched his daughter glide on the ice with incredible skill, pass the defence and score a goal. He whooped loudly, pride bursting out of him.

It was an hour later when they were back home, Maya had gone to get showered and changed and he was busy making dinner when she joined him in the kitchen “I am making mac and cheese tonight, I think you deserve it.”

Maya grinned and sat on the table “dad, I invited mum to Saturday’s game, it’s a big one and I want her there.”

Rowan turned “of course. She can always come.”

Maya nodded and accepted her plate with food and geared up for the question that she had been burning to ask for a while now. She stuffed her face with her dad’s amazing food then paused  “Dad, why you and mum don’t live together like all the other parents?”

Rowan stared at his daughter with the fork half way to his mouth. They had sort of explained the situation to Maya when she was younger, but he was aware that she was growing up and that soon they’d have to explain to her what happened in more details. He knew Maya would have questions soon. It seemed that the moment was that evening and Rowan froze. Aelin should be there too because they had agreed to have the conversation with both of them present, to offer Maya a full picture. They had separated peacefully and both tried very hard never to complain about the other parent.

He placed the fork down and gathered his courage “Maya, your mum and I got married very young after we found out we were expecting you,” he started to explain. He wanted to make sure that Maya did not feel like she was the cause of their problems “We were so young and at the time we thought marriage was the answer, but then things got hard, we fought a lot, so we decided that it was better, for you, if we split up. Making sure you were happy was our priority.”

Maya was silent and Rowan worried.

See the full post

76 notes - Posted November 9, 2022

#3

Aelin’s Week - Day5 - Aelin and pregnancy

Here we go with day 5. This fic has a little bit of angst but I promise it will end in pure fluff.

THIS IS US

The two lines on the stick on the counter in the bathroom stared back at her. Pregnant. She was pregnant. The truth finally in front of her after a full week of feeling lousy and sick. It was not a bad bug. No it was something far more permanent. 

She grabbed the stick and the box and compared the guidance images. Two lines. Definitely positive. In a quick burst of desperation she threw the items on the counter and with her back leaned against the wall and then let her body slid down until she was sitting on the cold floor.

She did not even bother asking herself who was the father because there was only answer.

Rowan.

And the realisation of the situation almost triggered a panic attack.

Rowan.

It had been a night stand. A relapse in what had been a very messy and complicated relationship. They had started dating after uni. Two years together, then he took a job in Doranelle and they broke it off when distance started to take a toll on both. Two years later he had come back to Orynth after he was offered a much better job. He had come back to her and they tried. But life, fate, work and being adult did its best to tear them apart and succeeded five months prior when they called it off again, realising that they were just hurting each other. It had been hard. Aelin knew Rowan was her soulmate, but for some reason they did not seem to be able to stick together.

Until two months before when at her friend Lysandra and her cousin Aedion’s wedding they had hooked up. They hadn’t seen each other in three months. And when she saw him in a nice suit old feelings came back.

So when he asked for a dance Aelin did not refuse. For the entire night they had danced only with each other. It had been perfect. Being so close to him once more. Inhaling his scent of pine and snow that she had missed. It felt like being finally back home. Because no matter what everything that had passed between the two she knew that he was her home. He had driven her home and walked Aelin to the door like a proper gentleman and that’s when he kissed her. And the kiss led to much more. She let herself drown again in the feeling of being in his arms, his kisses, their naked body against each other and the feeling that being again with  him in flesh and soul elicited. They were meant to be… but why? Why couldn’t they make it work?”

And now two months later she had to deal with the results of that night. The following morning they had decided to leave it as a one night stand and go back to their own lives. Aelin had almost told him. Almost blurted out the words weighing on her soul. She loved him. She never stopped loving him and never will. In the end she decided otherwise. He had probably moved on and she had just been a hook up at a wedding.

She sighed. She could do that alone. It will be fine.

**

Aelin was standing in front a very familiar door. She hadn’t been there in a long time.

She was nervous and almost felt sick. Sickness that was in part due to her pregnancy. Her sicknesses had lingered far longer than expected and had been quite bad too. She had been a wreck and now, five months in, she was already looking forward to the day she’d be able to enjoy a full meal without feeling nauseous.

Lysandra and Elide had been at her side and both of them had convinced that she had to tell Rowan. He was the father, he had the right to know. It had taken Aelin two weeks to decide and now she was in front of his door. In the morning she had her twenty weeks scan and the doctor had been able to tell her the sex of the baby. They were having a girl and where she wanted to scream in joy, a part of her was terrified at telling him. She had no idea on how he’d react. She had made a mess of things. Of that she was certain.

Aelin took a deep breath and knocked. A minute passed and she was about to go away when the door opened and Rowan stood in front of her. Still the same handsome man, his pine green eyes on her “Aelin?”

She noticed the moment he spotted her bump. His eyes widened in surprise.

“Mind if I come in?”

Without adding a word Rowan pulled aside and let her in and Aelin entered the familiar house and walked to the sofa. Nothing had changed. His modern flat with a living room full of bookcases was her favourite part of his house. Books, they had both been crazy bookworms. That’s what had brought them together. A night at the uni library had been their first meeting.

“This place hasn’t changed,” her hand on her bump while taking in the surroundings.

“I just added a few more books. The bookstore must be tired of seeing me.”

“Nah, you bring business.”

He never sat down. He was still standing in front of her, his eyes fix on the bump.

“What are you doing here?” The bite in his words was almost too much. Gods, that had been a mistake.

 She stood quickly and tried to leave but he grabbed her wrist “Aelin… you are pregnant.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” she bit back “and this was a mistake.”

Rowan’s hand did not lessen his grip on her.

See the full post

86 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

#2

Drunken Cuddles

My stupid assignment is finally out of the way. It sucks but I don’t care. I am finally free to write some more Rowaelin.  This is an answered prompt:

Prompt: Clingy Rowan please, cuddles and all the good stuff

It’s pure fluff with a very needy Buzzard.

@rowaelinprompts

-------

DRUNKEN CUDDLES

Aelin loved having an evening all to herself. She loved her husband dearly but on occasion, it was nice to be able to have total control of the TV to watch silly rom-coms without Rowan commenting on them or even just order take out, stuff her face until she was full and finish the night with a slice of chocolate cake without guilt trips on how her diet was verging on terrifying. Rowan was an healthy eater and not a fan of sweets. He was her weirdo and at the altar she had promised to love him for better and for worse and embrace all his weird quirks. That evening the boys had gone out. Lorcan was a professional hockey player and had finally scored the contact of a lifetime. He and Rowan were the only married ones, the rest of the gang was still single so when they asked Aelin and Elide to join them, the two women had agreed to let their men enjoy their night out like the good old times. Both wives had reiterated the necessity to leave the business of flirting with girls to their single friends. Aelin trusted Connall and Vaughan but Fenrys had a hard time dealing with the concept of monogamy. The movie had reached an interesting moment, she was all tucked under a blanket and polishing off a gigantic slice of chocolate hazelnut cake she had bought from Emrys that morning, when someone knocked at the door.

Aelin sighed. It was eleven o’clock at night, who wanted to suffer her wrath?

With a burst of anger she flung the door open and in front of her stood Lorcan, holding up a Rowan who was clearly wasted.

“Sorry,” apologised the tall man “The party got a bit wilder than I expected. Blame Fenrys.” “Believe me, I will.”

Lorcan moved a step in the house and Rowan shifted and groaned. In that instant his green eyes focused on Aelin and a stupid grin appeared on his face “Lor, look, there is a pretty girl in front of us.”

Aelin almost burst out laughing, but restrained herself. “I took all the others home already, you guys live nearby and now I can go home.”

“Lor, can I talk to the pretty lady?”

The man groaned “Do you want me to help you carry him in bed? He is kinda of a dead weight.”

“Lor, I am a firefighter, I carry people out of building on fire. I will be fine.”

Lorcan passed the man to his wife “Now you behave.”

“I am going with the pretty lady?” His green eyes had lit up in happiness and Aelin had a rush of tenderness.

With practice she pulled Rowan to her “go to Elide, and thanks for looking after him.”

Lorcan nodded and disappeared away and Aelin started dragging Rowan inside “Come on, Ro you need a good sleep and then tomorrow you can think about the fact that you are not nineteen anymore and can’t hold your alcohol like you used to.”

“You hair is so pretty. Can I touch it?” He shifted in his arms and Aelin almost lost her grip. They finally made it to the bedroom and dumped her husband and went to gran his t-shirt and shirts that he used to sleep.

She pulled him up to a seated position and he flopped against her. Damn stripping him to change would be a nightmare.

“I love your smell…” she felt his arms sneak around her neck “Can you be my girlfriend?”

Aelin laughed hard and pulled his face in front of her “I am your wife.”

His eyes widened in surprise “Are you sure?” He slurred.

Aelin pulled him again closer to her and grabbed their left hands and showed him the matching silver bands “See?”

In that instant his arms folder around her waist “Mine. The pretty lady is mine.”

“Ro, come on, let’s get you in more comfy clothes and get you to bed.”

“No,” he added stubbornly and tightened his hold on her “You are not leaving.”

Aelin sighed. It had been so long since he had been so badly wasted that she had forgotten that Rowan turned super clingy and needy.

See the full post

104 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Rowan fell to his knees before her, putting his head in her lap as his arms wrapped around her waist. “I can’t bear it, Aelin. I can’t.”

Rowan was the only one who fought for Aelin. He refused to let her give up her life while everyone just accepted she had to die.

And to see him this broken... This scene always destroys me.

282 notes - Posted January 10, 2022

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[minhui896]

i think maybe you've read everything on this list but it is still a nice try!

MINGHAO RECOMMENDATIONS:

Throne of Glass @sunlightwoo https://sunlightwoo.tumblr.com/post/613666990068023296/kingdom-come-series-throne-of-glass 

To Love Easily @minghaoyoudoin https://minghaoyoudoin.tumblr.com/post/717828782998929408/to-love-easily

The Letter @toruro https://www.tumblr.com/toruro/719081765334106112/the-letter-x-minghao-x-reader

felix felicis @blue-jisungs https://www.tumblr.com/blue-jisungs/718495457920319488/felix-felicis

And We Meet Again @idyllic-ghost https://www.tumblr.com/idyllic-ghost/719359121341743104/title-and-we-meet-again-pairing-immortalminghao?source=share

Redamancy @escapewriter (???? X Y/N) https://escapewriter.tumblr.com/post/632967937346699264/redamancy

What Would I Do? @sungbeam https://www.tumblr.com/sungbeam/688326697408462848/%F0%9D%90%B0%F0%9D%90%A1%F0%9D%90%9A%F0%9D%90%AD-%F0%9D%90%A2-%F0%9D%90%B0%F0%9D%90%A8%F0%9D%90%AE%F0%9D%90%A5%F0%9D%90%9D-%F0%9D%90%9D%F0%9D%90%A8 

Flight of the Stars @toruro https://www.tumblr.com/toruro/733644156638003200/flight-of-the-stars

We Shouldn’t Have Ended Like This @shuaraes https://www.tumblr.com/shuaraes/737706175500550144/we-shouldnt-have-ended-like-this-xmh

Sequel: I Should’ve Never Let You Go @shuaraes https://www.tumblr.com/shuaraes/740621435387691008/i-shouldve-never-let-you-go-xmh 

I need urgently, desperately, some Minghao x reader fanfic recomendation with plot and I’ve already read so much and not finding anything it’s killing me! TnT

[mysticsrose]

BOOKS I READ IN 2018: heir of fire by sarah j. maas

“She was the heir of ash and fire, and she would bow to no one.”

[sabraeal]

A Coin to the Hangman

[Read on AO3]

From above, Tar Valon sits like a coin between the fingers of the River Erinin, a trick not yet taken. Even now, Obi expects to see it flash across knuckle-backs, weaving in and out as a caller takes his bets. Fitting, since this blasted Tower is the best sleight of hand he’s seen outside some Light-begotten back alley, and all of the Westlands has fallen for it like some hayseed fallen straight from the wagon.

The plaza is churning with revelers, all celebrating the arrival of Cairhien’s princes. Oh, the people of Tar Valon may scorn those who claim fealty to an ass upon a throne, but tonight they rejoice as if these ones were their own, their perfect princes with flaxen hair and eyes as bright as jewels. Even from here, Obi can make out the stained-glass flower of Wisteria on their pennants, snapping sharply in the wind.

He snorts, the sound carried away into the shadow. These Aes Sedai claim themselves free of men, but it is as Tevta always told him: a tiger cannot help but show its stripes. He saw well enough the looks that passed between Amyrlin and would-be king; this feast is nothing more than a flirtation, a lover’s game writ large for the whole world to see.

A fine enough distraction for Obi’s business. Better for the marath’damane to let themselves be seduced by the song of power that such men sing. Certainly he would have never gotten this far if the Warders barred his way; after all, trainees were not allowed in the White Tower. No, that was an honor saved solely for the witches’ creatures, men led around by their necks like a damane without a single leash in sight. Any other night he would have been sent away, told to find a Sister that would take pity on a scrawny boy like him.

But it is not his so-called brothers who watch the Tower now. No, that would be the Cairhienin, outnumbering them two-to-one, and in their eyes, any man with a camouflage cloak is Warder. Haruka’s had done the job as well as any, and oh, how that old man will burn to know that it was his that was around the shoulders of the one who burnt this pile to embers.

The wind whips past him, prying at his fingers and threatening to throw him from the stone. A hundred spans stretch between him and the plaza beneath, the strength of his grip-- and these ornaments-- the only thing between him and a lethal dose of failure. But it's useless to fear death; he hasn’t, these ten long years, and he won’t now-- not when the end is already so close, and all that is left is the mission

You will go into that Tower one day, Tevta had told him, glaring up at those stones. But you will not come out of it.

I know, he’d said, just a boy. I know.

Silver burns at his wrist, the way it has every day since she slipped it on him, the bands closing in like a noose. Ten long years he’s worn them, smiling when his brothers tugged his pretty trinkets, laughing as they asked if he hoped to catch the eye of some pretty Sister--

Oh, he’d hum, mouth curling around a secret. I know it will catch at least one.

It’d been a clever answer, or at least a coy one, the sort that kept his brothers at arm’s length without feeling that they’d been put there. Or at least, it had been until a few months ago, when Shiira had simply laughed, And I think we all know which one Nanaki is hoping for.

Carved stone bites dully into his gloves, blunted by time and leather. Let them think what they like, that little Accepted has never-- he’s never--

He huffs, shaking his head, knocking a bit of loose stone from beneath his feet. There’s no time to be thinking about this; the Amyrlin might linger at the banquet, wooed by minstrels’ songs and the prince’s sweet words, but the last thing he needs is to get made when he’s hanging by his fingers. Not that it’s likely to happen, but all one of those clods below has to do is look up.

No moon marks him as he scurries the last few feet to the window, hoisting himself onto its casement. With a quick pass of a blade, Obi succeeds where so many have failed, slipping right through the Tower’s much-vaunted security into the Amyrlin’s inner sanctum.

Now all there is to wait. It’s hours yet until dawn, and with princes to impress and a royal entourage to entertain, she’ll doubtlessly be in the Hall for--

“Mind your boots,” a feminine voice warns, muffled through the door. “I’ll have you know, the carpets are priceless.” 

Burn him, but his luck is shit. It seems that even in this bloody tower, when the cat’s away the mice will play. Leave it to these meddlesome witches to violate even what they hold sacred--

“I promise,” a masculine one rumbles, “it will not be the first I’ve ruined.”

Obi stiffens, every drop of blood in his veins turning to ice. That is not just any man’s voice, oh not, but-- but--

“Izana,” the Amyrlin sighs, that playful way girls do when they want their worries to be replaced by kissing. “Do you mean to make me write your mother? She would be horrified to know that you were such a poor guest, and in the White Tower as well.”

The Prince of Cairhien hums, a sound nearly lost in the groan of the door as it opens. “Perish the thought.”

And just like that, he stands in the presence of the two most powerful minds of the Westlands, with only the shadows to cover him.

It takes but a breath for him to act, dropping to a crouch so deep his thighs burn. As a boy, he could squat for hours, playing dice and cards in back alleys and street corners for hours before nature would catch up with him. But now he creeps frog-like across the floor, crawling to where the shadows spread thickest, and curses every inch. Warders may be trained to move silently, to strike from the shadows, but they were not meant to move as sneak-thieves in the night.

“So this is the inner sanctum of the Amyrlin.” Boot heels clack across the floor, muffled when they reach that priceless carpet. “Somehow I expected something more...opulent. Ornate, maybe. Something more befitting of a queen.”

Obi blinks. Trust a prince to look at a desk sung into shape by an Ogier and a carpet woven in Kirendad and find it lacking.

“I’m sorry to disappoint, Your Highness,” the Amyrlin hums, not the least bit contrite. “But the Seat is not just one of power, but of service. I am much less a queen and more a...steward. I distinction that I’m sure Her Majesty has conveyed to you many a time.”

The prince’s back is to him, but still, Obi hears the way his lips curl around the words, all satisfaction. “Only every time I speak of you. Though she’s more apt to name you parent rather than steward.”

His fingertips drag over the smooth sung-wood, an invitation to think on where else they might linger. Light preserve him, but he does not need to see this witch and her Westerland prince flirt.

“I suppose that is why they call you Mother,” he murmurs thoughtfully, tracing down the spine of a quill. “Is that what you would like me to call you now?”

His voice drops, and it is not only the Amyrlin that shivers. Burn him, but a man that looks the way His Highness doesn’t need such a silver tongue as well. The Wheel certainly has its favorites.

Her head shakes, the golden loops of her hair quivering in the lamplight. “There’s no need for that, not from you.” Her eyelashes flutter, and though all these Sedai are ageless, the Amyrlin has never looked more like a girl. “You are not one of my children after all.”

The Amyrlin take no husbands, but light hits her, illuminating her eyes like the sun behind sapphires, and Obi realizes-- this one might have been a woman who expected to, until the Tower had its way. One who might have been a queen in truth had she never learned how deep the river of saidar ran.

And had she been born across the sea, into his streets, she would live on her knees, the way her kind were meant to.

A laugh chimes from the prince’s chest, but it’s off-tune, a note just nearly missed. “If I were, it would certainly put what happened between us beyond the pale.”

The Amyrlin gasps, and oh, they might not take husbands, but Obi is suddenly aware that they might yet lay with men. A possibility he’ll be in a position to witness, if he keeps hiding around this corner, listening to Cairhien’s prince make love to her. “N-nothing ever happened between us.”

“Is that so?” She turns from the prince as he approaches, words silken and honeyed. “I remember a kiss, stolen behind shelves.”

This would be the time to move-- both their backs are to him, and it would be easy to slip through the window, to wait in the whipping winds for their business to finish and their eyes to close, but--

But steel flashes golden in the light, poised above her, and in an instant he knows: that is not simply a knife, but something more, something darker. He moves, but it is not toward his window, not like how he means to, but toward the prince, hands outstretched.

“Mother!” he calls out, cursing himself as she turns, those gem-lit eyes widening. A silver bangle parts beneath his grasp, and it is not until his body slams into blue velvet that he realizes-- he is saving her. A damane is not worth the spittle a man sprays on her, but yet here he is, clasping the a’dam made for her around this man’s neck, struggling to keep him on the ground.

A fool’s move, now that he has a moment to think. The a’dam is meant to hold a damane, not a man; without that perverted power running through him--

A spark fizzles beneath his skin. Obi’s joints stiffen, terror gripping him as he sees the knife laying on the floor, as he realizes the blade is not steel but carved onyx. Not a noble’s dagger, cast by a smith to meet a need but-- but--

An angreal. No, not just any angreal, meant to be used by a witch who could channel, but a sa’angreal, forged in the Age of Legends, able to channel enough power to kill even the mother of the Aes Sedai.

A useless item to a man. Unless, unless...

That spark becomes flame, becomes a conflagration, racing up the track of his arm, barreling toward his heart. There’s a scream, and it’s not until he’s on his back that he realizes it’s his, he is the one screaming into the night, so loud glass could shatter.

The a’dam is meant for damane, and damane are not men. No, there are stories about such things, about the disasters that are wrought by a man being bound by a sul’dam, and he hasn’t just bound a channeler, but--but--

“Darkfriend,” the Amyrlin hisses, her slipped shuffling away from where they struggle. “Izana...when? How could you have...?”

He wants to warn her it is not that, that the trouble is far, far worse, but he cannot answer, not when it is taking all he has to keep the fire from his heart. It is little comfort that the prince is no more comfortable, gasping and writhing as he claws at his neck, foul shadows weaving between his fingers before gasping into nothing. It is Tevta who is the sul’dam, no matter her disgrace, Tevta who should be the one handling this snake of a man, but she is not here.

All they have is him.

The fire burns inside him; a pain so searing that even he can’t contain it, can’t will it away. It eats at him, gnawing, consuming, trying to make its way to his chest, but--

But he grips it. Not with his hands, but with his mind, pulling and pulling even as his vision blurs, white around the edges, then black. It hurts so much he can barely stand it, struggling to stay conscious, and that-- that is how he knows it’s the right thing.

Well, that and the way the prince rears onto his knees, clawing at his throat, screaming and screaming until--

The silver breaks. And all at once, the prince is gone, only the barest hint of shadow remaining behind.

“Ah,” he rasps, his head dropping against the priceless carpet. “Does that make me king now?”

“Nanaki!”

Ah, look at that. The Amyrlin knows his name. One of them, at least.

“Nanaki, stay--” she crouches over him, flinching as she stares down at his chest. “Oh, blood and ashes. Tomomi. Tomomi!”

Distantly, he hears a door fly open. “Mother! What--?”

“Bring that girl to me.” There’s steel in her eyes when the Amyrlin looks back at him. “The one sitting with Zen. We’re going to need one of her miracles tonight.”

Don’t, he wants to say as black rolls over his vision. If I see her again, I might like her.

When he wakes, he’s warm. In terrible pain, but...comfortable.

“Ah!” That gasp bubbles through him, curiosity opening his eyes before conscious thought can. The room is bleary, the sunlight turning everything bright and painful, but he makes out red, and then green far too close. “Obi, you’re awake.”

“Am I?” he mutters blearily. “Where...?”

He glances down at his wrist, bandages tight and aching beneath them. To his chest, covered in a cloth so bloody it’s brown. He’s alive, and yet...

His brows furrow. “How do you know that name?”

“Ah...”

Her smile comes into focus, the one he hates to see, only today it’s toothy and nervous, not sweet. Enough to set his own heart into a rabbit’s beat, fluttering and anxious, and--

That’s not his. That anxiety, it’s-- it’s--

“Stay calm,” Shirayuki tells him, her name as known to him as all of his. “I’m afraid...I had to do something that was very...unpopular.”

He blinks slowly, calming his racing pulse. He can’t help but notice that her own breathing calms as well. “Is it something I’m not going to like?”

“I don’t know you well enough to say, but...” Silver flashes behind his eyes, the memory of a charred bracelet on the ground by a wrist. His wrist. “I’m going to guess...no.”

“Oh,” he groans, eyes closed. Isn’t that just his luck. “Blood and ashes.”

[travelingviabooks]

Up Next

Because I’m awful at deciding what to read next, I put all of my TBR shelves into a random generator to pick for me. Any new books will be added to the end of the list.

“Children of Hurin” JRR Tolkien

“No Longer Human” by Osamu Dazai

“The Stand-In” by Lily Chu

“Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy

“War Trash” by Ha Jin

“The Raven Boys” by Maggie Stiefvater

“Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro

“The Host” by Stephenie Meyer

“A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson

“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka

“Ali and Nino” by Kurban Said

“Tale of Genji” by Lady Murasaki

“Lovers of Algeria” by Anouar Benmalek

“Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee

“Killing Commendatore” by Haruki Murakami

“The Buddhist on Death Row” by David Sheff

“The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen

“A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World” by C.A. Fletcher

“Wicked” by Gregory Maguire

“The Last Gentleman Adventurer” by Edward Beauclerk Maurice

“Dragon Springs Road” by Janie Chang

“Watership Down” by Richard Adams

“You’ve Reached Sam” by Dustin Thao

“Evil and the Mask” by Fuminori Nakamura

“Tales from the Cafe” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

“Before Your Memory Fades” by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

“I Am a Cat” by Sōseki Natsume

“Wind/Pinball” by Haruki Murakami

“The Island of Missing Trees” by Elif Shafak

“The Ministry of Special Cases” by Nathan Englander

“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe

“They Both Die At The End” by Adam Silvera

“Crazy Rich Asians” by Kevin Kwan

“Absolutely on Music” by Haruki Murakami

“A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara

“The Buried Giant” by Kazuo Ishiguro

“Malice” by Keigo Higashino

“A Tale for the Time Being” by Ruth Ozeki

“Game of Thrones” by George R.R. Martin

“Watch Over Me” by Nina Lacour

“Goodbye Tsugumi” by Banana Yoshimoto

“White Ivy” by Susie Yang

“Bastard out of Carolina” by Dorothy Allison

“First They Killed My Father” by Loung Ung

“Yokohama Yankee” by Leslie Helm

“A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas

“Seoulmates” by Susan Lee

“Infinite Country” by Patricia Engel

“Silent Parade” by Keigo Higashino

“Men Without Women” by Ernest Hemingway

“Purple Hibiscus” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“The Red Palace” by June Hur

“Through A Darkening Glass” by R.S. Maxwell

“Inventing Japan” by Ian Buruma

“Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie

“The Gangster We Are All Looking For” by Lê Thi Diem Thúy

“Red At the Bone” by Jacqueline Woodson

“Stranger in the Shogun’s City” by Amy Stanley

“Midnight in Broad Daylight” by Pamela Rotner Sakamoto

“Kokoro” by Natsume Sôseki

“Some Prefer Nettles” by Junichiro Tanizaki

“Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor” by Xiran Jay Zhao

“The Princess Diarist” by Carrie Fisher

“Firekeeper’s Daughter” by Angeline Boulley

“Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All” by Jonas Jonasson

“I Am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai

“There There” by Tommy Orange

“The Travelling Cat Chronicles” by Hiro Arikawa

“Pearl of China” by Anchee Min

“Slasher Girls & Monster Boys” by April Genevieve Tucholke

“A Hundred Thousand Worlds” by Bob Proehl

“The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis” by José Saramago

“My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” by Fredrik Backman

“Memoirs of a Polar Bear” by Yoko Tawada

“Little Fires Everywhere” by Celeste Ng

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo

“Fallout” by Lesley M.M. Blume

“Natural Rivals” by John Clayton

“The Mermaid from Jeju” by Sumi Hahn

“The Women I Think About At Night” by Mia Kankimäki

“In Praise of Difficult Women” by Karen Karbo

“On Trails: An Exploration” by Robert Moor

“Four Treasures of the Sky” by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

“Solito” by Javier Zamora

“Gideon: The Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir

“Circe” by Madeline Miller

“The Girl With Seven Names: Escape From North Korea” by Hyeonseo Lee

“Above the Clouds” by Kilian Jornet

“The Only Child” by Mi-Ae Seo

“We Are Not From Here” by Jenny Torres Sanchez

“The Gilded Ones” by Namina Forna

“Within These Wicked Walls” by Lauren Blackwood

“In The Serpent’s Wake” by Rachel Hartman

“The Miracles of the Namiya General Store” by Keigo Higashino

“The Marriage of Opposites” by Alice Hoffman

“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky

“Under a Painted Sky” by Stacey Lee

“Frankly in Love” by David Yoon

“Both Can Be True” by Jules Machias

“The Viking Heart” by Arthur Herman

“Spin the Dawn” by Elizabeth Lim

“Unravel the Dusk” by Elizabeth Lim

“Last Night at the Telegraph Club” by Malinda Lo

“Zen in the Art of Archery” by Eugen Herrigel

“Gasa-Gasa Girl” by Naomi Hirahara

“Our Bodies, Their Battlefields” by Christina Lamb

“Icebound” by Andrea Pitzer

“Cursed” by Thomas Wheeler

“Beijing Payback” by Daniel Nieh

“From Little Tokyo With Love” by Sarah Kuhn

“The Chosen and the Beautiful” by Nghi Vo

“Where Oceans Burn” by Casey L. Bond

“The Night Tiger” by Yangsze Choo

“Sweet Bean Paste” by Durian Sukegawa

“O Beautiful” by Jung Yun

“I Am China” by Xiaolu Guo

“Too Much Lip” by Melissa Lucashenko

“Songbirds” by Christy Lefteri

“Rebel Seoul” by Axie Oh

“Rogue Heart” by Axie Oh

“The Emissary” by Yoko Tawada

“Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation 1” by Mo Dao Zu Shi

“The One and Only Ivan” by Katherine Applegate

“The One and Only Bob” by Katherine Applegate

“Tokyo Ueno Station” by Yu Miri

“Nowhere for Very Long” by Brianna Madia

“Mutant Message Down Under” by Marlo Morgan

“Outlawed” by Anna North

“Snow Country” by Yasunari Kawabata

“Wolf Nation” by Brenda Peterson

“Coyote America” by Dan Flores

“Adventures of a Young Naturalist” by David Attenborough

“Silence” by Shūsaku Endō

“The Lonesome Body Builder” by Yukiko Motoya

“Leaving Mother Lake” by Yang Erche Namu & Christine Mathieu

“A Personal Matter” by Kenzaburō Ōe

“Sour Heart” by Jenny Zhang

“Bullet Train” by Kotaro Isaka

“Strange the Dreamer” by Laini Taylor

“The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden & The Trial of the Century” by Sarah Miller

“The Island of Sea Women” by Lisa See

“The Lovely and the Lost” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

“Falling” by T.J. Newman

“The Inheritance Games” by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

“Amari and the Night Brothers” by B.B. Alston

“I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki” by Baek Sehee

“This Savage Song” by Victoria Schwab

“Howl’s Moving Castle” by Diana Wynne Jones

“Seven Deadly Shadows” by Courtney Alameda and Valynne E. Maetani

“Empress of All Seasons” by Emiko Jean

“The Revenant” by Michael Punke

“Summer of the Big Bachi” by Naomi Hirahara

“The Sunbearer Trials” by Aiden Thomas

“Road Trip Rwanda” by Will Ferguson

“The Next Everest” by Jim Davidson

“Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer

“Vagabonding” by Rolf Potts

“The Power” by Naomi Alderman

“Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo

“The Stolen Throne” by David Gaider

“Tess of the Road” by Rachel Hartman

“The Big Year” by Mark Obmascik

“The Crying of Lot 49” by Thomas Pynchon

“Heaven’s Official Blessing” by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

“Out” by Natsuo Kirino

“A Year in Provence” by Peter Mayle

“Socrates in Love” by Kyoichi Katayama

“Sight Hound” by Pam Houston

“Two Old Women” by Velma Wallis

“The Stranger in the Woods” by Michael Finkel

“Wilderness” by Scott Stillman

“Never Cry Wolf” by Farley Mowat

“The Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon

“Eiger Dreams” by Jon Krakauer

“Siddhartha” by Herman Hess

“And the Mountains Echoed” by Khaled Hosseini

[straykats]

i think you knew i was coming HSJHS also it’s getting kinda late for us so you can respond to this in the morning 🤣

numbers 1, 9, 18, 66, 92, 99, 102, 121, 135 for the book recs ask game please!!

toff!! toffee!!! that gif is an accurate presentation of what i experienced last night when i was juuuust about to go to sleep and then got ur ask AHAHHA anyways, sorry for such a late response!! had to do some stuff this morn <//3

[ send me book rec asks! ]

1. a book that is close to your heart

the perks of being a wallflower by stephen chbosky &lt;3

9. your favourite book of 2020

of 2020?? defs chain of gold by cassandra clare. why, you ask? idk im just a bitch for the shadowhunter books 💀💀 nah jokes there are defs reasons, but me already being in love w the shadowhunter universe definitely plays a major part. ummm fav book of 2022 ?? on earth, maybe. it's not a '22 book but i didnt read it until this year i think. tbh i'm not sure when i read it AHHA (i just know i havent read much this year sigh)

18. your least favourite book ever

i... don't know. if i dont like a book i dont tend to finish it? but i easily get invested in and love the media i consume so there's none i would consider my 'least favourite'.. even the ones we read in school, i found something to love about them. but, uh. city of bones is always very difficult to reread. can't ever really do it. i tend to just skip it HAHAHA

66. a book that fucked you up

on earth, but not in a bad way. and the perks of being a wallflower as well, but in a different way as well. i fell like if i read a little life it'll probably be here HAHAHA. OH WAIT OH WAIT release by patrick ness. i??? i dont remember why i bought it but i know that i got to some scenes that i was not expecting and it made me really??? confused and uncofmortable at the time, but i don't remember why.

92. a book about a redeemable villain

i.. am going to tentatively say dark rise by c.s.pacat. the more i think about it the more i think it counts, but i dont wanna spoil anything so... anyways 10/10 rec this book/series.

99. a book with a strong female protagonist

the last hours trilogy, my beloved, by cassandra clare. cordelia carstairs <3 <3 <3 BUT UH too many shadowhunter books so uh instead. throne of glass series by sarah j. maas! not only the main protag, but also lysandra ! defs grew on me.

102. your favourite dark academia read

UHHHHHHHH off the top of my head u cant think of anything that actually fits the da genre/aes, but i have the atlas six on my to be potentially read list?? wait. idk if the his dark materials trilogy by philp pullman counts as DA but if it does... yes.

121. a book that makes you nostalgic

pjo/hoo by rick riordan, guardians of ga'hoole by kathryn lasky, his dark materials by philip pullman. nostalgic bc i read them all in primary/middle school ig lol . ih and ofc, harry potter.

135. recommend any book you like

urusla k. le guin's the left hand of darkness!! it's scifi (and fantasy?? idk) and there's a lot of world building and new terms that can be really confusing (but there are a multitude of lists online w the different terms and definiitions) but the concept and the ideas/social commentary is >>> it was one of my favourite texts to study in school, and now that i'm older and have studied it, i really want to reread it again! (it was a yr12 lit text so.. i'm not really that much older but still AHAH)

[seasonofthewicth]

A Groovy Kind of Love - Chapter 1

A Throne of Glass x New Girl fanfic. Rowaelin. No warnings.

masterlist

AN: This first chapter is heavily inspired by the first episode of New Girl but this fic will diverge from the show in the future!

-----

Aelin looked up from her phone screen to the large brick building in front of her. Squinting in the sunlight, she took in the old warehouse with its rustic, evenly spaced square windows.

She looked back down to her phone, her text conversation with her cousin Aedion left open. Loft 4D, his message read. She tried the entrance to the building, but the rusty door wouldn’t budge.

Sighing, she tapped call on Aedion’s contact.

“Hello?” His voice came through the tinny speakers of her phone.

“Hey Aedion, it’s Aelin. I think I’m outside.” She peered through the glass of the door, looking for any sign of the golden haired man.

“Oh, right, one second,” The phone clicked as the call ended. She pulled her phone away from her ear, staring at it puzzledly.

“Aelin!”

As she reopened her phone to make the call again the shout rang out from above and she squinted back up at the building to a now open window a few floors up. Aedion peered out of the window waving enthusiastically at her.

“We’ll buzz you up now, fourth floor.”

She raised a thumb towards him and stepped inside when she heard the click of the door.

She hadn’t seen Aedion in a few months, the last time being at a family event hosted by one of the endless Ashryver relatives, but they were friendly enough for cousins. She hadn’t expected his message the day before, offering her the spare room in his loft, but she supposed her mother must have let slip the situation Aelin was in and Aedion was generous enough to extend the offer.

The situation Aelin was in was the result of her cheating, now ex-boyfriend Arobynn. He had been away travelling for a few months and Aelin had prepared for his return by slipping into something silky and small and setting herself up in their house to surprise him.

She hadn’t prepared for the short, curvy woman he had returned with.

Not thirty minutes later Aelin had been in a cab, cursing Arobynn to hell. Most of her belongings were shoved in two duffel bags on the seat next to her as she made her way to her best friend Lysandra’s apartment, ultimately homeless.

As the elevator pulled to the fourth floor, Aelin took in her reflection of the elevator door. She smoothed her hair behind her ears, then untucked it again. It was only Aedion and his roommates, and she just needed a room.

She’d known a couple of Aedion’s roommates from previous birthday events of his own, but not greatly. She scowled briefly at the thought of Lorcan, the grumpy, giant of a man, who her previous interactions with had all ended with snarled insults, but it was harmless. At least to her, she couldn’t begin to understand what went through the raven-haired man’s mind.

She stepped out of the elevator to the hallway just as the door to loft 4D was pulled open. The first thing she spotted were the swirling lines of an elegant tattoo, creeping up the arm holding the door handle.

Rowan Whitethorn, Aedion’s college roommate who she had met maybe once or twice, held the door open, smiling at her slightly. Her eyes tracked up his muscular arms to the broad planes of his chest and shoulders stretching the plaid shirt he wore tightly. His tanned skin peeked out from the collar of the shirt setting off his silver hair nicely. She swallowed before opened her mouth.

“Hey,” She started. “Thanks for having me.”

“Not a problem,” His voice was low and gravelly, but he cleared his throat as he lifted his arm, stretching behind himself into the loft beyond. “Come in, the others are in the living room.”

She smiled and ducked past him through the doorway into the short hallway of the apartment. She heard Rowan shut the door but was spotted by Aedion who grinned as he bounded over from the open living area, a mug of coffee gripped tightly in his hand.

“Aelin! Glad you’re here, how you doing?” He swept her into a tight hug but drew back as he seemed to realise his mistake. His face twisted awkwardly as he leaned back. “Apart from, you know…” He trailed off releasing her fully.

“Don’t,” She groaned but laughed it off shaking her head and turned to smile at the others in the room.

Lorcan was sat on the end of the brown leather couch, his dark hair hanging over his shoulders, arms crossed, and legs stretched out in front of him. He offered her a brief nod as Aedion reintroduced them.

“Lorcan, you know, and of course Rowan.”

The two men acknowledged their introductions, but her attention was drawn to the only male she hadn’t already met.

In the space next to Lorcan, a blonde man with golden skin dressed in grey sweatpants and a loose t-shirt reclined into the sofa, both arms draped along the back. He offered her a wide smile and a hand to shake in greeting.

“I don’t think you’ve met Fenrys.” Aedion smiled widely, taking his seat next to the new introduction, followed by Rowan.

“Great to meet you,” Fenrys offered taking her hand in his own.

She shook Fenrys’ hand with a smile and crossed the room to the remaining seat, a single chair facing the couch. She smoothed her skirt down as she sat, readying herself for the inquisition.

-----

When Vaughan moved out of the loft to move cross-country with his girlfriend, Rowan assumed they would use the spare room as maybe a home office for Aedion, or a work-out space for Fenrys. His recent obsession with training them all to practice his coaching for his job at the nearby high school wasn’t going down well so far in the oddly shaped space remaining in the living area. But, Rowan hadn’t objected when Aedion asked them if he could offer it to his cousin who was in need of a room.

Rowan had been friends with Aedion since their first year of college and had lived with him for most of the eight years since then. Their friendship was easy, despite a rocky start, since the collision of Aedion’s bubbly personality and Rowan’s quiet demeanour had initially resulted in a stiff acquaintanceship until an incident in their freshman year had led Rowan to view the other male as more of a brother. Not that he would ever admit it.

The first time he had met Aedion’s cousin, Aelin, he was a shy, nineteen-year-old and Aedion had introduced them at his own nineteenth birthday party thrown at his parents’ home in Terrasen. He remembered stammering his hello to eighteen-year-old Aelin, stunned by her bright blue eyes and golden hair that matched Aedion’s.

He hadn’t spoken much to her that first time, he’d been nervous and intimidated by the confident, beautiful young woman, but he had met her a few more times since and they had been cordial each time in their brief exchanges.

He didn’t mind a new roommate, especially when it would mean his own rent wouldn’t increase. Not that he would struggle to cover the increase, with the extra shifts he had been picking up at the bar since the break-up with Lyria six months ago.

Lyria. His on-again-off-again girlfriend of three years. They had finally called it off-again for good recently and he considered himself to be doing well in not texting her again for the first time. This break-up felt different to the previous ones.

As he took his seat next to Aedion he observed the girl sitting opposite them all. She had definitely matured in the years since he had last seen her, more a woman than a girl now. Her golden hair fell in soft waves to her middle, and her body had settled into its gentle curves from the slimness of her teens when they had first met. The loose dress she wore fit the muggy Adarlan summer air, as well as bringing out the gold ring in her blue eyes.

“So,” Aedion began, “We know you need a room. Do you have any, uh, questions for us?”

Rowan smoothed his hands down his jeans, waiting for the list of questions he was sure Aelin would have.

“Um,” She started, unsure, “The bathroom. Is there only one? What’s the deal on that?”

Rowan heard Lorcan snort and felt the shaking of Fenrys’ laugh beside him. The bathroom rota, devised by Aedion, sick of being late for work when one of the others took too long, had been a point of contention in the loft since its introduction a year ago. It was mostly followed now, with only minor complaints.

They each had twenty minutes allocated from six-thirty in the morning, but Rowan’s were often up for grabs. He didn’t need them that early when most days he got back from the bar past midnight and didn’t wake up until the others had all left for work.

He knew Aelin was a teacher, like Fenrys, so maybe she could take his allocation. It seemed Aedion was on the same wavelength.

“There’s a schedule,” He said with an almost imperceptible level of embarrassment, but Aelin seemed to hear it too as the corner of her mouth drew up in a teasing smile. Rowan didn’t let himself stare too intensely at her mouth.

“Okay great,” She drawled mockingly. “I’m used to the rush getting ready for work from living with Arobynn.” She looked down at that but waved a hand as if she could beat the thought away.

“Aww Ae,” Aedion said. “Don’t be sad over that asshole. You can just get drunk and forget about him, it’s what Rowan’s been doing over Lyria.”

Rowan’s head shot up at that, glaring at Aedion who was barely even trying to hide his grin.

He sighed, it wasn’t that he had been drinking to get over Lyria, he just worked in a bar. Where there was alcohol that he could drink and at the same time he has been getting over Lyria. Two completely separate things.

Aelin seemed to look at him in understanding and then shrugged.

“I’m down for that,” she said. “It will make a change from crying over Dirty Dancing.”

All four of them groaned at that.

“There won’t be any of that in this living room.” Lorcan stated, in a tone that Rowan wouldn’t even try and debate with. Lorcan probably wouldn’t fight over Dirty Dancing but he couldn’t be sure.

“Dirty Dancing is a sure fire way to get over a break-up,” Aelin said defensively.

Rowan laughed shaking his head at the dynamics already building for the loft, this would surely be fun.

-----

Aelin knew she didn’t have to defend herself to Lorcan, especially not over a film that she was confident in her enjoyment of, but she couldn’t resist winding him up.

She continued. “I need the boost especially considering now basically all of my friends are models.”

Years of being friends with Lysandra had almost numbed Aelin to her beauty, her flowing dark hair and piercing eyes captivated many, not to mention her sizeable breasts. It was what Aelin supposed, made her so successful in her career. Though she knew her best friend was attractive it didn’t normally make her feel insecure but the recent break-up had been a knock to her confidence, but she knew it wouldn’t last long.

Fenrys coughed, leaning forwards, suddenly very interested. “All of your friends are models?”

Aelin nodded and watched Fenrys. His fingertips formed a triangle as his elbows rested on his knees.

“Excuse us, I need to have a word with my boys.” He gestured for the others to follow him to the kitchen.

Rowan and Aedion shifted. Rowan dug Fenrys lightly in the side, narrowing his eyes, but Fenrys just wiggled his eyebrows at Rowan in return.

“My boys.” Lorcan muttered “That is not a thing.” But uncrossed his arms and stood to lead the way to the kitchen.

Aelin couldn’t hear what followed, but it seemed to involve some pleading from Fenrys with Rowan and Lorcan looking varying degrees of uncomfortable. She definitely caught Fenrys mouth the word models, as his arms jerked out, hands splayed wide, but she looked away and took in the rest of the loft.

The open plan living room was surprisingly homely for a group of men in their mid-twenties, with a worn-looking brown-leather sofa with a number of patterned pillows and throws draped along. The wooden dining table behind looked worn but sturdy, with a few odd items left haphazardly on the top.

It was also surprisingly clean. She supposed that’s probably Aedion’s influence, not that the others were slobs, but Aedion had always been a meticulous cleaner, and hideously organised.  

After some more hushed whispers the men turned and slotted back into the living room. Each took up the spot they had occupied before.

“We,” Rowan waved a hand between the members of the group “just have a few questions we need to ask. Logistics.” He directed a pointed look in Fenrys’ direction.

“You don’t have pets do you?” Lorcan asked.

“Nope.” She shook her head.

“You don’t keep weird hours like Rowan do you?” Fenrys chimed in with a scowl at Rowan who raised his hands.

“No,” She replied with a laugh, “The youth of Adarlan test my patience regularly enough for me not to risk going to work without enough sleep.”

They all nodded along.

“And you can move in right away?”

“Yes, as soon as possible. I don’t think Lysandra’s roommate likes me.”

Manon Blackbeak had lived with Lysandra for years, and had always seemed the quiet type to Aelin, seeming to keep to herself. She was stunningly beautiful, as all of Lysandra’s model friends were, but her personality didn’t seem to match. Moving in with them, Aelin had seen a new side to the golden-eyed woman. A side that was particularly unhappy that Aelin and most of her belongings were covering the small space of Lysandra and Manon’s living room. It was why she needed a new place. Fast.

“Okay, great.” Aedion said, smiling at her “We’d love for you to move in as soon as you’re ready.”

She couldn’t hold back her own grin, relieved at how easy it had been with this group of males.

Hello, Loft 4D.

-----

This is the first fanfic I’ve posted for Throne of Glass! I hope you enjoy I’m very excited for this!

[hospital-wh0re]

greek mythology aesthetics

aes: persephone

dark mornings when nobody else is awake, biting his lip till he bleeds, flower-shaped bruises and bullet-shaped hickeys. lust, sharp, black winged eyeliner framing bright, angry eyes where the stark blue shades seem to twist and tumble around in the light, perfectly applied crimson lipstick and cheekbones that could slice your skin open. wedding dresses covered in bloodstains and dirt, crumpled old polaroids of tanned teens decked in flower crowns, furious, screaming arguments that split open the floor, earthquakes and finding the best in natural disaster, roses growing out of slit wrists and tragedy.

aes: hades

brooding in the dark for days on end, sudden bursts of fury where you throw things on the floor and smash them, misunderstood teens, wanting to be liked and sarcasm. swelling orchestral, dramatic rock music, black bedclothes tinged with deep purple and green and blue, cracked windows and alcohol-induced shaking hands, crows that circle your roof and black eyes glinting with silver slits. snakes and finding comfort in the dark, burnt wings and tousled dirty hair, old books with well-thumbed pages, lust and aggressive kissing. stroking her soft hands while you sit together, sharing a charred wooden throne and subtle touches of the arm throughout the day.

aes: icarus

sitting across from the window to feel the sun's warmth filtering through the glass, bright, whiskey-coloured eyes, optimism and books about angels, dark nights spent reading the same books over and over and flickering candles. tiny wooden carved figures, circular gold-rimmed hipster glasses, freckles on light brown skin and not trusting people’s advice. getting grounded and stuck inside all day, the smell of burning skin, old poems copied onto your hands in scribbled biro, obsessions with fire and charcoal drawings of the weather almost every day. fingernails gummed up with wax from making candles and origami wings made of construction paper, engineering equations in flaky chalk on a blackboard and hot summer days when the whole room glows yellow.

aes: achilles and patroclus

subtly nudging his arm when something reminds you of an inside joke, nursing each other back to health after battle injuries, smoothly carved gold-tipped arrows and perfectly structured bows, tracing shapes on his skin and hiding together in the dark. kaleidoscopic, mosaic-like eyes, colours merging and moving together, bronze coins, flakes of white from the temple brickwork caught on your clothes, “name one hero who was happy...i can’t...i aim to be the first”, and noticing the rust-like dried blood and raised scars littering his shoulders as you hold him. limping, learning morse code, sarcastic affection, laughing whilst struggling out of armour, fine glitter under your eyes and untangling thin golden wreaths from his hair.

aes: orpheus and eurydice

contrasts in personality, shy versus outgoing, evenings spent listening to old records, graph paper covered in scribbled lyrics and notes littered over the floor, perfect white weddings, light sunset-coloured glitter dusting her cheekbones, sudden scenery changes and habitually never looking where you’re going. groups of people you know you can’t trust, intense jealousy, racing and weaving in between trees, snake bites and tiny pinprick cuts that hurt more than you’d expect, personal ballads and laments that make even strangers cry and dark tunnels. soft pastel-themed bouquets stained with dirt, the crunching noise of someone falling to the floor, “don’t go into the light”, not controlling your impulses, cruelly specific rules getting you in trouble, dappled sunlight hitting pale skin and shadows wrapping themselves around you.

aes: helen of troy

mirrors and men everywhere, confidence in your reflection, fresh bedsheets the morning after, cliche running away with giggles and held hands, soft pink lips puckered into a pout, jealousy and betrayal. never truly being on anyone’s side, always winning, love notes scrawled in expensive ink on thick folded parchment, passed discreetly between hands, flimsy, gold, low-cut dresses, holding your finger to your lips to signal silence, not keeping secrets, gossip, knowing looks and always somehow being trusted. being caught swearing as a teen, free and obnoxious laughter, questioning your own morality, blowing things out of proportion and inadvertently causing fights between other people.

aes: medusa

teenage years, acting defensive, thick, wiry dyed hair, dark green dirt school blazers, silver snake rings wrapped around your fingers and staring at nothing. always having cold hands, pale mottled skin, dirty white shirts, being blatantly lied to, frozen puddles in the winter and warped grey, stone statues. cracks in the pavement, irrational fear, being forced into the role of the outcast, jealousy and doling out punishment. hateful glares, dark bruises blooming in green, black and purple, punching the wall and cracking the plaster, lisping the letter s, creepy gothic music with slow, groaning bass and soft drums, mumbling to yourself in a low voice and still, grey eyes. boasting and being told you’re wrong, curses, avoiding mirrors, ironic punishment and knowing the difference between confidence and arrogance.

aes: zeus

angry storms, standing outside and basking in the rain, checking over your shoulder for threats to laugh at, asserting your authority, splitting your knuckles punching the wall, cracking windows in fury and shards of glass littering the floor. taking joy in ironic punishments, gold rivers and dark blue robes, glinting silver, warzones and strong drinks, army officers jacket covered in medals and stained in other people’s blood, bright neon signs and sailing trips where you fight against the sea not to be capsized. vengeance and perfect aim throwing tridents, fluency in foreign languages, control and fatherhood. aggressive love-making, angry wives, towering mountains capped with snow, cigarette smoke surrounding your head and thick, long grey hair.

aes: medea

vengeance, bloody knuckles, running away, planning and plotting, love at first sight, being usually nice but ruthless after betrayal, guilt and hiding. cliche eyes that glint mischievously when the sunlight hits them, soft lips being aggressively kissed, riches to rags instead of rags to riches, deep royal blue, purple and red dresses dirtied and burned, that internal punch in the gut you feel when you get replaced and “teaching someone a lesson”. prophecies and steaming potions, knowing the exact ingredients of a recipe by heart, hip flasks filled with strong drinks hidden under the layers of your dresses and causing quick diversions. soft, dark hair with natural highlights in loose ringlets, hoop earrings and dusty pink eyeshadow, gentle, natural-looking lipstick and sharp, murderous warning glares when someone dares to wrong you.

aes: pandora

never doing what you’re told, “curiosity killed the cat”, boxes filled with coloured smoke, causing problems but having small solutions and never giving up hope. colossal mistakes, innocence, perfection, looking ethereal and pure, roses in vases filled with alcohol, blue glitter adorning the parting in your hair, butterflies, gifts and growing purple flowers in the cracks of the pavement. dainty fingernails painted baby pink, s,weet fruit going out of date too fast, angry angels, guilt, a string of green fairy lights going out and only managing to fix one bulb, jars of honey surrounded by bugs, screaming “I’m sorry” and perfect droplets of dark blood staining pale, smooth skin. marble statues smashing and uselessly trying to stick the pieces back together, shiny blades, soft hair that’s so blonde it’s almost white and naïvety.

[mydarlingfireheart]

i hate you, i love you

throne of glass highschool au

introduction 

next >

fanfiction masterlist

summary:

after losing the love of his life, Rowan Whitethorn decides he needs a change of scenery. he transfers to Ornyth High and hopes to continue his football career and meet some friends. and then he meets her.

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius is the clever, beautiful head cheerleader at Ornyth High. however, she is just trying to get through her junior year without falling apart. and then she meets him.

disclaimer: i do not own the throne of glass series or the characters in the throne of glass series. all rights to Sarah J Maas.

Aelin Ashryver Galathynius gazed out of her cousin’s car window.

The first day of her junior year, one of the best years of her life supposedly.

She had kept her outfit straight forward; high waisted blue ripped jeans that hugged her curves, matching it with a white cropped hoodie and white high-top converse. Simple, but sweet.

“Feet off the dash, come on.” Aelin begrudgingly removed her feet off of the dashboard where Aedion leaned over and began wiping it hastily. Aelin rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

He glanced up at her, “what?”

“I swear you love this car as much as you love Lysandra.”

“Don’t you tell her that.”

“You’re beautiful, sexy cheerleader girlfriend would be thoroughly offended.” She laughed, leaning down and digging through her bag for her aux cord.

Aedion and Lysandra had been dating since the start of Lysandra’s sophomore year (Aedion’s junior year). It took them a lot of flirting and Aelin felt she was becoming obligated to step in. She did and now they have been together for almost a year.

“How is your mum and dad?” Aedion looked over to her. She plugged the aux cord into the car and the plugged it into her phone.

“They’re in Spain right now,” she scrolled through her playlist. “I don’t think they will ever want to come home.”

She thought about the last facetime call she had with them. Her mum was beaming, and her dad looked calm, relaxed. They deserve it.

“Now shush, we must have music.” Aedion chuckled.

~~~

Chatter flowed through the hallways of Orynth High, Rowan clutched the strap of his backpack.

He looked through the rows of numbered lockers, soon finding his. He did his code and threw his bag in. Turning to the halls, he surveyed the students buzzing about the first day.

Rowan hadn’t ever really been to a new school, the friends he developed in his last high school had been mostly through sport and classes. He was quite popular at his old school.

He wasn’t particularly nervous for his classes, just football tryouts.

Since he was a child all he’s wanted to do is play football. Before he moved, he basically had lines of colleges ready to give him scholarships but... it all quickly changed. After Lyria.

The bell went, Rowan quickly shut his locker while trying shake off the gaze of someone who would never return.

~~~

Rowans first few classes had gone by with a blur, he had one more until it was lunch. He glanced down at his schedule while walking through the school hall when he suddenly felt a broad shoulder bump him.

“I’m so sorry man I- “ Rowan looked up to see a tanned, blond haired guy.

The guy froze as Rowan met his dark onyx eyes. “You’re- you’re Rowan Whitethorn!”

“Uh… yeah.”

“The star quarterback of Doranelle Highschool!”

Rowans mouth tilted up into a smirk. They faintly heard someone murmur that they should move because they were in the middle of the hallway. They both quickly stepped to the side.

“Yeah,” he scratched the back of his head. “well I used to be. And you are?”

The guy stuck his hand out while grinning. “Fenrys moonbeam, the fullback of Orynth high warriors.”

Rowans eyes widened as he shook Fenrys’ hand. This would, hopefully, be a guy he was with on the football team.

“So, are you coming to try-outs after school?” Fenrys queried, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“You bet.” Rowan peered around, most of the students filing into classrooms.

“Well Rowan,” Fenrys smiled. “why don’t you come sit with the boys and I at lunch?”

“Yeah, I’d like that. I’ll see you later.”

Fenrys turned, “see ya then quarterback.”

Rowan chuckled. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

~~~

Aelin basically ran out of her class before Ms. Phillipa could scold her for not doing the end of her holiday homework.

Once she was sure her life was not in danger, she pulled out her phone and strolled through the hall.

Lysandra had messaged her, the text reading;

‘Meet me in the girl’s bathroom near the cafeteria <3’

Aelin quickly walked in the direction of the bathroom, passing a few friends. She smiled at them with a passing glance, waving to a few people.

She finally got to the bathroom and pushed the door open, spotting Lysandra looking in the mirror applying a layer of lip gloss. Aelin smirked. “Hey baby.”

Lysandra looked at her through the mirror, she smiled. “Ugh, it’s the first day of school and Mr. Tonan is already being a dick about homework.”

Aelin snorted, turning to the mirror. She fiddled with the ends of her braids. A few others were in the bathroom with them, Aelin politely smiled at them all- usually getting a beam in return.

Lys looked her over. “Have you seen the new guy yet?”

Aelin raised an eyebrow. “Why? Is he cute?”

“No,” Lysandra closed her lip gloss and put it in her handbag. “That isn’t the word I would use. Though he is extremely… eye catching.”

“You’re with my cousin I’ll have you remember.”

Lysandra just hummed.

~~~

Rowan glanced around the busy cafeteria. A few girls glanced at him as he found Fenrys and made his way over to him and his table.

“Ah Rowan! My man.” Fenrys beamed as he motioned for Rowan to sit next to him. There were three other guys sitting at the table.

“Rowan, this is Aedion Ashryver.” Fenrys pointed to the blonde, muscular guy who sat next to Rowan. “Kind of a dick but is really good at football plus his girlfriend and cousin are hot not gonna lie.” Aedion looked at Fenrys with dismay.

Quickly turning away, Fenrys pointed to the man sat next to him, “This is Connall Moonbeam, my not as good-looking twin.” The man, now known as Connall smirked and cocked his head at Fenrys.

“And lastly, this is Lorcan Salvaterre. A very grumpy, popular resident bad boy i’d say.” Lorcan scowled at Fenrys. Rowan immediately noted that Lorcan would be a strong willed, passionate player on the field.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” Rowan declared politely, Connall smiled while Aedion replied; “it’s nice to meet you too Rowan.”

Slowly the Lorcan man turned to Rowan, “I’ve seen you play; we could use your skill set on the team. You coming to tryouts?”

Rowan nodded, instantly liking Lorcan and his straightforward demeanour.

Aedion surveyed rowan, a grin on his face. “The other teams won’t have a chance.”

“I still have to try out.” Rowan informed, looking over at Fenrys and Connall who were arguing about which of them could score more fries from the lunch lady.

“Well, considering that we are the ones judging at tryouts and that across high schools you are seen as a football legend- I’d say you have a good chance.” Lorcan grunted his agreement.

Rowan went to reply but Aedion had looked over rowans shoulder and smirked, Lorcan muttering; “oh god.”

Rowan turned to peer at whatever they looked at, all of cafeteria stopping to look at the doors.

Two women entered the room, arms entwined with bright grins on their faces. Everyone stopped to look even though they seemed utterly unaware of the admiration on everyone’s faces. The brunette walked with a sultry grace and the blonde…

She was the most beautiful woman Rowan have ever seen.

~~~

authors note: thank you for reading! this chapter was a bit slow but i hope you enjoyed it. let me know if you want more 🖤

[ae-neon]

Reading Throne of Glass (19-22)

Recap:

Dorian's mother Queen Georgina is pushing him to get married.

The second Test is upcoming

Chapter 19

Unexpected Kaltain Rompier POV?!

Kaltain is still at the ball that Dorian left early in the previous chapters, she's bummed he left but surprised Duke Perrington made an appearance.

So Kaltain is from a minor house and essentially got to court through the Duke's "favour" - she's been able to avoid having to sleep with him but she thinks her time is running out

Hm. I'm a bit disappointed with Perrington. I thought he'd be scary like the King - smart and intimidating. For Kaltain's sake it's better this way but...

I thought he'd be Dorian's antagonist at court, but he gets all red in the face and almost blurts things out in anger. I wanted him to be a smart scheming courtier.

Nice to see a bit of Dorian and Chaol's friendship even if the conversation does revolve around who likes Celaena (less than a month into the story)

HC that Dorian is taller than Chaol.

“What about that dead Champion—the Eye Eater? Any idea yet who did it, or why?” Chaol’s eyes darkened. “I’ve studied it again and again over the past few days. The body was totally destroyed.” The color leeched from Chaol’s cheeks. “Innards scooped out and gone; even the brain was . . . missing. I’ve sent a message to your father about it, but I’ll continue investigating in the meantime.” “I bet it was just a drunken brawl,”

Definitely not.

And how did he send the message if no one knows where the king went??

Chapter 20

Celaena closed her book and sighed. What a terrible ending. SJM queen of foreshadowing, very meta

So Chaol is understandably frustrated by the murder as well as the king's secret trip but the way he acted with Celaena was deserving of her reaction, especially after she had opened up to him about Endovier and her physical issues around vomiting and the damage her body has sustained.

But SJM loves writing romances like a "how to become a victim" guide. She has Celaena gaslight herself into thinking she was unnecessarily cruel and Chaol is so innocent and undeserving. Feyre is written to do the same - especially when it's obvious Rhysand is in the wrong - and I bet if I cracked open the garbage can that is ACOSF, Nesta would hate herself and call herself a monster for telling Cassian to fuck off.

Again it's less of the big things that stand out to me. Anyone can point at something obvious and say "well this is a fantasy/ the morals of the time or story etc" but stuff like this slips through the cracks of impressionable minds and is necessary to internalise to enjoy the romance.

Anyways back to tog

Celaena is bored and anxious and has rigged things in her room to make it obvious if someone tries to sneak up on her and kill her like the other competitor.

There's a piano in her room and she really likes to play

She had been good once—perhaps better than good. Arobynn Hamel made her play for him whenever they saw each other. She wondered if Arobynn knew she was out of the mines. Would he try to free her if he did? She still didn’t dare to face the possibility of who might have betrayed her.

This dynamic has the potential to be so twisted and complicated and tragic but I don't think sjm is gonna realise that potential. Still hoping he's a smart villain tho

Glad Celaena has music as a sort of therapy. But now knowing this, certain elements of acomaf especially seem lazy as fuck.

Celaena: I have set up things in my room - down to changing the hinges on the door - so no other murderer or assassin can sneak up and kill me

Dorian, having snuck in and stood behind her for 10 minutes without her realising: ...

Dorian peeled himself from the wall. For all her assassinating experience, she didn’t notice him until he sat down on the bench beside her. “You play beau—” Her fingers slipped on the keys, which let out a loud, awful CLANK, and she was halfway to the rack of cue sticks when she beheld him.

Worst assassin ever?

Pelor and his poisons >>>

Riceman is Dorian's son. Maybe sjm regretted not giving him the endgame in tog so she just dipped him in black and sent him to acotar.

How’s training going? Any competitors giving you trouble?” “Excellently,” she said, but the corners of her mouth drifted downward. “And no. After today, I don’t think any of us will be giving anyone any trouble.” It took him a moment to realize she was thinking of the competitor who had been killed while trying to escape. She chewed on her bottom lip, quiet for a heartbeat, before she asked: “Did Chaol give the order to kill Sven?” “No,” he said. “My father commanded all the guards to shoot to kill if any of you tried to escape. I don’t think Chaol would ever have given that order,” he added,

On the one hand it's understandable that Celaena would see the humanity in the other competitors and the savagery in the guards and higher-ups who are using them in this game but it's also kinda out of character that she's so torn up about this Sven dude.

If the competition had gone a little longer and come to some desperate point and Nox Owen had been the one to try to run - especially after his sponsor promised him he wouldn't have to go back to his old life - then be murdered in cold blood by the King's orders, I would understand, believe and appreciate her feelings on this.

But as it stands, she herself wants to kill some of the competitors and Sven's death was the first time we even heard of him. Who gives a fuck

And the idea that Chaol would never order the death of these criminals is such bs? He's the Captain of the Royal Guard. He's been ready to kill Celaena from the moment they met. Only the day before he asked her what she did to deserve being whipped as a slave labourer. He would definitely kill all of them if he needed to

Again, I understand sjm is trying to develop a romance and using character development to bring them closer but it's coming at the cost of the characters themselves.

Celaena even questions herself on when she became so sappy and girl idk because you've only been here like 3 weeks?!?!

So Celaena says she doesn't want to be seen as Dorian's lover because she doesn't want people to think she sells herself. Dorian calls her out on her morality given she kills people for money and she gets offended.

He's right. Why does she think she's better than anyone else? Or better yet why does she look down on those who do that in the first place - especially given where she comes from?

Or maybe it's exactly that. No matter how much she experiences - becoming an orphan, losing her country, grueling training, slavery - she still can't let go of the idea that she was born better than other people? She's still just a royal asshole at heart?

Celaena is down 10 points

Okay so Dorian is riling her up as a way of flirting but Celaena's not happy about it funny how it was unacceptable when it was Nesta who didn't want to entertain a clown

Sorry, sorry, my inner hater slipped out

It was his turn to blush. Had he ever been scolded by anyone like this? I've heard Dorian is kinky in the later books. But I just know sjm isn't gonna deliver what I hope for

This is only her 3rd or 4th time meeting Dorian and he's said the wrong thing again and again and she literally kicking him out of the room but she still just tells him the truth about Sam? It feels a little unearned

Chapter 21

We pick up in the middle of the second Test. They're scaling a castle wall to retrieve a flag. And another one of the competitors didn't show up. One of the competitors falls and dies.

A dude named Grave is tryna kill Nox Owen but Celaena jumps into action to save him.

Chapter 22

Mission impossible style Celaena jumps with a rope tied to her waist to catch Nox as he falls.

Between the weight on her waist and the fact that they both slammed into the wall, idk how she's still holding onto this man Nox

Cain wins the Test, of course. Celaena is upset, of course.

Celaena and Nox still have to compete for some reason even tho literally everyone just witnessed her insane save. They both make it through the Test.

Later, Chaol isn't happy she showed she's definitely more than just some jewel thief through her rescue actions.

She glared at him. “Well, I still lost.” (...)

Chaol’s brown eyes shone golden in the midday sun. “Wasn’t learning to lose gracefully part of your training?”

“No,” she said sourly. “Arobynn told me that second place was just a nice title for the first loser.”

I want so much from this relationship. It's shaped so much of how she acts and thinks and while it was obviously done for manipulative reasons; Celaena is who she is because of him. She has survived because of what he made of her.

She looked toward the window, and the glittering expanse of Rifthold barely visible beyond it. It was strange to think that Arobynn was in the same city—that he was so close to her now. “You know he was my master, don’t you?” “I’d forgotten,” Chaol said. Arobynn would have flogged her for saving Nox, jeopardizing her own safety and place in this competition. “He oversaw your training personally?” “He trained me himself, and then brought in tutors from all over Erilea. The fighting masters from the rice fields of the southern continent, poison experts from the Bogdano Jungle . . . Once he sent me to the Silent Assassins in the Red Desert. No price was too high for him. Or me,” she added, fingering the fine thread on her bathrobe. 

Them acting like Arobynn saying she has to pay him back for all the money he spent on training her isn't completely normal, understandable and reasonable 🙄

Like I'm sure there's plenty of reasons to hate the man so why would you point that out like he's supposed to be in the wrong for that.

Over five hundred thousand gold coins. Gone in three hours. Nesta Archeron was imprisoned for less

Chaol and Celaena have a bit of back and forth, grinning and insulting each other, cute

Surprise, surprise, the competitor who didn't show up was found dead days later

The new murder cast a pall over the next two weeks, and the two Tests they brought with them. Celaena passed the Tests—stealth and tracking—without drawing much attention to herself or risking her neck to save anyone.

Okay time jump. We're approximately two months into the story. It's nine weeks until the final duel.

Celaena hasn't interacted with Dorian since the day in her room but she feels "warm and tingly" when she sees him apparently

Chaol's side of the love scale is stacked and Dorian's side is just sjm going "trust me"

Celaena is finding herself feeling anxious about whether she'll make it to the top 4.

---

Overall we're sitting at about 3 stars. It's okay.

[the-sound-and-the-fury]

Books of 2018

And here is my my annual book round up! This year I bumped my Goodreads challenge up from 70 to 80, and wound up reading 113 (which is a little less than last year, but some of these books were very long). But I once again benefited from my friend group being so dedicated to harassing each other with more books to read (and also the Silent Book Club that meets in Boston which has given me some time to focus on reading).

But as usual, I’ve bolded my top 18 books, and italicized my next 10 honorable mentions. And I’ve put a strike through my bottom 5 books that I managed to finish. This was a little difficult to do because I reread a few books this year (like Harry Potter, and The Princess Diaries) and I’m not including those.That said, the rereads affected my ratings, and I really didn’t find myself blown away by as many books. This is also possibly because a lot of these books were part of series, but ultimately I felt I had a significant majority of books that were either pretty good or meh.

(I would also link to all my monthly posts for these, but I’d read that links will interfere with searching tags on Tumblr (because this website is working overtime to dig its own grave), so you can just search Books of 2018 on my page for yourself.)

Dirty Deeds - HelenKay Dimon

Wishful Drinking - Carrie Fisher

The Magpie Lord (A Charm of Magpies #1) - KJ Charles

Everything is Awful - Matt Bellassai

Foolish Hearts - Emma Mills (OwlCrate)

A Case of Possession (A Charm of Magpies #2) - KJ Charles

The Dead Moms Club - Kate Spencer

First Frost (Waverly Family #2) - Sarah Addison Allen

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) - Holly Black (January 2018 OwlCrate)

Persepolis Riding (The Expanse #7) - James SA Corey

Flight of Magpies (A Charm of Magpies #3) - KJ Charles

HeartShip (Full Hearts #1) - Amy Jo Cousins

HeartOn (Fully Hearts #2) - Amy Jo Cousins

The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2) - Brittany Cavallaro

They Both Die at the End - Adam Silvera

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli (reread)

Remedial Rocket Science (Chemistry Lessons #1) - Susannah Nix

The Hazel Wood (The Hazel Wood #1) - Melissa Albert (OwlCrate)

Intermediate Thermodynamics (Chemistry Lessons #2) - Susannah Nix

Boy Toys (Hot Off the Ice #3) - AE Wasp

Skater Boy (Hot Off the Ice #4) - AE Wasp

The Comedy of Errors - William Shakespeare

Opal (The Raven Cycle #4.5) - Maggie Stiefvater

Vicious (Villains #1) - VE Schwab

The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes #3) - Brittany Cavallro

When the Moon Was Ours - Anna-Marie McLemore

Working It (Ringside Romance #1) - Christine d’Abo

Faking It (Ringside Romance #2) - Christine d’Abo

The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) - Terry Pratchett

Making It (Ringside Romance #3) - Christine d’Abo

Losing It (Ringside Romance #4) - Christine d’Abo

Advanced Physical Chemistry (Chemistry Lessons #3) - Susannah Nix

Caraval (Caraval #1) - Stephanie Garber

These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks #1) - Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (HP #1) - JK Rowling

Carry the Ocean (The Roosevelt #1) - Heidi Cullinan

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (HP #2) - JKR

Squared Away (Out of Uniform #5) - Annabeth Albert

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (HP #3) - JKR

Helping Hand (Housemates #1) - Jay Northcote

Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game #1) - Amanda Foody

Like a Lover (Housemates #2) - Jay Northcote

Practice Makes Perfect (Housemates #3) - Jay Northcote

Watching and Wanting (Housemates #4) - Jay Northcote

Puddin’ (Dumplin’ #2) - Julie Murphy

Starting from Scratch (Housemates $5) - Jay Northcote

Pretty in Pink (Housemates #6) - Jay Northcote

Can’t Help Myself - Meredith Goldstein

The Astonishing Color of After - Emily XR Pan

Adrift (Cruising #1) - LA Witt

How to Marry a Werewolf (Claw and Courtship #1) - Gail Carriger

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (HP #4) - JKR

A Court of Frost and Starlight (ACOTAR #3.1) - Sarah J Maas

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (HP #5) - JKR

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HP #6) - JKR

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (HP #7) - JKR

City of Ghosts (Cassidy Blake #1) - Victoria Schwab

Leah on the Offbeat (Creekwood #2/Simonverse #3) - Becky Albertalli

Level Up - Annabeth Albert

Ship It - Britta Lundin

Failure is an Option - H Jon Benjamin

From Twinkle, With Love - Sandhya Menon

Daughter of the Siren Queen (DOTPK #2) - Tricia Levenseller

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark - Michelle McNamara

Tight Quarters (Out of Uniform #6) - Annabeth Albert

Summer of Salt - Katrina Leno

The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy #1) - Katherine Arden

And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga #1) - Kiersten White

On Duty (Smoke and Bullets #1) - AR Barley

Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep #1) - Mira Grant

Broken Protocol (Smoke and Bullets #1) - AR Barley

A Duke in the Night (The Devils of Dover #1) - Kelly Bowen

I’ve Got My Duke to Keep Me Warm (The Lords of Worth #1) - Kelly Bowen

A Good Rogue is Hard to Find (The Lords of Worth #2) - Kelly Bowen

You’re the Earl That I Want (The Lords of Worth #3) - Kelly Bowen

Duke of My Heart (Season for Scandal #1) - Kelly Bowen

From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess (From the Notes of a Middle School Princess #1) - Meg Cabot

Royal Wedding Disaster (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #2) - Meg Cabot

A Duke to Remember (Season for Scandal #2) - Kelly Bowen

Uprooted - Naomi Novik

Royal Crush ( From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #3) - Meg Cabot

The Looking Glass - Janet McNally

Royal Crown (From the Notebooks of a Middle School Princess #4) - Meg Cabot

Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman

Princess in Love (The Princess Diaries #3) - Meg Cabot

Competence (The Custard Protocol #3) - Gail Carriger

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) - Sarah J Maas

Princess in Waiting (The Princess Diaries #4) - Meg Cabot

Girls of Paper and Fire - Natasha Ngan

The Wedding Date - Jasmine Guillory

Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer #2) - Laini Taylor

Vengeful (Villains #2) - VE Schwab

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing - Hank Green

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

Syncopation (Twisted Wishes #1) - Anna Zabo

Leo Loves Aries (Signs of Love #1) - Anyta Sunday

Scorpio Hates Virgo (Signs of Love #2) - Anyta Sunday

Gemini Keeps Capricorn (Signs of Love #3) - Anyta Sunday

Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3) - Libba Bray

The Hating Game - Sally Thorne

Tower of Dawn (Throne of Glass #6) - Sarah J Maas

Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) - Sarah J Maas

Pride - Ibi Zoboi

The Final Empire/Mistborn (Mistborn #1) - Brandon Sanderson

The Omega Objection (San Andreas Shifters #2) - GL Carriger

This is Kind of and Epic Love Story - Kheryn Callendar

The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang

Strange Practice (Dr. Greta Helsing #1) - Vivian Shaw

Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik

First & Then - Emma Mills

The Bullet Journal Method - Ryder Carroll

What Happens at Christmas - Jay Northcote

Better Not Pout - Annabeth Albert

DNF

The Glass Spare (The Glass Spare #1) - Lauren DeStefano (OwlCrate)

The Taming of the Shrew - William Shakespeare

Running With Lions - Julian Winters

[jellyfitzjelly]

The Visit

a ficlet hastily written with a wonky end decicated to @captainchoisiwon cause I love this AU where Hee-sung marries Hotaru and everyone is happy.

The doors opened to reveal a cascade of gold.

“Your Majesty!” gasped Go Sa-hong, bowing reverently.

The room went silent. The scene seemed frozen in time: Dong-mae had his hand held high, ready to slap Hee-sung; Ae-shin was holding her newspaper tight; Hotaru kept her cup of tea to her lips. The emperor had a small smile as he turned to the master of the house.

“Ah, I see I am disturbing you, Master.”

“Not at all, your Majesty,” answered Go Sa-hong, still bewildered, “my house is yours.”

The old scholar started to raise from his seat, but Gojong stopped him. Instead, he took place at his side, taking his daughter-in-law’s vacant seat. Surveying the assembly before him (who, in the meantime, had adopted a ceremonial bow), he said with a cordial tone:

“Please, let us not stand on ceremony. You seem gathered here for a joyous occasion: let not my presence ruin the mood.”

Hee-sung perked up his head with a lip-splitting grin. Slowly, time seemed to take hold again. Lively talk was soon back thanks to Hee-sung and Dong-mae, despite the murderous glares of Madame Jo (who had tasked herself with bringing snacks and refreshments to the emperor).

“Your Majesty, may I ask the reason of your visit?” asked Ae-shin with her utmost grace.

“I have missed Master’s birthday this year and did not send him any gift. I wanted to come visit and apologize in person. He has been my tutor for nearly 15 years, after all.”

“Wait, Go Sa-hong was your teacher?!” interjected Dong-mae, surprised.

“How dare you speak like that to his Majesty?!” barked Ae-shin’s aunt. “Apologize immedia-“

“Indeed,” interrupted the emperor as if the yakuza just didn’t grossly breached protocol, “Master was my teacher. Anything good I may have done in this country is thanks to him.”

“Your Majesty!...” whispered Go Sa-hong, embarrassed.

“Don’t be modest, it’s the truth,” answered Gojong with a fond smile, before turning to Dong-mae and Hee-sung. “I am curious, what exactly are you celebrating?”

Hee-sung beamed.

“My dear wife Hotaru is pregnant with our first child, and I have just acquired a printing press for my company.”

“So you are Kim Hee-sung!”

“Oh my,” went the young man, wide-eyed, “could it be that your Majesty also read my newspaper?”

Dong-mae chuckled in his tea while Ae-shin hid her smile in her sleeve.

“Actually, I have heard that you have been involved in a scandal,” went on the emperor with a smile.

“Well, your Majesty, this is a long story… Would you care to hear it?”

The monarch frankly chuckled this time.

“I am all ears.”

“As your Majesty may know, my family had arranged my marriage to Ae-shin. I came back from Japan in order to marry, and this is when I looked at the sun and fell in love with it,” he said with a tender smile to Hotaru, kissing her hand.

Dong-mae rolled his eyes with a small smirk while Hotaru blushed.

“I could not bear to have the love of my life as my second wife, and it would have been dishonorable for Ae-shin to be the second woman of the home. I decided to break off the engagement and married my dear Hotaru. My parents disavowed me when they learned my in-laws were yakuzas,” he sighed as if his family had gotten upset over a tiny matter.

“You forgot the part where I tried to get you assassinated before the wedding,” let out Dong-mae.

Hee-sung gave him a playful punch in the shoulder.

“Ah, why did you have to ruin my romantic story with murder?”

They both laughed, but regained their seriousness when they met the warning look of Madame Jo.

“It is truly pleasing to see such a united family,” said Gojong with a sincere smile.

Hee-sung beamed. The monarch turned to Ae-shin with a twinkle in his eyes.

“So that means you are Ae-shin… I heard you gave Master quite a hard time.”

With a gracious smile, eyes to the floor, the young woman humbly said:

“One must do what is necessary to gain one’s freedom.”

In the tense silence, Ae-shin’s aunt dropped her tray of tea. The emperor laughed heartily.

“You truly are the granddaughter of Master, but I should not be surprised. He managed to teach such an unruly child as me.”

“Your Majesty is too good with me,” said Go Sa-hong, flustered yet with a touch of fondness.

“What? Do not tell me you do not remember our first meeting!”

“Your Majesty, I have told my story,” chirped in Hee-sung, “now it is your turn.”

He splendidly ignored the glare Ae-shin’s aunt. Gojong gave the ghost of a smirk.

“I was an only child, so I grew up to be self-centered and selfish. My teachers would not dare stop me or report to my father, so they would resign. My father then decided to have Master as my teacher. I will always remember the first time I met him. That morning, I had refused to get out of my room and to greet Master. So Master stormed in my room and scolded me. I slapped him and told him I was the king. Master slapped me so hard that my cheek was bright red and told me: “I shall treat you like a king when you will act like one.”

The emperor smiled fondly at the memory.

“I cried so much that day…but thanks to Master, I started to learn the great responsibilities that came with the throne I was sitting on,” he turned to Go Sa-hong, eyes soft and moist. “You taught me every man’s life is precious, and for that I will never thank you enough.”

The old master of the house smiled softly, bowing reverently. Gojong raised his glass.

“To my Master!”

Cheers and laughter echoed merrily in the house.

[mysticsrose]

books i read in 2018: crown of midnight by sarah j. maas

“But death was her curse and her gift, and death had been her good friend these long, long years.”

[fictivegarden]

hello, this is callon. it’s been quite some time since our last tour, and a lot has happened in headspace. some minor shifts have happened in the spaces we’ve already spoken about, but i don’t think they’re significant enough to merit re-exploring those spaces at the moment, so please feel free to check the maps if you’d like to know.

in the main house, vex’s room has expanded into a suite. what used to be eir closet is now a small living room, which is considered venic’s domain. it has two couches, facing each other over a low glass coffee table. a standing light is against the wall farthest from the door. all of the furniture looks very much like the sleek series from ancl, except the lamp, which is the kind that branches off into five lamps with open oval-shaped covers. the branches can be repositioned at will.

venic says that the coffee table can be turned into an operating table when kye needs it, but i don’t really see how that could be the case. there’s a shiny stone chess board on the far side of the coffee table, and a few glass coasters. the chess board seems to be the kind that you can store pieces inside it. venic smugly implies that that’s not all kye hides in there, but to be entirely honest, i have no idea what else kye might want to keep hidden. it’s not like any of us smoke weed.

heading back into vex’s study. the L-shaped desk against the back and left walls still looks a lot like canon. but in the front right corner, jace has set up a nest consisting of a beanbag chair and a couple cushions, as well as an expensive-looking laptop and some assorted sound equipment, though not a full dj set. there is also scrapbooking paraphernalia, both in jace’s workspace and vex’s.

slightly father back on the right wall than jace’s space is a door leading outside.

upstairs, riley’s room has also been expanded. si’s sleeping right now, so it’s quite dark and i’m not able to snoop that much, but the bed is outright huge, and has an inordinate amount of pillows, even considering that the room now houses 2-3 people regularly. there’s a vanity covered in makeup against the back wall, to the right of the bed. and against the front wall are a few chairs, the kind that are a simple metal frame with canvas fabric hammocked on it. to the left of them, against the wall, is a minimalist white dresser, with an arrangement of succulents growing in pots and terrariums on top. the majority of everything is light pink and mint, but there are some powder blue and white features as well.

there’s a ladder against the wall behind the bed, white metal, which leads up to a hatch in the ceiling. nessie seems upset that i’ve noticed it, but not to the point of preventing me from climbing upstairs.

the attic used to be ailecent’s room, but now it’s been converted into a very cute study. the slanted walls are white washed, and fairy lights are draped from the ceiling. against one of the not-slanted walls is a desk, on top of which seems to be a sleek new macbook and several planners, as well as a cup of cute pens and highlighters, and a small case of simple pastel washi tape. a small whiteboard calendar and a couple simple prints are tacked to the wall.

against the opposite wall is a pile of beanbag chairs. a couple books and magazines, as well as smaller zines, lie scattered nearby.

when i climb back down the ladder, i learn that riley had only been feigning sleep for at least my most recent visit. si sheepishly apologizes for converting ailecent’s old room. i tell sil that it’s fine, ae hadn’t been using it since kestrel showed up anyway. nessie says she told sil so. i tell them that they should still apologize to ailecent rather than me if ae comes back around.

the last change in the main house, a subtle one, is that the tv stand in the main room has been replaced by a desk for ethan. aside from the colour scheme and the lack of a computer, it’s quite similar to riley’s. their study equipment is all blue and brown and white and black.

leaving the main house, there have also been significant changes to azdien’s mansion. the main floor is by-and-large the same, with an exception i’ll get to in a minute. i don’t recall if the staircase to the left of the front doors was present during our first tour, but now it not only exists but leads both to a second floor and a basement.

when you go upstairs, there’s a hallway lined with bedrooms. many of them are empty. the front-left room has been converted into trysten’s bedroom, as i guess the main floor rooms are too small in sier opinion? the array of furniture is nothing you wouldn’t expect from a bedroom. all the fabrics are maroon jacquard. what metal accents there are alternate between dull silver and light gold. the wooden pieces are dark almost to the point of being black, but slightly on the warm side. there’s a canopy over the bed. a central table features a bouquet of roses in a vase, some of them just dark red, some of them the kind that are red on the inside and white on the outside. many of the accents are rose-shaped as well, such as the knobs on sier dresser. sie has at least two or three bottles of perfume. the walls are dark, but not excessively so. i can’t quite distinguish the exact colour. the ceiling is a warm off-white grey.

out of trysten’s room, the back-left room of the second floor seems to be converting into a room for aren, but hasn’t quite gotten anywhere yet.

downstairs, into the basement. the staircase itself is wrought-iron, quite fancy, spiraling. it’s coated with copper.

the basement is made of rough dark grey stone. the walls seem like they would be easy to climb if they were not slightly damp. it reads very much like a dungeon, but no one is kept prisoner here.

through the first door on the left is vaccine’s study. a sturdy desk sits centered towards the back wall. it has some trays for paperwork and a cup of pens, most of which are the thick expensive kind. they also have a stamp and stamp-pad. i have no idea what kind of official business they expect to be conducting, but they are certainly prepared for it. against the back wall is a flag with the logo of the eightfold cleansers on it. against the front wall are four chairs, two on each side of the door. although there’s room for more furniture in the room, there isn’t any. the floor is smooth cement, and the walls are simply whitewashed. it looks nothing like the hallway of the basement, but the air still feels slightly damp and stale. everything is black and silver minimalist. it’s an intimidating room, overall.

the next door leads into vyrn’s chamber. i don’t know why, but xe doesn’t like it much, and only goes there to brood. it’s made of the same rough stone as the rest of the basement, and just as poorly lit. i don’t know how i can see anything, but i can. against the back wall, taking up a good third of the room, is don thousand’s throne. or rather, a replica of it, with none of the ill intent or the powers.

there are several other rooms in the basement, but they’re presently unoccupied.

beneath the basement, separated from azdien’s mansion by nearly a story of dirt and rock, is a room the size of a master bedroom, with no actual entrance. you can enter by phasing through the floor or by asking drohen to create a portal, but in my opinion, neither option is particularly appealing.

this is kisoquine’s room. all the walls and contents of the room are brightly coloured, mainly yellow orange and pink, but not exclusively. there are balls like one would see in a ball pit against all the walls, but for some reason, they don’t roll into the middle of the room. there are also two or three yoga-balls in the room. and a gumball machine, the kind with a small-scale rube goldberg machine inside.

kisoquine, apparently showing off, tosses one of the ballpit balls in the air, and then pops it like a balloon. a liquid, hot pink and glittery but blood-scented, erupts from it, but vanishes into the air before hitting the floor. some of it splashes onto kisoquine’s face. vyrn, sitting nearby on a yoga ball (floating), claps xyr feet and laughs.

i’m honestly pretty unsettled. drohen creates an escape portal for me, and i gratefully use it.

i exit into the library. this is the last area of change i wanted to show you. walking past the shelves of books set in the middle of the room, all of them tall and filled with leather-bound gold-trimmed books, there’s a huge bay window, the glass reaching to the floor instead of having a couch set into the wall. in the hollow created is a small circular table and two chairs, in white-washed wrought iron. a small bouquet of lilacs in a simple glass vase sits at the middle of the table. the windows are framed by light jade drapes, pulled back to let in the sunlight. on either side of the bay window is a hanging potted plant, leaves spilling over the edge and hanging down a couple feet, but not reaching the floor. the window itself is not stained glass, but is patterned around the edges with frosting. the entire nook gives off a very serene feel. elster is often found here.

[keepstridingon]

Aah hello, I’m super excited to be joining you all and I can’t wait to start plotting with everyone. My name is Liv and I’m pretty much trash for everything about sci-fi, fantasy and pretty much any other genre you could throw at me. I’m English, I like tea, dogs, I’m 19 and currently at uni studying sports therapy (yay medicine).

I tend to use skype more often for chatting and plotting mostly just because it messes up less than tumblr so if you want to add me there just ping my a message and I’ll give you my username but I’ll plot over tumblr too if that’s what you’d prefer. I’m very chill about everything so no need to rush replies. I also ramble a lot, like it’s kind of ridiculous how much I can ramble. Anyway, I’m just going to put some background about my sweet cinnamon child who tries to help all the people because he’s nice like that under the cut and if you’d like to plot please feel free to hmu. \O/

H I S T O R Y ;

Life was relatively normal for Zach; born the only child of the Stryder family he was loved and cared for like any child. Even when his power manifested at quite a young age they loved him all the same, though they thought that since he was only displaying minor capabilities there was no real harm in keeping him at home. Over time and with practise his powers continued to grow in strength until one fateful day the event that would change his life occurred. After a particularly intense argument with a neighbour he accidentally tripped a blackout across his home-town and the surrounding ones. 

The Stryder family knew it was only a matter of time before organisations connected the dots and came to try and collect young Zachary and take him away before anything more severe occurred, but little did they realise that Zach’s abilities had already been picked up by scouts for a faction of elitist mutants who wished to recruit him for their cause. He was after all, incredibly powerful for his age and still had plenty of time to grow this power and in an age of growing technological warfare his abilities were considered indispensable.

The day of the blackout was when it was finally decided to extract him for the cause. Unfortunately for the mutants sent to collect their prize, Zach’s parents (his mother already being a former student) had already been in contact with the Academy about potentially having him transferred there or even a mentor being assigned for his own safety. The attempt to kidnap him went south; his mother being killed in the chaos and his father severely injured, ultimately leading to the decision for Zachary to be transferred from England to the Lynx Academy where he has since lived since he was in his early teens. An odd case in comparison to most. Zach is incredibly apt at engineering, electronics and designing gadgets mostly wishing to simply make both his and everyone else’s around him more easier.

P E R S O N A L I T Y ;

Zach in a nutshell is an attractive nerd, he’s intelligent, friendly and has a great sense of humour; which makes it hard for people to not like him. He is a known prankster more often than not being up to some mischief with his friends around the Academy. Despite his intelligence Zach is rather socially awkward resulting in episodes of technical and science babble when he feels nervous. Even though he is prone to mischievous tendencies he is an incredibly hard worker; wanting to succeed and often putting himself under immense pressure to get things done to perfection. 

He isn’t the strongest person on the island and he knows it, but he makes up for it with his brave attitude and quick thinking making use of anything around him to get out of a bad situation or help people out. He is strongly opposed to anti-mutant agendas though is fully aware he isn’t really going to be any help on a battlefield and thus aspires to be as useful as possible off of it in the engineering and technical department.

- Here’s just some general rping things - Here’s some stuff on his powers - Here’s some connections I’d love to get

Below is just a factfile summary kudos if you actually want to read it xD :

Full Name: Zachary Malcolm Joel Stryder Pronunciation: Z-ae-k-er-ee  M-ae-l-k-uh-m J-oh-uh-l St-rye-der Name Meaning & Origin: Zachary: God has remembered (Hebrew) Malcolm: The name of four kings of Scotland starting in the 10th century, including Malcolm III, who became king after killing Macbeth, the usurper who had murdered his father. Joel: He that wills or commands. Stryder: Walker or wanderer. Other Names: Zach, Zachy, Microsoft, Network

Age: 24 Years Old

Born: 16th July 1993.

Zodiac: Cancer

Hometown: Greenwich, England

Nationality: English

Ancestry: Scottish

Powers: Technopathy/Cyberkinesis

Family & Significant Others:

Mother: Rachel Stryder (Deceased)

Father: Thomas Stryder (Alive)

Siblings: N/A

Grandfather: Malcolm Stryder

Grandmother: Marie Stryder

Assigned Elite: Open

Relationship Status: Single

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual, Biromantic

Physical Characteristics:

Hair Color: Dark brown

Hair Length: Short.

Hair Style: Unruly.

Eyebrows: Dark and narrow.

Facial Hair: N/A

Ear Type: Rounded with a slight lobe.

Eye Color: Brown with hints of amber.

Glasses: Occasionally though prefers contact lenses.

Nose Shape: Straight.

Teeth: Straight, white.

Chin Shape: Defined and straight.

Height: 6 ft 2

Weight: 154 lbs

Build: Tall and very slender

Dominant Hand: N/A - ambidextrous capabilities.

Other:

Shoe Size: 9

Style: Particular to wearing blazers, jumpers and shirts with jeans. Enjoys wearing long sleeved tops with waistcoats or anything from his wide range of fandom shirts - most outfits paired with boots or sneakers. [ See Here ]

Intellectual/Mental Attributes and Attitudes

Educational Background: Public schooled up until arriving at Academy, highest grades in most to all classes. Particularly gifted with science and physics in particular.

Intelligence Level: 120

Memory: Equivalent to the storage of a computer, it only continued to improve the more he practised his abilities and now is able to memorise and recall events to a high degree of detail.

Character’s short-term goals in life: To get through the day and keep his grades up, perhaps to become an inventor for the academy.

Character’s long-term goals in life: To find and get revenge on the group who killed his mother. This has lessened over the years but he still harbours a lot of resentment about the event.

How does Character see himself/herself? Flawed but still optimistic about the world and future.

How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others? Awkward, socially undesirable and generally feeble.

How self-confident is the character? Not incredibly anything that he does that suggests otherwise tends to just be a joke at his own expense. He’s incredibly self-depreciating and tends to use humour as a defence mechanism.

Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof? A combination, but he’s very much ruled by his heart on most matters although occasionally he tries to use a more logical approach. 

Emotional Characteristics Strengths: Intelligence, wit, level headed, reliable, independent and courageous. Weaknesses: Paranoid, overcritical, perfectionist, insecure and selfless. Introvert or Extrovert? Introvert Patience: His patience is usually rather long-lasting however it really depends on what topic he’s having to wait for. What motivates this character? The hope that the next day might be better than the one before. What frightens this character? A fear of failure is probably the strongest thing that Zach feels afraid of. What makes this character happy? Chocolate, pizza, music, dancing and building things is a definite thing that makes him happy. Is the character judgmental of others? Not very unless they do something really stupid then he can’t help but judge a little though otherwise he tries to be as non-judgemental as he possibly can. Everyone deserves a chance or two in his opinion.

Health & Fitness:

Nervous tics: Pushes his hand through his hair and fidgeting.

Dexterity: Agile, quick - very fleet footed.

Posture: Straight though slouches a little when sat down.

Hobbies: Building, studying, drawing designs, playing video games, watching TV, reading and coding.

Mannerisms: Very active with his hands in particular when emphasising a point.

Speech Patterns: Intelligent, though prone to awkward pauses when nervous and/or uncomfortable.

Other:

Criminal Record: None reported, but has successfull stolen a grand sum of money.

Highs and Lows

Favourite Animal: Dragons, obviously.

Favourite Band: OneRepublic, Maroon 5, Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Take That, X Ambassadors

Favourite Book: Game Of Thrones, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Skulduggery Pleasant, Classics

Favourite Colour: Grey.

Favourite Drink: Water, orange juice, milk, tea.

Favourite Food: Pasta, curries, pizza and chocolate biscuits.

Favourite Movie: All Marvel films and other sci-fi related films.

Favourite Musical Genre: Indie, pop rock, charts and country.

Favourite Mythical Creature: Phoenix or dragons.

Favourite Number: 24

Favourite Quote: “Impressions can be fake, but actions tell the real story.”

Favourite Season: Winter

Favourite Song: Rubik’s Cube - Athlete

Favourite Store: Bookstores.

Favourite Story Genre: Fantasy, action, sci-fi, murder mystery and thriller.

Favourite Subject: Science, engineering

Favourite TV Show: NCIS, Sherlock, CSI

Least Favourite Animal: Cats.

Least Favourite Book: Twilight

Least Favourite Colour: Yellow

Least Favourite Drink: Champagne

Least Favourite Food: Tomatoes and mushrooms.

Least Favourite Movie: Twilight, Percy Jackson

Least Favourite Mythical Creature: Giant Spiders

Least Favourite Number: 7

Least Favourite Pastime: Doing nothing

Least Favourite Story Genre: Horror