#all have to do with lucia saying she has a conflict and being upset and stuff

[skrunksthatwunk]

ok i just beat lucia's campaign. it's like 5 missions shorter has an actual story and is like. wayyyy less painful

[supermo0]

White Lotus has an interesting set of threads going on examining different strains of masculinity, and it’s neat how they’re using a bunch of characters to do it

Albie is a young kid who’s been raised in a household by an absent sex addict and comes from a line of different flavors of misogynists, but he also grew up in a world that is trying to educate him on how not to do that. He clearly makes an effort to Not Be An Asshole, but he only seems to manage to look good in comparison to his father/grandfather. His interactions with women can come across as dweebishly awkward but he gives off a MASSIVE vibe of only needing one visit to r/incel or whatever it’s called these days and he’s a full on shithead. He’s trying, he’s listening, he’s stumbling awkwardly while walking a dangerous tightrope.

Meanwhile, Dominic is a classic mid-life crisis distant rich dad sex addict. He has no earthly idea why he’s even at this resort other than some vague sense of trying to fix a relationship, yet he clearly has no idea what he did wrong. He *wants* to be different, so badly, but he can’t control his impulses and unfortunately by hiring Mia and Lucia set himself up for failure. He’s trying, he’s not listening, he’s already lost before leaving the start line.

Bert is just too old to give a fuck. He knows he’s a relic, he knows everyone hates his womanizing ways, and he just. Does. Not. Care. He’s not trying, he’s not listening, he’s thriving and having a fuckin BLAST.

Cameron is the modern bro. He’s internalized all of the stupid bullshit that Albie’s in danger of falling into (and so has his wife, honestly) and yet he’s also massively insecure. He’s just got a shitload of money and a wife who indulges him, so he doesn’t generally have to confront the emptiness inside of him. He’s not trying, he’s not listening, he *wants* you to think he’s thriving but secretly isn’t.

Ethan is the hardest one to parse. Out of everyone there, he’s the least shitty, but that’s not saying a whole lot. He at least comes by his love for his wife honestly, but his wife seems like a difficult person to love. Cameron has tempted him with the idea of being able to indulge his baser instincts, and he’s clearly conflicted between living up to the decent standards he seems to have held so far, or to succumb to the devil on his shoulder. That said, he is also somehow completely oblivious to his wife being upset with him, over and over again. I’m not sure he’s doing it on purpose, he’s just very bad at picking up what she’s dropping and that’s leading him down a dark road. He’s trying, he’s extremely bad at listening, and it’s eating him up inside and I’m worried he’s gonna just snap.

[efrmellifer]

How Betula Got Her Name

Etien had been wanting to discuss names for a while now, while things were still relatively calm. She could help Aymeric preparing their room to be a room for four (if the midwife had counted correctly) instead of two, and they could talk about it.

But… there was something she was going to have to admit if she wanted to bring up the name she was starting to favor for a girl.

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Exemplary Warrior, pure of heart and true in all things. Strong of will, strong of arm. Honesty was her policy, from marketplaces to meeting halls.

She opened them again, staring deeply into herself. No. Not Warrior, honest and fair, friendly and helpful or not. Etien, who loved her husband and wanted to be truthful with him. Because she did love Aymeric, and it would be bad for the two of them if she kept something from him. Especially something so small. Being open with her lover, the man who made the house they shared a home, for her and for the kits they were getting ready for, was what he deserved.

And it was what he was going to get.

Still, she couldn’t help but bounce on her heels and toes a little, hesitant to admit she had broken a rule for something so silly. And he was going to say it was silly, in the grand scheme.

A duel of their loves for each other, it would be, but Etien still wanted to avoid the conflict.

She shook her head to clear it. She was a grown woman with responsibilities, more coming by the day. She had to act mature. So she stepped into the room.

“Aymeric, darling?”

He looked up from the papers scattered around his hands, the book laid open next to him, and Adette sleeping curled up tightly in his lap. “Yes?”

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about, but I would feel more comfortable doing so if you promise me beforehand that you won’t be angry with me.”

“That I won’t be—Etien, what did you do that I would be angry about?”

She looked down, searching for the toes of her shoes, but unable to find them from the billowing of her skirts as they cascaded from her stomach. “I left the city proper.”

“And where did you go? A trip to Camp Dragonhead is nothing so large. I only hope the knights didn’t have you running errands for them again.”

“They didn’t.”

He sighed in relief.

“But that’s partially because I wasn’t at Dragonhead.” She sighed, taking a seat in the chair opposite him, Adette winding herself around Etien’s legs, purring softly and shedding fine brown hairs on her skirt. Etien bent to scratch behind the cat’s ears. “I went to Voor Sian Siran. But I had Laniatte with me!”

“Well, you did have a Rose Knight at your side. Still, what were you doing out there, so close to such an important day for the midwife to determine what next steps you ought to take for your health?”

She laughed, almost blushing as she turned away from Aymeric again. “You may find it silly.”

“And I should still like to hear it.” Aymeric rose from his seat to stand before Etien. As he laid a hand on hers, he encouraged her, “Tell me, dearest. What was so pressing?”

“Well, I noticed when I was making the tea this morning that we were running a little low on birch syrup.”

“And you went all the way to Voor Sian Siran to tap the trees?”

Etien nodded. “Are those not where you can find some of the best syrup imported to Ishgard?”

“I would have to ask Lucia,” he mumbled, “she handles the ordering of it, though she thinks I don’t notice the lengths she goes to. Or you, if you’ve been the one importing it.”

“Apparently it’s culinarians that are usually doing it. I just thought to this time, instead of the whole process with her needing to put in a request for someone.” Etien shrugged.

“Well, did you bring it home with you?”

“Yes, it’s already in the kitchen.”

Aymeric tilted Etien’s face up to get an even better look at her. “And you weren’t harmed in the process?”

She shook her head, careful not to shake it off the gentle press of his fingertips. “I can move quietly, even through the water. Nothing even looked at me, and I tapped the trees efficiently while Laniatte stood watch.” She gave him a smile. “I just kept thinking about how pleased you might be that I’d replenished our stores before you’d even needed to think about it; it put a spring in my step.”

He sighed lightly. “Well, if you’re all right, and you managed to do what you’d planned to, I can hardly be too upset. But please do actually take it easy now, until the midwife has seen you again?”

“I will,” Etien answered, eyes closing slowly as she looked up at him. When she opened them again, he was taking her hand and leading her to the front room.

“You said you had something else to discuss,” he explained as she followed along behind him, grip tightening on his hand as he picked up speed. “I thought we could do so away from the trappings of my work.”

“Oh. Good idea.”

Aymeric smiled back at her, then kept walking through the house, though he paused to let her make up the few steps’ lead he’d had on her, so they walked side-by-side, hand in hand, rather than his dragging her down the hallway.

When they’d sat down and gotten comfortable, Etien spoke. “I thought of something else while I was gathering and refining the birch sap. I thought of a name for one of the kits, if one of them is a girl.”

“And if they both are?”

“I didn’t think that far. But surely we can come up with a second name,” she laughed.

Aymeric chuckled, too, and pulled her closer. “So what is it?”

“Well, I had excess sap, so I poured some of it into a reservoir in Camp Cloudtop, and I noticed the labeling. It read ‘betula.’ I liked the sound. What do you think?”

“Betula,” he rolled it around on his tongue. He imagined the weight of a baby in his arms, calling her name, the gentle whisper of ‘Betula.’ The calls across forums, the chiding to be careful, the soft groans at night when she cried or woke him up with a gentle pat to his shoulder.

Wee baby Betula.

“I like it. Betula it is, if we’re blessed with a girl.”

Etien beamed. “You can choose her middle name, of course.”

[nomnomsik]

Webtoon Reading List

Romance

1. The Flower that was bloomed by a Cloud 구름이 피워낸 꽃  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

(Chapter 37 at the time of writing this): This has to be one, if not, my all-time favorite from this list. It’s a historical drama webtoon with the most unique power dynamic between our heroine, the forgotten princess born of a concubine who isn’t given respect or power, and her partner, a young genius from his family clan, who just happens to suggest to the princess to become someone who simply can’t be ignored. Their arranged relationship stems off from this encounter as the male lead seems to eye the throne as well as power, with the princess quickly rising beside him. This webtoon is ambiguous in character motives and feelings, making it feel like you’re walking over thin ice. Do they truly love each other? Just how far are they both willing to go to be the one in control over their relationship? And just how far is the male lead willing to go against our heroine’s bodyguard, the only one who’s ever shown her kindness by saving her life when she was young? There were also little music soundtracks on certain important chapters that really made me fall in love...

2. Cheese in the Trap 치즈인더트랩  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

(Season 4 Chapter 73 at the time of writing this): There are so many layers and the buildup to the final season and the soon-to-be conclusion is so satisfying. Jung is such an interesting character that will continue to intrigue you into the end. Not to mention, the other character relationships are very memorable and I can remember a couple of names besides the main character. I loved the improvement of the story and the art style as it went on. You could see growth and development and it was beautiful. 

3. Here U Are by D-Jun  ★ ★ ★ ★

(Chapter 109.6 at the time of writing this): I had a difficult time pinpointing just what made this so great. For one, the art style probably destroys every other webtoon on this list as full-color strips with insanely developed compositions and shots accompanied with realistic backgrounds. When I tell you the art in this is incredible, trust me. I will probably never see a clean and polished webtoon like this ever again. This was honestly my first time diving into a manhua since I tend to find Chinese webtoons the most triggering in their content and avoid them a lot (or read the comments to check if it’s alright). But I appreciate the commentary on gay relationships as well as a main character who’s just normal... Like the fact that I’m saying this is honestly upsetting because shouldn’t this be normal? Of course, a character should be more than their preference, but there’s something about the way this particular story goes about it that left a deep impression on me. I think you’ll understand if you give it a read.

4. Lucia 루시아  ★ ★ ★

(Chapter 36 at the time of writing this): I wouldn’t say it’s terrible, but it’s not one of the stronger fantasy webtoons I’ve read. The only thing it has going for it the mysterious history behind a duke’s family that our heroine marries into to protect herself as the 16th princess of the kingdom. Also, there’s smut, but there’s not much to get excited about since we’re not really given a reason to like the duke so much besides his appearance.

5. True Beauty 여신강림  ★ ★

(Episode 80 at the time of writing this): I’m not a huge fan of it but I tend to follow it just because the art is sometimes nice. The story is stuffed full of cliches, but really shameless ones that really don’t add anything to the story or characters. I felt like I’ve been going in circles with no goal to end up in. 

Isekai

1. Doctor Elise 외과의사 엘리제  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

(Chapter 108 at the time of writing this): This probably has to be the most entertaining isekai out of the entire list, as it is ranked on top. Call it a guilty pleasure but I loved how the heroine’s acquisition of knowledge is entirely justified. Being a doctor in her previous life, it makes sense why she knows so much. Often with isekai, the heroine knows particular information but I never understand how because they never came off as intelligent prior to the way they acted. The art style is quite satisfying and normal for these isekai stories... Big eyes.

2. Who Made Me a Princess 어느날 공주가 되어버렸다  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

(Chapter 65 at the time of writing this): The only reason this story isn’t on top is because it made my heart fucking tear into pieces with the biggest conflict I swear I’ve ever come across that hasn’t been resolved yet. So, there is no satisfaction yet, thus I had to put it as #2. But goddamn, this manhwa is out of this world. It’s incredible and makes me feel in such a confused and complex way. The father and king is another interesting character (who’s almost probably the hottest male out of all these webtoons combined) and watching his character develop warmed my soul up. His intentions and motives slowly come together and everything starts making sense. There’s a lot of analysis about his character on Tumblr so you can search for that. His existence brings up interesting conversations about whether his treatment of his daughter, the heroine, is justified. Is he a poor soul hurting from the death of his lover? Or is he simply resentful to the daughter than took his wife’s life away?

3.  The Reason Why Raeliana Ended up at the Duke's Mansion 그녀가 공작저로 가야 했던 사정  ★ ★ ★ ★ 

(Chapter 114 at the time of writing this): This was the first isekai webtoon I read and I do not regret it. I’m glad it was this story because the main character is actually justified for the smart calls that she makes rather than pulling it from her ass. The comedy is actually somewhat humorous and the art definitely reminds me of Doctor Elise’s. It scores points in the mysterious factor as well as developing a good romance at an even pace. 

4. To Be You, Even Just For A Day 하루만 네가 되고 싶어  ★ ★ ★

(Chapter 6 at the time of writing this): We love a villainous princess who seeks revenge and will do anything in her power to claim what rightfully belongs to her. She’s cunning and smart, but I need more to have better judgment over the entire story. 

5. Lady Baby 레이디 베이비  ★ ★ 

(Chapter 55 at the time of writing this): This shit is so fucking slow and long, the only thing saving it is the cute and moe main character. Please, you can build plot and characters at the same time. Please increase the pacing... it’s so incredibly slow I can barely handle it.

6. A False Confession 잘못된 고백  ★ ★ 

(Chapter 16 at the time of writing this): One of the main love interests literally reminds me of Kirito from SAO from his appearance which was somewhat concerning given his personality to be almost the same LOL. I need more chapters to see where the story is going. 

[leightaylorwrites]

Leigh Dissects YA fiction: Fallen Kingdoms (Chapter Seven- Chapter Ten)

Chapter Seven - Auranos

Sigh… I thought we’d at least get a break from Cleo by heading back to Magnus but I guess that was foolish of me to hope.

No one knew why, but Cleo guessed her sister had fallen in love with someone else.

The gender-neutral “someone” makes me hope for a single lesbian in this story. It’s another foolish hope.

Emilia had never so much as cast a flirtatious glance at any of the men in the palace [...]

LET EMILIA BE GAY 2K18

His parents didn’t approve of smoking inside the house. Aron might be arrogant and confident, but he was still seventeen and had to abide by his parents' rules until his next birthday-unless he wanted to move out ahead of schedule. And Cleo knew without a doubt that he didn’t want that sort of responsibility, financial or otherwise.

I’m sorry when did I leave this YA high fantasy and enter a teen drama on the CW? This entire part is a mess of modern-ness and should have been cut.

Aron: [I’m not sorry for killing him lol I kind of liked it too]

Cleo: How can you sound so calm about this?

Aron: Would you rather I lie and say I have nightmares too? Would that ease your own guilt?

Cleo: I want the truth.

Aron: And that’s what I’ve given you.

I get that Aron is a horrible creepy killer, but he has a point. He IS honest. When the villain makes more sense than your heroine, there’s an issue.

When he smiled, the look was equally menacing and enticing. “I will find you.”

YA authors stop writing scary love interests challenge.

Chapter Eight - Limeros

“Naughty girl.”

She ignored the flush that immediately heated her cheeks.She wasn’t being naughty; she was being inquisitive.

And I’m being disgusted. So not only does Magnus have the hots for his adoptive sister, Lucia blushes when he calls her “naughty.” Clace are BOTH unemployed.

“Cleiona’s also the name of the youngest Auranian princess,” Magnus mused. “Never really thought about it before. Same age as you are, right? Nearly to the day?”

I have… questions. First, how does he know Cleo’s exact birthday? Two, it’s likely going to come into play later that they are at most a few days apart but how does that work with Lucia? How does Magnus know her day of birth? We find out later Sabina (the lady from the prologue) brought Lucia to the palace as an infant but it wasn’t the day she was born so how would Sabina know her birthday? Even if she had a vision on the baby’s day of birth or something like that, how did Lucia survive without being breastfed? I need answers.

Magnus: One of grace and beauty, my sister, with a multitude of suitors at her beck and call. Forced to be siblings with a scarred monster like me.

Lucia: As if that scar makes you a monster. You can’t be blind to how girls look at you-I even see maids here in the castle wistfully watch you pass, even if you never notice them. They all think you’re devastatingly handsome. And your scar only makes you more… intriguing.

If you think plain hetero splooging is bad, just wait until you see plain hetero incest splooging!

“[Tomas] was cut down as a spoiled lord tried to show off in front of a princess - Princess Cleiona [...] The two watched Tomas Agallon’s young life bleed from him in front of his own family.They didn’t feel sorry for the pain they caused that family and all Paelsia.”

I mean… it’s true. Too bad the evil king is saying this and therefore the reader is supposed to disagree with him and know that Cleo the Super Special White Girl can’t do anything wrong ever but still. He’s right.

The words were acid on his tongue as jealousy flashed through him like a bolt of lightning. “But [Lucia] isn’t interested in walks around the palace grounds. Not with, well… not with you.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

Magnus forced a tense look on his face as if he’d said too much and now felt guilty. “It’s really none of my business.”

[...]

“It’s just that she’s mentioned you to me [...] And she made it clear that if you ever stopped by, you should not be encouraged any further. She means no offense, of course. But… her interests in a potential suitor lie elsewhere.”

In case incest splooging wasn’t enough to make me hate this character, he’s entered Rowboat’s, well, boat. Territorial pricks are not cute @ YA authors.

Magnus had no patience for anyone who would be manipulated so easily. If the boy was truly interested in Lucia, he should be able to stand up to any adversity, including an overprotective older brother.

But you literally just told this kid Lucia SAID she doesn’t want him. If he’s taking your word as truth, that’s not him being manipulated, it’s him believing you because why would a prince lie to him about this? He’s not doing anything wrong by respecting what he believes are Lucia’s wishes??? He has more respect for her than you do?? Why do people like Magnus??

“I wouldn’t hesitate to say you were lying.” He took her arm in his and squeezed it until she flinched. A flicker of fear went through her pale eyes. “Who do you think the king would believe? His son and heir? Or a kitchen maid?”

Amia swallowed hard. “I apologize, my prince. I would never say such a thing.”

“Smart girl.”

So… Magnus is literally physically abusing and threatening his casual hookup and people stan??

There was no Limerian law that stated that pure royal blood was necessary for the position. Even the son of a whore could become king.

Magnus is being all emo over the fact that Tobias could be king someday, a problem which is easily solved by Magnus killing Tobias. This doesn’t happen, but I think I’ve found the problem with all these series that try so hard to be the YA version of Game of Thrones/ASOIAF: nobody has the balls to write how these conflicts would actually play out in a real political setting. YA does have to be toned down in comparison to adult fiction but when you tone things down so much that they make no sense, it doesn’t work at all.

Blood sacrifice? How deeply savage.

Can’t tell if I’m tired of the word savage being used in this book (it’s used at least 20 times in reference to Paelsia) or if I’m tired of it in general (thanks stan twitter).

The king swiftly moved behind the boy, pulled his head back, and slashed the blade across his throat. Tobias’s eyes went wide and his hands came up automatically to his neck. Blood squirted out from between his fingers. He collapsed to the ground.

I’m DONE. We got half a page about Tobias being a threat to the throne for Magnus and instead of seeing them battle it out, or Tobias team up with an enemy later on, or anything that might give some payoff to the fact that Magnus has a secret half-brother, he’s sacrificed a few pages after his main introduction. Do you see what I mean now about YA fantasy writers holding back?

Chapter Nine - Auranos

I DON’T CARE, WHERE IS JONAS

“It’s unfortunate about Princess Emilia, though. So, so sad she isn’t well enough to attend.”

We get it. She’s dying. You’ve reminded us like four times already.

[...] Emilia’s most recently finished painting, a study of the night sky.

Subtle foreshadowing isn’t subtle enough for me.

That [her marriage] was solely a political choice sounded so cold, so analytical.

Does Cleo… not know what politics are? Does she not understand that royal arranged marriages happen all the time? Does she not realize she’s a princess? Why is she so dumb??

“You do know [Nic] is madly in love with you, right?”

Dammit. We came so close to having that platonic relationship but we can’t have a young man in this series not want to splooge over Cleo. It’s the first book and Cleo already has three love interests for this series. Alien Trashryver is worried.

Emilia: “I fell in love with someone else [...] I’ve never felt such love as I felt for him.”

DOUBLE DAMMIT.

Despite being named for the goddess, Cleo wasn’t invested in religion [.]

Isn’t being named after a religious deity frowned upon? I know in some religions you can be named after a minor figure - such as Christians with the archangels. But you can’t name your child God. Cleo being named after the primary person in the religion seems wrong.

But how else would we know she’s a Super Special Magical White Girl if she didn’t have a name far beyond what she deserves?

Her sister had been in love with a guard who’d died two months ago. “It was Theon’s father, wasn’t it?”

Isn’t he like… old??

Her sister had been in love with the king’s bodyguard who’d been thrown from his horse to his death. A tragedy.

That is verbatim from the book and I can’t stop laughing. This bitch said “a tragedy,” I’m CRYING.

Emilia was always the rock - comforting Cleo when she was upset over [some petty stuff] or the loss of her innocence to Aron.

“You’re the same as you were yesterday and the day before,” she’d soothed. “Nothing has changed. Not really. Forget what troubles you. Regret nothing, but learn from any mistakes you make. Tomorrow will be a brighter day, I promise.”

If you think things are cool because HEY we’ve got a YA heroine who isn’t a virgin, we later find out Cleo was drunk when this happened and therefore is an assault victim. The book never acknowledges the later, but instead has Emilia tell Cleo to learn from her mistakes and that nothing has changed. Feminist YA at its peak, y’all.

“You can’t. You’re to be the queen one day. If you die, that means it’ll be me. Trust me, Emilia, that would be a very bad thing. I would make a terrible queen.”

I mean, yeah I agree that Cleo would be a shitty queen but I’m more annoyed at how these five sentences are written.

Emilia: “There’s no one out there spying on us through the eyes of birds, hoping for clues of where to find the Kindred.”

Cleo: “I’ve never believed in such nonsense.”

Btw, Cleo said earlier she thought the birds were watching her. Consistency is hard, I guess.

[Theon] shook his head. “I knew my father cared about someone, but he wouldn’t say who it was. I figured he was involved with a married woman. Now I know.”

So Cleo’s boyfriend is her sister’s dead husband’s son… Cleo’s love interest is her nephew. He’s her step-nephew, but her nephew nonetheless.

Chapter Ten - Limeros (this time with the bird dude)

[...] to see his bird friend, Phaedra, perched on the branch next to him.

Now, I could give this book points if the whole point was that the western world was meant to be Greece, while Mystica is a mix of Italy and Spain. But the existence of Paelsia with its North African/Asian/Roman setting messes it all up.

All [Lucia] would see when she looked at him was a golden hawk. For some reason, this realization pained him.

So we can’t have lgbt+ romances or poc romances but Cleo the Super Special Magical White Girl can get three+ love interests and Lucia can get two love interests - her adoptive brother and a dude who can turn into a bird. White authors, man. White authors…

One thing I do like about this Ioannes dude is that his chapters are short, leaving little room for bullshit. However, they make me go back to Magnus and Cleo sooner than I want.