#but basically magic stars cats and stolen touches

[rockitmans]

Unusual Fic-Specific Asks for Authors

A Thousand Words: I’ll create a photoset/gifset that, IMO, sums up the main themes/concepts I intended for [that fic]

Oooh could you do this for Witch Wanted?

Kurt wonders if Blaine is his own kind of magic

[novamirmirsblog]

Mission gone right

Hi guysss. This is 18+ ty :3

Word count: 1596

Genre: Smut, kinda dark? R is bad basically

Request: no

Warnings: Wanda sex magic, swearing, alcohol (think that's it)

A/N: we got votes for both angst and smut so I kinda combined both? I feel like this isn't angsty enough so imma write something super angsty next. Then I'll go back and do some more spidey duo xxx

"What to do, what to do, what to do..." You paced back and forth around your living room. "Ugh!" throwing your hands up in the air, you flopped down on the sofa, leaving your legs dangling over the arm. Switching on the TV, you saw that there was a new display at an art gallery. You looked around your walls and saw nothing as pretty as the painting on the TV.

"I guess one more couldn't hurt..."

The TV then changed to show that the Avengers were making a special appearance considering Tony Stark owned the gallery and it was it's opening night.

With newfound determination, you got dressed in a red dress with a neckline that dropped all the way to just above your navel and a slit that went all the way up to the middle of your left thigh. The dress gave you the freedom to move but still looked like it was just something pretty to wear. You grabbed your clutch (because god forbid a woman has pockets) and headed out.

~~~~~

Soft music played as people with more money than sense wandered around the gallery. Women wore pearls loosely and men had watches just begging to be taken. You had to focus. You were there for one reason and one reason only. The oil painting apparently cost millions. You didn't really care about that - it was a nice touch, sure - but not the reason you wanted it. You told yourself it was because it was a pretty picture but maybe it was more to do with the fact a pretty mindreader was going to be there tonight.

So far, you had done well to avoid the guards and cameras. You had stolen from this place a few times before and you knew that they rarely changed their security because you had cameras on them. You had seen a few of 'Earth's mightiest heroes' and had tried to ignore the disappointment you felt when it wasn't Wanda.

It's not like the two of you had history, but you were at HYDRA when the twins were too. You were a failed experiment. Your powers were useful, but not useful enough. They also took a little time to form. Time that Strucker didn't want to waste. You, Wanda and Pietro spent about a year together before they went to the 'good side' and you delved deeper into what your powers could do for you. You'd think that HYDRA would love the fact you could convince people of anything and erase all traces that you had ever been somewhere, but apparently they weren't looking for spies, they had enough of those.

You strolled around until you made it to the bathroom, waiting there for the rest of the evening. You had everything planned, walk up to the picture, take it from it's frame and leave out the front door. Everything was going according to plan until you heard footsteps behind you.

"Hey! What are you doing there!" You opened your mouth to speak but you were grabbed and dragged round the corner and into a storage room.

It was Wanda.

"What the hell are you doing here!" Wanda whisper shouted as guards jogged past our hiding place.

"Same as you apparently." You realised Wanda hadn't noticed how close the two of you were, cupoards were very small...

"You just fucked up my night out."

"Sorry darling, at least my night is going splendidly." You winked and leaned in closer, watching as the anger transformed to lust on her face.

You were taller than Wanda by maybe half a head so she had to look up at you as she tried to formulate a reason to get out of there. Technically, she didn't even have to be there. She could walk out right now and the guards wouldn't even bat an eye and yet something was making her stay.

You moved slightly and Wanda groaned ever so faintly. It was so quiet that you would have missed it if you hadn't been so close to her. You then realised that your leg was conveniently placed between Wanda's, and what can you say? The storage cupboard was small. It wasn't your fault.

Okay, it was maybe a little bit your fault.

"Oh darling, has no one been taking care of you?" You mocked, leaning in and whispering over the shell of her ear "Want me to take care of that?"

Wanda froze even more. Her mind was racing so fast that there was no possible way for her to read yours even though she was desperate to do so. She hadn't seen you in forever but when she glanced over when Tony was telling her a particularly boring story, she couldn't help but gasp at how beautiful you were. Wanda had hoped that you were just there to admire the art work but she knew, deep down, that that would be too good to be true.

"Cat got your tongue?" You were unaware of the turmoil you caused for Wanda. Too focused on your own fun and the way her suit hugged her in all the right places. You wanted nothing more than to fuck her there and then. You didn't want a meaningful relationship with Wanda, just something physical. The two of you were occasional fuck buddies when you were both at HYDRA - the relationship turning slightly toxic very quickly.

You both liked to see how quickly one could get the other jealous. Whether that meant flirting with other people and making sure the other one saw, or just outright sleeping with whoever was nearest. While it seemed that Wanda had grown out of that toxicity, finding love with a glorified Alexa, you never had.

"Why save me darling? I can handle myself."

"You were two seconds from being caught" It was a little disheartening to hear her accent slipping, the last little piece that reminded you of the Wanda she used to be.

"No. No I wasn't." you lifted her chin up and spoke into her neck "I don't need you to save me."

Wanda let out another groan, much louder this time as her hips bucked on your thigh.

"Shhh" You chuckled lowly "We don't want anyone to hear you, right?"

You grabbed her hips and kissed her. It was rough and fast. Wanda whimpered and began grinding harder, trying to get more friction. One hand traced lightly on Wanda's thigh and the other tugged at her waistband. Wanda got rid of them instantly with her magic and you slipped your hand into her panties.

"Shit sweetheart, your toaster not giving you the satisfaction you need?"

"I don't want to think about him" Wanda let out with a slight growl, her accent getting heavier again, like how it was when you knew her.

"Sweetheart when I'm done with you, you wont think of anything else for months."

"God you're a cocky bitch. You're all talk and no action."

"No?" You pushed two fingers into her. You weren't feeling nice enough to start off slow and she was wet enough for it anyway.

Wanda's back arched as she let out a moan and you kissed her chest, her blazer falling open to reveal an extremely unbuttoned shirt. She tried to push your hand further, desperately chasing her release but you pulled away, taking your hand and licking your fingers, watching as Wanda gulped.

"Please..."

"But darling, I think the guards are gone." You smirked as the witch basically threw a temper tantrum.

"So? I haven't felt this good in so long" Wanda shoved her own hand back to where yours was. It was strangely extremely hot to see her try and get back to her high. She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at you. You could see the red wisps surrounding you before you nearly doubled over, looking up at Wanda who wore an evil smile.

"Now you know how I feel. Are you going to get back to it?" Wanda had never done this before. When you had known her, she had little to no control over her powers, only being able to control things with her mind and read others thoughts. She had been practicing.

"Fuck you."

"Well yes, that's what I'm trying to get you to do."

You dropped to your knees and took the rest of her underwear off, slowly licking her as she swung a leg over your shoulder. "Shit y/n, just like that."

You worked your fingers in and out of her, feeling everything you were doing to her on yourself thanks to her magic. You got slightly sloppy as you both neared your climaxes. You suck and bit along her thigh and on her clit until you felt her clench around your fingers. You both saw stars as her magic continued to fuck you, drawing out your orgasms until you were both sweaty messes.

~~~~~

You never did get the painting that night. You didn't really get anything you wanted that night. You sat on the top of your building, one leg swinging and a bottle of something strong in your hand, just watching the city buzz at night. As you sat there watching the tiny people come home from their jobs to their loving families, you wondered if you could have had something like that with Wanda. Then you laughed as you remembered that she was probably wrapped up in the arms of Siri, taking another swig from the bottle, you got up and prepared for your next job.

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 2 for the first time. Random thoughts.

Huh. Only 7 episodes. Not complaining necessarily. For series with an ongoing plot I've definitely become more in favor with their seasons only having as many episodes as they need rather than them having to stretch themselves out to full up a certain number of episodes, which can lead to padding and just bad character moments.

Episode 1: Jeez. Catra visiting Shadow Weaver's cell just to rub her success in her face and verbally abuse her back for once. It's like a twisted version of Zuko and Ozai from ATLA. Catra's upbringing under her was abusive but this is far from a healthy way for her to deal with it. She's basically deliberately swimming in her resentment.

Episode 2: It's not that I'm rooting for her but by-golly was it fun to watch Catra act like just the absolute worst she could while she was Glimmer and Bow's captive.

I touched on this in season 1 but part of the drama of the heroes feeling guilt over leaving Entrapta behind is kind of lost on me a bit simply because it was her own fault it happened. She deliberately went back into the purge room because of her machine obsession, which then closed on her and erupted in flames. It was more than reasonable to assume she was dead and no one but her was to blame, so I'm not really able to be invested in their guilt over it.

That said, weirdly enough I do like that her "abandonment" doesn't seem to be even a blip on the radar for Entrapta herself. She hasn't joined the horde because she resents the heroes or felt left behind, she simply is so obsessed with machines and experimentation that she'll be on the side of whoever lets her do the most of that. Like, it's selfish and irresponsible but it's very in-character and I'd far rather have a traitor motivation be based in that over something stupid like a misunderstanding.

Episode 3: I love the mental image of Shadow Weaver thinking up princess-themed ghost stories to tell Adora as a child.

So, if the previous She-Ra Mara separated Eternia from the other realms/planets/whatever she did and that's what cut off the She-Ra line for 1000 years, I'm guessing Hordak may be from the time before that happened, thus his drive to create portals and calling Eternia a backwards world. Either he's naturally long-lived or his technology is extending his life.

Episode 4: You know, you could maybe argue it was vague enough that it could be taken other ways but I'm definitely getting some vibes here that Scorpia is crushing on Catra. She literally refers to the two of them as soulmates at one point. I know she says she's trying to be friends but this feels a level beyond that.

Fun little reference to the original She-Ra cartoon thrown in there (and maybe Cowboy Bebop...? James Bond...? What was Glimmer's art style supposed to be?). I like how it is more like just playful ribbing than anything outright dumping on the original. Again, I've never seen original She-Ra but whenever remakes/adaptations go out of their way to trash to the original I always kind of wonder why they bothered doing an adaptation if the original is just that bad? Also, I was having trouble sleeping so it was about 2am when I watched this episode and the very Eartha Kitt Catwoman Catra made it very difficult for me not to lose my **** and stay quiet. With how much of a contrast that version is from the one in this series, that was hilarious. Bonus note, it's a nice touch that Frosta's version of Catra is a pretty crasher in that sweet suit, since that's the only impression of Catra she's ever had.

Adora being a chosen one is definitely elevated up simply by how much the pressure of what she's supposed to be is getting to her. I'm likely going to keep making Avatar The Last Airbender comparisons throughout the series but that's partly because I went into this series figuring it'd be at least structured similar to ATLA (season 1 being more episodic and a little more kid-friendly as it builds up the world before getting more serious later). Adora and Aang are interesting to compare here. Aang's worries early on were less apparent because he was more in-denial/choosing not to think about his problems that much, which fit with his character as a free-spirited Air Nomad. While Adora is much more military-minded. She can't keep herself from thinking about her problems and trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And jeez, that idea of who/how Catra is in her mind. Not only beating her but making her watch as she takes everything she cares about away. Not Shadow Weaver, not Lord Hordak, but Catra. That whole Lion King Mufasa/Scar moment between them in episode 11 and their fight in the S1 finale really did a number on her mental image of her old friend. Not reasonably so.

Minor note: I'm sure I'm the only one who got this impression but by the look of it, the way the robot's eye moved, and the music, after getting the soda spilled on it that little spybot gained sentience for half a second and then immediately died. It was so darkly comedic I had to laugh.

Episode 5: So that red disc is basically She-Ra's Red Kryptonite, having an effect on the mind rather than the body. The drunk Adora joke doesn't really do it for me but it did get some nice interactions going between Scorpia and Sea Hawk, two characters I certainly wasn't expecting to bond. I did really like Catra's panic when berserker She-Ra nearly beheads her. The implication is that is Adora really wanted to kill her Catra would already probably be dead. It's a thing I like about powerhouse characters like Superman or Aang, who could just demolish everything around them and don't simply because they're a good person...which in turn makes them the scariest person on the planet when they're well and truly ticked off. I'm not going to lie, I do kind of want to see a She-Ra version of Aang when Appa was stolen or when Superman fought The Elite.

Also, Catra's line of "I have control over Adora. I'm not giving that up for anything.". There's a lot to read into there.

Episode 6: I guess my prediction was sort of right. Shadow Weaver became basically a magic parasite and while it did increase the power she's capable of the implication seems to be that she needs a constant fix of magic to keep herself going, thus her attachment to the Black Garnet.

Have we seen Micah before? Given how long ago the flashback seems set, the fact that Shadow Weaver didn't kill him and thus he probably becomes someone important later in life, I'm guessing he's Glimmer's dad and the queen's late husband, since I think he's the only important male character whose face we haven't seen yet. Also, he's voice by Ezra from Star Wars Rebels and that cracks me up for some reason. It's the exact same voice and a relatively similar character.

I compared Catra and Shadow Weaver with a kind of twisted version of Zuko and Ozai and that definitely still fits here. Both Catra and Zuko confront their parent and call them out for the inexcusable abuse they put them through but while that moment was the start of Zuko's upwards journey this and SW's betrayal seems like it's going to cause Catra to spiral even further. Makes sense why Adora leaving affected her so much. She's probably the only one Catra's ever had that she could consistently trust and rely on, even if she did somewhat resent her.

Not surprised Hordak is getting along with Entrapta. She's not socially aware enough to be scared or intimidated by him, so she'll speak frankly, and since all she wants to talk about is the machines, experiments, and how they could get them to work Hordak probably doesn't take much issue with that. She's producing results, which is what he cares about, thus also why Shadow Weaver and Catra started losing favor with him. I wonder if Catra is going through imposter syndrome? Shadow Weaver had that line that Entrapta earned her place next to Hordak and, if you think about it, Catra hasn't really "earned" anything. We saw that she didn't really take her training or studies that seriously, showing up late to combat practice and even getting partial credit for what Adora beat. She wasn't promoted to Force Captain because of her own abilities but because Adora had defected when she was supposed to get that title. She's come close to a few victories but never really had any except for Glimmer and Bow's kidnapping...whom she then basically let escape when she returned Adora's sword to her. She doesn't have the slightest clue how the horde's bureaucracy works when trying to get things done, like simply getting troops armor. Given how much better than her Adora always was and how little she herself has to her name, I wonder is subconsciously Catra believes she doesn't deserve her current position and thus why she's fretting so much over trying to prove herself.

Episode 7: Am I mistaken or did Bow's parents say that he's the youngest of TWELVE siblings? I was going to ask whether Bow was adopted or if his dad's used a surrogate or if maybe there's even just simply magic in She-Ra's world that allows two people of the same sex to have a child together but now I'm just focused on the 12 kids thing. I get nervous just imagining myself having more than one. You should see me when I'm with two cats. I have to pet both of them because I'd feel like I'd be making one feel left out and like the other is the favorite. I'm a mess with kids.

The dad with dreadlocks (Lance?), his design looked familiar to me and I finally realized it reminded me a of a fanart design for a human Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Very different voices between those two characters though.

I wonder if there's any significance to the robot protecting the crystal having the same design as those in the artic in episode 5? Obviously both have the connection to the First Ones but the robot in the forest who was also protecting First Ones' tech had a more insect-like design over these more worm/Graboid ones.

I'm kind of curious what Hordak would have done if Catra had told the truth. Given his interactions with her and Shadow Weaver he doesn't seem like the time to tolerate failure but I suppose the implication here is that he at least would respect those who own up to their failures. Or I suppose more simply he was just testing to see if she would lie to him and since she did there's little merit in keeping her in a position of authority anymore where she could lie about important things again.

Season 2 verdict: Still enjoying it. Another person on this reddit recommended I view seasons 2 and 3 as one since they are basically just one season split in two. I was going to do that but this ended up longer than I thought I would, so I'll just do 2 and 3 separate to keep them semi-organized and easier to read.

I think overall Catra is my favorite character since she has the most interesting backstory, interactions, and just general path through the story out of everyone. She's like Pearl from Steven Universe or, well, Zuko. There's just so much baggage there that she's trying and kind of failing to deal with. I'm always invested in whatever's happening when she's onscreen. Hordak so far is a good big boss villain for Adora to face but Catra is a good archenemy for her.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o027y3/going_in_blind_watching_season_2_for_the_first/

[jackdaniel69nice]

Ninjago OC’s

I don’t really make ocs unless it’s plot specific but here are a few I have because it’s oc day I guess (this got so long I’m sorry)

Side Characters

Brody Grey and the Oppenheimer gang

Description: mid 20s, tip-dyed black hair (color is subject to change but he likes red), likes to wear tie-dye and anything from the 80s, average adult male height, Gay

Personality: overdramatic but with a rational head, energetic and likes to tease, gives good advice and father figure I guess?, love of reading and writing, can be flirty and cocky at times

Backstory: Was disowned by his parents when he came out and has had to make it on his own, Theater major at the Oppenheimer and successful too, was Cole’s roomate (they didn’t get along at first)

Plot Purpose: Cole-centric backstory exploration, Brody and co. reveal a lot about Cole’s past to the other ninja (more about the emo depressed grieving version in the pilots) and helps him come to terms with it, Also tell them you’re gay Cole, yeesh. The other friends are important to expanding the other ninja like Alex (non-binary, quiet, goth, Violinist) helps Jay deal with that he’s trans and coming out of the closet, Persila (bi, short blond, actor, excitable conspericy theorist and fandom queen) Probably figures out Jay is Cliff Gordon’s son, Melissa (lesbian, singer, Mom, sweet thing but easy to anger and holds a grudge) Was the first one Cole latched onto in the group because she reminded him so much of his mom [there are other things too with Nya and Kai and Zane but I don’t feel like elaborating more now], ANYWAY Jay takes Cole to see a musical and recognizes Brody (who he hasn’t been in contact with since he left) and they talk after the show leading down the road of all Cole’s old college friends meeting the ninja

Random Facts: He’s dating Vinnie and NO ONE CAN STOP ME, he’s sorta supposed to be Cole’s foil (where Cole is blasting My Chemical Romance and AC/DC he’s blasting Boogie Box High and SOS Band), he’s a mash of all the other ninjas personality’s not gonna lie

Tony Tabloid

Description: 12-14ish, shorter side but gets a major growth spurt when older, short black/brown hair, missing tooth, classic news boy hat that’s to big for him

Personality: Bright young boy with plenty of street smarts, will talk your ear off, full of himself and would fight anyone or anything no matter their size, very energetic but with a cool attitude

Backstory: Orphan at Walker’s Home (Jay’s rich and built an orphanage cause he’s nice like that) in Ninjago city, was on the street since young age, ex-thief, turned around at Walker’s though and now is head of the Ninjago city newspaper delivery (probably knows Nelson)

Plot Purpose: All the ninja seem to have a child that gives them advice at one point or another so here’s Jay’s, Jay has the rights to the Star Fairer enterprise (unknown to the other ninja) and when Lloyd mentions they should make new movies but can’t he goes about making it happen, he makes it all seem like he’s uninvolved but somehow gets them vip passes to see the movie in action (he says it’s from his ex-acting career connections), Tony is playing the younger version of Fritz’s son (our main character) in flashbacks, Jay is the one who got him his “gig”, he ends up revealing a lot of stuff Jay would rather keep hidden and probably almost dies doing something stupid and Jay has to save him

Random facts: Tabloid obviously isn’t his real last name (not sure wheather he chose it himself or people just started calling him that) it’s obviously related to his work, speaking of work he wants to become a journalist or reporter when he grows up, Jay gave him one of his smile buttons and he put it on his hat, I like to think in the future he gets adopted by Brody and Vinnie

Fievel Schmidt

Jay’s old friend, knew him before he transitioned, I mostly only use him in movie!verse BUT..., in show his mother is a mecahnic who buys parts from Ed and Edna, boyfriend ran off so she’s a single mom, the walkers always take a weekly trip into ninjago city to trade and sell so she’s a regular, Edna takes Jay and Fieval to the arcade and does grocery shopping, unfortunately his mom got seriously injured and can’t do mechanics anymore so they lose touch, plump and short, very sweet boy

Next Master of Sound

I feel like everyone forgot Jacob died in season 4 so here’s a reminder, he never had any children so it went to a random kid, little girl, Long black hair, she accidentally killed her parents when she caused their house in her small village to collapse from crying and activating her powers, selectively mute from fear of her own voice, Cole adopts her, becomes a next gen ninja I guess?, the only time she uses her power is when she sings (which Cole taught her to do)

*Witch doctor, Percy

Male, Lives in the Departed Realm, takes care of it sorta?, knows good magic, hangs out with whisps, helps the ninja (usually Cole) get home by telling them about a portal

Old Man

Grocery market clerk from ignacia, payed off hospital bills for Kai (14) after Nya (10) had an allergic reaction to perfume, Kai had work for him moving veggies and such for several months (got to keep some food though)

Snake Fam

Venomari lesbian who lives in the woods with her wife and 3 adopted kids (one is human), she (her kids) rescue one the ninja and bring them home to heal up so they can go save the others

Tagalong

Jay’s cat he had growing up...Not gonna talk about her right now [if you know, you know]

Villains

Felicia Blake

Scientist obsessed with trying to understand magic and elemental powers, thinks she can figure out how to channel elemental power like the First Spinjitzu Master did, very confident, only concerned with progress and no concern for individual life, ends up capturing Jay and experimenting on him :(

*Ali

Referenced in the Amulet of Ali which channels pure evil/dark magic, was the first sorcerer ever and basically made magic, was banished to the realm of madness and gained power there bringing back his learnings to ninjago, he wrote the book of spells which clouse and and garmadon studied under Chen (which is how garm knew the realm would give him power), Probably killed by Libber (previous EM of lightning) who sacrificed herself to stop him [but did she really kill him?!], Clouse gets the amulet from Borg Tower which boosts his power and now him and Jay have to duke it out like their previous versions did

???

Someone had to make Mr. E, I wonder who?, Jay took Echo back to Cliff’s flat to live after skybound and fixed him up, he might of done a few to many upgrades though and someone saw this as an opportunity, he was attacked while Jay was away and barely got away hiding in the secret room, unfortunately Jays blueprints were stolen (unknown to him) and the rest destroyed, Jay took Echo to the his parents but after seeing Mr. E he’s worried, now someone is throwing out new nindroids based on his designs and they are still searching for Echo, this mystery person plans to build an even stronger nindroid army to sell, prove they are a worthy inventor, and maybe take down the ninja along the way [do partially sentient multicolored nindroids based on the ninja count as ocs?]

*subject to my whims and could change to fill similar plots

[goldeneyedgirl]

Fic-Mas Day 11: All These Broken Things

Our penultimate post! Today, I bring you more of All These Broken Things. I posted the first two chapters before, which you can find right here.

Much love to you all.

(AU in which James kept Alice as a prisoner after she was changed, and she travelled with them against her will up until the fateful baseball game. I highly recommend reading the first two parts here. Possible trigger warning for implication of abuse.) 

For the next day, she is treated like an unwanted package, dragged about upon someone else’s orders, with her solemn-faced jailers at her side. Isabella – they all call her Bella – has been admitted to a hospital under the disingenuous guise of falling downstairs and out a window. The dance studio has burnt to the ground, and James’ last bite on her shoulder is still hot agony, but the angle is wrong for her to remove the venom herself.

Lovely Rosalie sneers at her when she meets up with them to discuss their plan of action. It would be simpler if they divested themselves of her, of course: Carlisle and Edward could stay in Phoenix with Bella, the rest of the Cullens could drive back home to the little town named Forks. But they need to be together to ‘deal with her’ – no one seems to trust her to be alone with Esme or Rosalie - and so they wait. There is a musty, dingy motel room not far from the hospital, where she is ensconced for the duration. She notices that the Cullens seem to rotate, watching her, and wonders where the rest are.

Then Rosalie joins Emmett watching over her, and she understands – the rest of them are somewhere far, far nicer than this brown and yellow room where she can see dried blood and vomit in the webbing of the carpet; where they can relax, and talk, and be themselves.

But she does not begrudge them the small comforts they have offered - she gets to pour cold, albeit dirty, water over the new bite and that almost eases the pain. She spends hours, sitting in the grimy bathtub, collecting water in the palm of her hand and trickling it over her shoulder. They make her leave the door open, and they all clearly think she’s crazy, but she doesn’t explain.

She doesn’t see Carlisle, Esme, or Edward until the end of the week. Apparently, they are leaving. Bella’s parents have arrived, and as much as Edward wishes to stay at Bella’s side, they ‘need to deal with the nomad girl’. They have two cars – one for Esme and Rosalie to drive back in, one for her and the men to be drive back in.

As they prepare to leave the motel, she is rather sorry to leave the bathtub behind; the venom in her shoulder has almost faded, and she feels a fondness towards it. She wonders if she will be allowed to feed soon, she feels hollow and insubstantial – her last meal was long before they ever crossed paths with the Cullens.

And she wonders if they do try her and declare her guilty, if she could ask them to burn her under the stars.

Edward is staring at her in barely disguised horror as she is bundled into the car.

It is one thing to know how she was going to be travelling, but quite another to live it and she wants to scream. Strapped into the car, her first time ever, with the bulk of Emmett on one side and Jasper on the other, their legs pressing against hers, and it is less than ten minutes in, and she has her head between her knees because nothing good has ever – ever – come from being caged in like this.

She recalls rough hands and teeth with clarity that makes her forget where she is for a second, useless breath stolen from her lungs and those memory hands are burning into her skin again…

She knows that they are speaking to her, calling to her, but it all seems very far away and the bite on her shoulder feels so hot and…

Only the very back of her mind processes that the car is pulling off the road, tucked behind a billboard lest some kind busy-body try to help them. That they are getting out of the car, and she is being dragged from it by Emmett and the shredded remains of her preservation instinct kick in and she yowls like an angry cat, kicking away and falling into the dirt before she realises her terrible mistake.

There are four of them and one of her, and she is so tired of fighting. And when has it ever saved her? Better to wait and comply than protest. Acknowledge their rights, their power, and obey, whatever they want. There’s nothing she can think of that she hasn’t been forced to give up before.

“She’s terrified,” Edward supplies, finally, clearly confused by exactly what he sees in her head. “Of us. Of travelling in the car.”

She wants to crack open her memories for Edward to see, to face, and see if he would be particularly grateful to be bundled into the car, to be touched and grabbed so much.

Instead, Carlisle sighs and looks tired but resolute. “Jasper,” he says and it takes her a second to remember and realise, and suddenly she is so calm she feels sleepy, and has a hard time keeping her eyes open. Emmett is chuckling at her, and this time, she is placed in the front seat, the window open, cool air blowing on her face, her knees tucked up to her chest, and this … this is the closest she’s been to sleep since 1920.

//

The coven's house is huge; beyond anything she has ever seen.

She – they – had always lived rough, or maybe in tiny, rundown shacks. Money and clothing was stolen, usually from victims. The nicest thing she ever owned was her cardigan, taken from one of James’ bodies, with the bloodstain on the collar and the tear down the back.

This is Cinderella's palace, and she wonders if she should wash in the river before she crosses into it. But no one says anything about the layer of filth on her. They wouldn’t let her close the bathroom door at the motel to wash, and she resents them for that, in the face of their perfect home. The towering house, the precise flowerbeds… it is magic.

Inside is even lovelier - shiny wooden floors, silky rugs, so much light. There's a gleaming piano, and beautiful paintings, and so many books. Framed photographs adorn the walls. Bouquets of fresh flowers arranged in glass and crystal vases, throwing heady, sweet scents into the air. Nothing will ever be as beautiful or wonderful as this house in this moment.

They are wary around her - Esme stays within Carlisle’s grasp at all times, and Rosalie always addresses her from just behind Emmett – but she understands. James nearly killed the human girl that was so important, and she helped him. But they don't know what she had to survive. And they could have destroyed her. But they didn't, and she is so grateful. They have shown her both mercy and this beautiful home, and she’s already forgiven them for the car ride and Jasper soaking her in so much calm she could barely think.

Esme tries to be a gracious hostess, nervous but polite. She is given plush towels and clean clothing and escorted to an enormous bathroom – the bathtub here is big enough to house the entire family; no wonder they thought her enjoyment of the motel tub was ridiculous. There's hot water, soap and about a dozen different bottles and jars that all smell like heaven and she scrubs away at layers of dirt and blood, waiting for the water to run clear again. She wraps herself in one of the towels, the softest thing she has ever touched, and if they send her to her death, she will have died with visions of heaven in her eyes.

The clothing is at least two sizes too big for her, but soft and clean, smelling like flowers and fresh air. She folds the cuffs and sleeves over and over, but still looks like a little girl in borrowed pyjamas. She pulls a comb through her wet hair and stares at herself in the mirror. Her eyes are dull and black, and there’s a faint shadow of the cracks from James’ last beating but they will fade away when she feeds, she is positive.

They are all cautious of her, which is something new. No one has ever feared her; the only skill she ever had in a fight was her speed, and James fixed that. She is the smallest of all of them, she has nowhere to go and they just spared her life. She is indebted to them.

She creeps downstairs, to where they are all waiting. Carlisle looks stern, and she wonders if he’s going to beat her now. James always liked an audience. And they used to tell her they weren’t nearly as cruel as they should be. That any other coven would tear her apart in seconds, she was that pathetic, that stupid.

Instead, they talk to her. They explain to her their lifestyle – no humans, just animals. That she cannot feed on humans at all while she is with them; they want to assimilate with the human population.

She agrees – she fed on whatever James allowed her, and that varied, from children to rats, depending on his mood. Esme is quick to reassure her that the deer are quite palatable, and the idea of a deer is an indulgence she cannot comprehend. She doesn’t know if she could drain a full one.

They seem kind – Carlisle is solemn and asks her several questions about James, basic ones – yes, Victoria was James’ mate. Yes, she will be angry and yes, she will want retribution. Yes, Victoria and Laurent are likely to harm her if they discover she has lived, but they will have expected the Cullens to destroy her with James.

Her name is Alice.

No, she wasn’t travelling with them by choice.

She’s been with James since she woke, in 1920.

No, she has no recollection of her human life or the change. She woke up to James, this life, and that was that.

[dazzledbybooks]

Set in a kingdom where danger lurks beneath the sea, mermaids seek vengeance with song, and magic is a choice, Adalyn Grace’s All the Stars and Teeth is a thrilling fantasy for fans of Stephanie Garber’s Caraval and Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series. She will reign. As princess of the island kingdom Visidia, Amora Montara has spent her entire life training to be High Animancer—the master of souls. The rest of the realm can choose their magic, but for Amora, it’s never been a choice. To secure her place as heir to the throne, she must prove her mastery of the monarchy’s dangerous soul magic. When her demonstration goes awry, Amora is forced to flee. She strikes a deal with Bastian, a mysterious pirate: he’ll help her prove she’s fit to rule, if she’ll help him reclaim his stolen magic. But sailing the kingdom holds more wonder—and more peril—than Amora anticipated. A destructive new magic is on the rise, and if Amora is to conquer it, she’ll need to face legendary monsters, cross paths with vengeful mermaids, and deal with a stow-away she never expected… or risk the fate of Visidia and lose the crown forever. I am the right choice. The only choice. And I will protect my kingdom. All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace Publisher: Imprint Release Date: February 4th 2020 Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Pirates Book Links: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38325332-all-the-stars-and-teeth Amazon: https://amzn.to/2OS5cH4 B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/all-the-stars-and-teeth-adalyn-grace/1132544791?ean=9781250307781#/ iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/all-the-stars-and-teeth/id1464523717 Bookdepository: https://www.bookdepository.com/All-the-Stars-and-Teeth-Adalyn-Grace-Shayna-Small/9781250248992 Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/all-the-stars-and-teeth Google Books: https://books.google.co.uk/books?vid=ISBN9781250307798&redir_esc=y Favorite Quotes: The fog must have finally made its way through my coat and into my bones. The chill of it touches my core. The ocean below twinkles as if dusted with millions of crystal shards. I never knew how much I wanted this-how much I was missing it-until now. I will my heart to stop. If it stops now, then I wont' have to know what happens next. I shut my eyes as the ocean swallows me whole. Water floods my lungs, and I choke on the one thing I love the most. What a brilliant weapon that hook could make. Review: All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace is such an amazing book. From the very beginning, All the Stars and Teeth had me addicted. I absoutely loved everything about this book. The Magic System I really enjoyed the magic system that Adalyn has create. There are seven island of the Kingdom of Visidia and each island has its own magic. The magic that is involved in this world is mind magic, soul magic, elemental magic, time magic, curse magic, restoration magic, and enchantment magic. Basically the Kingdom is made up of two rules. Rule No. 1, No one is allowed to practice more than one magic. If you were to learn more that one it would be too much and too dangerous for a person. It would have violent consequences. No. 2, Only the Montara family is allowed to do soul magic. I found the magic system to be very interesting but also very complicated. I am looking forward to learning more as I read on. I think there is a lot more to all the magic than what the reader has read so far. The Characters I really loved the characters. Ferrick is Amora's long time friend and fiance. He will follow her anywhere. He is very loyal. I love that he is sweet and caring. He has his own dreams and desire that he would like to accomplish. He doesn't focus everything on Amora. Amora is very interesting. She is to be the next ruler of the kingdom. She is trying to learn as much about her kingdom as she can. She is very naive but she truly wants the best for people. She also isn't afraid to do what she wants. Then there is Vataea. She is a married that joins the crew in the middle of the journey. In a lot of ways, I like her the most. She definitely has some tricks up her sleeve. Lastly there is Bastian. Bastian is definitely to love interest to Amora in this book. He is a very confident pirate but he does care for us. I can't even begin to express to you how much I loved this book. I really don't have anything bad to say. All I really can say is go read this book. It is so good and I really hope that you pick it up and enjoy it as much as I did. About the Author: Adalyn Grace graduated Summa Cum Laude when she was 19-years-old. She spent four years working in live theater, and acted as the managing editor of a nonprofit newspaper. During and after college, she studied storytelling as an intern on Nickelodeon Animation’s popular animated show, The Legend of Korra (sequel to Avatar: The Last Airbender). She was a participant in Pitch Wars 2016, and is a former literary agent intern for an established agency. Adalyn splits time between San Diego and Arizona with her bossy cat and two dorky dogs, and spends her days writing full time while trying to find the city’s best burrito. She has several projects in the works, and hopes to continually push the boundaries and explore the limits of upper young adult fiction. You can follow her on Twitter, at @AdalynGrace_ Author Links: Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17671937.Adalyn_Grace Website: https://adalyngraceauthor.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradalyngrace/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/adalyngrace_ Giveaway: Win a finished copy of ALL THE STARS AND TEETH by Adalyn Grace (US/CAN Only)  Starts: February 4 th 2020  Ends: February 18 th 2020  a Rafflecopter giveaway Tour Schedule: February 4th The Unofficial Addiction Book Fan Club - Welcome Post February 5th NovelKnight - Guest Post Star-Crossed Book Blog - Review + Favourite Quotes The Magical Pages - Review Ideally Inspired Reviews - Review + Favourite Quotes Magical Reads - Review February 6th BookCrushin - Interview Ya It’s Lit - Review + Dream Cast Lily's Latest Reads - Review Starlight Reads - Review + Favourite Quotes Bookish Geek - Review February 7th A Court of Coffee and Books - Review + Favourite Quotes Booked J - Review + Playlist Fanna Wants The World To Read - Review Discover Elysian - Review + Playlist + Favourite Quotes The art of living - Review February 8th Sometimes Leelynn Reads - Review + Playlist + Dream Cast Morgan Vega - Review + Favourite Quotes Allisa White’s Book Blog - Review Shalini's Books & Reviews - Review String of Pages - Review For The Love of Fictional Worlds - Review February 9th The Shelf Life Chronicles - Interview Confessions of a YA Reader - Review + Favourite Quotes Cafeyre - Review TheGeekishBrunette - Review + Favourite Quotes Life Within The Pages - Review February 10th Utopia State of Mind - Guest post Book Briefs - Review Hooked on Bookz - Review Dazzled by Books - Review + Favourite Quotes Paws and Paperbacks - Review February 11th Foals, Fiction & Filigree - Review + Favourite Quotes Amy’s Booket List - Review Gwendalyn’s Books - Review Lauren's Boookshelf - Review + Playlist Jheel - Review + Favourite Quotes Instagram Schedule: February 4th TUABFC The FFBC Tours February 5th NovelKnight Star-Crossed Book Blog The Magical Pages Ideally Inspired Reviews February 6th Ya It’s Lit BookCrushin Lily's Latest Reads Starlight Reads February 7th Booked J A Court of Coffee and Books Fanna Wants The World To Read February 8th Allisa White’s Book Blog Shalini's Books & Reviews February 9th The Shelf Life Chronicles TheGeekishBrunette Life Within The Pages Confessions of a YA Reader February 10th Book Briefs Dazzled by Books Hooked on Bookz February 11th Foals, Fiction & Filigree Gwendalyn’s Books Lauren's Boookshelf

http://www.dazzledbybooks.com/2020/02/all-stars-and-teeth-blog-tour-favorite.html

[tumblunni]

Ehh I mostly Really do not like what they did with marvel Loki, and then the movie version in particular. I’ve heard that the recent threequel kinda hits the reset button on the entire thing and reestablishes him and like he actually has a decent brotherly relationship and gets redeemed now?? So like woo! I’m happy for you! EVen if i’m still mostly not interested in this character!

BUT ANYWAY SORRY WHAT WAS I ORIGINALLY MAKING THIS POST ABOUT WHUPS

What i mean is im not particularly interested in marvel loki in any way, but i always thought his movie plot was a really interesting and sad idea. That they TOTALLY WASTED! tho really it’d be wasted even if they pulled it off perfectly cos i still could not get over the general dissonance of ‘wtf loki wasnt his brother he was like twice his age and knew his dad before he was born, and also he was never half anything and always knew he was a jotunn’. Srsly its fuckin weird that in mythology he never had any magic excuse for working with the aesir, he just.. decided to. And he was good. he was one of the good guys. he turned bad later and he was always a morally nebulous comedic trickster man but he was never fuckin... im only here cos i was raised as a human guy. and also im somehow younger than my best friend’s son who was kinda my nephew i guess. srsly he just.. was a giant who.. chose to switch sides. its not a hard plot to do. why did they even feel they had to change that... tho also incidentally historically jotunn didnt mean giant, it was more like ‘chaos spirit’ in practise. loki being like a 4 foot tall angry gremlin wasnt particularly unusual in the mythos so its funny how out of place he is in the marvelverse actually. and also they weren’t all ice but had fire and ice as basically races or countries, and loki was never really stated which one he was, or if he was some sort of neutral aligned one or there were other elemental types that just never got a starring role in any particular story. or in some interpretations the vanir are considered to perhaps be a form of elemental god too, though that’s just an attempt to nail down how exactly they were meant to be different from aesir. Though there are some textbooks that describe loki’s name as coming from fire, that was actually brought up in-universe during one of his adventures where he fought an evil clone of himself named logi, which is the one that actually means fire. and also there was utgard-loki who was an entirely unrelated rival of his, apparantly just because they had the same name and he was pissed about it? anyway other-loki tricked loki into fighting logi who was actually a magic clone made from wildfire, who was by definition unbeatable in eating contests cos fire consumes everything. Also thor had to outdrink a magical ocean guy and got his ass kicked by a grandma that was actually death in disguise and somehow ‘nobody can fight death’ quite literally meant she was a master of suplexes. Also a cat. A cat was there. And they slept in a giant glove. It was a fun myth cos for once thor and loki got their asses kicked and it was kind of a moral about pride and stuff. Damn that other-loki and his gary oak role in my loki life..!!

SORRY SORRY IM GOING OFFTOPIC AGAIN sorry, mythology stuff was kinda my special interest as a kid and i got stupidly pissy about ‘innacuracy’ in something that wasn’t even claiming to be an adaptation, more of a ‘vaguely inspired by the thing’ I guess...

anyway WHAT I ORIGINALLY MEANT LOL is that ‘he never knew he was a monster thing and was raised as a human and got super sad when he found out’ is wildly innacurate and OOC to fuckin everything about this proud-as-fuck magic man who walked around being Aggressively Gay And Trans Erryday and calling odin out on his shit even when he knew he was gonna get his ass kicked. srsly loki never being able to stop being Happy About Himself is kinda what started his actual turn to evil in the myths, he got drunk and couldnt stop telling crude sex jokes and making up dumb rumours about how he was better than all the gods and banged all their wives and also their wives’s husbands btw. And odin was like Hey That Was Even More Loki Than Usual and murdered all loki’s children and locked him in the centre of the earth having his eyes constantly melted out with acid and regrowing and also a snake was eating him and also he was pinned with his dead son’s own guts as chains and also lets punish the wife who wasnt even there and tie her up too forever hugging her screaming hubby and trying to hold the acid out of his eyes with a comically small cup and her increasingly scarred skeleton hands. Because he was rude at a party. Then loki turned evil when he finally escaped and Hey I Think He Might Have Had One Or Two Reasons. Mythology is kinda fucked up sometimes, lol!

... ANYWAY WHERE WAS I, SORRY

loki being a lil emo teen dude who’s sad cos o no i am a monster and my dad never loved me = innacurate, and less interesting than many very interesting things of these myths that i wish they did instead

BUT

if it wasnt a weird attempt to change an already good story then it would be a good story yo!

like srsly there were a lot of particular elements to it that were really distinctive visually and i can see why they ended up being way more popular in fanart even if they were practically never shown again. It was a good idea to give the jotunn more of a distinct physical appearance from the Big Ol Protagonist Gods Of Generic Humanness, that like the one thing they made more accurate than the comics! And the funky blue look is really cool cos its like a fantasy equivelant of aliens, and like.. a cool lookin deep blue that isnt quite the cliche you’d expect for ice guys. And it looks nice with glowy red eyes and those weird patterns like theyre born with tattoos or somethin! And it was an interesting change from the comics to NOT have loki be a half jotunn or anything, he was just a regular jotunn orphan who was ambiguously either spared by odin as the last survivor of the war or stolen away from his real family as some sort of messed up trophy. But just like I Guess They’re Celtic Mythology Changelings Too so he magically ended up looking like a human cos he thought he was one? Which fits pretty cool with his particular magic powers being illusion-based, even though everybody else is all ice guys. (which is funnily enough also myth accurate to how NO OTHER JOTUNNS EVER SEEM TO SHAPESHIFT, GEEZ. srsly its not clear whether its some loki unique power or just a big ol plot hole XD)

And then it added a really cool visual aspect to have basically this guy who was under a glamour his entire life and didnt know it, and gets a really kinda existentially horrifying moment of finding out his face isnt his face?? srsly that was so messed up! you’re standing there and you know this is The Poorly Explained McGuffin That Somehow Powers Up Jotunns I Guess and you’re “dad this is your last chance to stop lying” and HE CONTINUES TO LIE ANYWAY but then whoops u touched the thing and I Guess You Really Was Monsters Poor guy...

BUT THEN MY PONT IS LIKE its so wasted!!! none of that really comes up again after that scene!! and we arent supposed to be sympathetic to loki and he’s just the bad guy and all we get is a twist that he did all his bad guy stuff with the unexpected motive of actually NOT betraying his father but just leading the jotunns to take over asgard and then killing them all and somehow faking being a hero so everyone would accept him back, even though nobody except the dad even knew he was a jotunn and indicated they were gonna kick him out and also why did you suddenly want to murder your brother out of a poorly established jealousy you apparantly always had yet also you still love him and just... uhh?? how was any of this plot meant to work out, dude. Srsly I am SO glad to hear they made his characterization more consistant in the sequels but i really hated the first movie so much i’ll probably never watch them lol. and did we really need to wait like half a decade to get some proper sibling dynamic? im so grossed out by how all the fans of the first movie shipped them and pulled that weird ‘not blood related’ excuse...

WHOOPS IM RAMBLING AGAIN

anyway it sucks that: * we never get to see Cool Blue Monster Loki Design ever again in the film * he’s suddenly evil and does a bunch of shit that doesnt even make sense given the motivation of Sad Because Monster Lies * we dont even get any emotional continuation or conclusion on that one big sad reveal scene that looked like it had so much plot potential * ALL THE JOTUNNS ARE JUST EVIL. At the same time that the film tries to make a moral about loki being bad for wanting to kill them all EVEN THOUGH THATS WHAT THOR DID AT THE BEGINNING * srsly the film starts off with thor being a huge jerk and then he doesnt become more sympathetic until way after loki suddenly turned unsympathetic so we have this void in the middle where we cant root for anyone. and it makes you wonder why they even bothered with SUCH a powerful sympathetic scene for this poor dude! * all the jotunns are evil and just agree to murder all of valhalla for no reason and also none of them even talk except Biological Dad Man, who is also super super evil and doesnt love loki cos Hey We Cant Have Any Complexity Here * also they mixed up the names and called him by myth loki’s mom’s name which I suppose could work if this was the same character who transitioned or something, but this was at a point back when marvel tried to cover up all references to genderfluidity being a literal superpower of loki’s. also they didnt show him having a mum at all and all the female characters were kinda poorly handled so yeah. * loki for no fuckin reason stays loyal to odin even though he just learned he was kidnapped as a kid and has been raised to want to kill his own home village like seriously what the fuck * last minute out of nowhere backstabbing of personalityless evil jotunn dad and yknow.. like the million bazillion jotunns who were all (as far as we know) super happy to have their presumed dead prince come back and perfectly nice to him as a family. like seriously could you not have at least established that they were jerks to him in.. some way? WE SAW SO MUCH OF ODIN BEING A TERRIBLE DAD UNTIL NOW. And he was supposed to be sympathetic! and his last scene up until now was being called out on lying to his adopted son for a bazillion years and the question of his goddamn motives was left wide open so we dont KNOW if he was sympathetic or not, geez! if you cant bother to establish why loki should side with odin then at least establish why he should want to murder his entire biological family right after they ACCEPTED HIM INTO THEIR HOME. They were shown being evil in that they wanted to invade asgard, yeh, but also your protagonist’s main goddamn struggle is about wanting to invade jotunheim and like apparrantly everyone’s being doing this for a bazillion years and there’s not even the slightest hint who started the damn war in the first place... * Don’t kill jotunns thats bad, loki is bad for doing that. But also all jotunns are bad and we can kill them anyway cos they invaded first. Yknow.. due to loki tricking them specifically to kill them. And them believing him cos he’s Kinda The King’s Presumed Dead Son And Seriously Why Does Nobody Talk One Way Another About Whether They’re Happy Or Not That He’s Back * did loki and incorrectly named king guy even have a single sentence together that wasn’t ‘mwahaha we shall Plot Device to Evil Invade’? not like five seconds of ‘fuck i missed my son’ or ‘its awkward to bond again with a son that grew up without me’ or even ‘what was it like to be trapped with our mortal enemies that we all assume are evil and kidnapped you’  * LIKE ACTUALLY WHY WAS THAT NEVER BROUGHT UP? the jotuns didnt fuckin know that loki got adopted by a guy and raised as a human! did any of this make sense from their perspective?? were they not even slightly suspicious when he didnt tell them where he’d been for all those years and also spent all his screentime staying in human form and never showing off that cool special effect evr again?? didnt anyone think maybe he was just an asgardian lying to them? and did nobody recognise him as the son of their mortal enemy and think that was a way bigger reason he might be lying, or even a reason not to trust him even if he was indeed a jotunn with an identity complex...? or hell, did he NOT EVEN TELL THEM HIS BIG BACKSTORY MOTIVE??? did they just think Hey Some Random Asgardian Wants To Betray His Own Kind, That’s Not Suspicious In Any Way? i mean at least that would explain about why Dad 2; The Redaddening literally never mentioned being his damn dad or showed any emotion except Generic Evil... * Anyway none of this matters cos we killed all the jotunns in a justified way even though killing the jotunns is why loki is the bad guy, and then we do some sort of magical segregation power to cut off the path between the worlds so like.. the 5% of not dead guys over there can never appear again and we can have some sort of weird sense of moral high ground. Also loki falls off a cliff and dies, but obviously its a fakeout for the sequel, The End

THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN REALLY COOL TO DO WITH THIS PLOT INSTEAD MAYBE: * like fffuckign show goddamn Loki Real if you bothered to invent a new design for the jotunns looking not like humans in the first place... * hey actually explore the kind of existential horror stuff of finding out your preconceived notions about some other realm’s citizens being Inherantly Evil Monsters are all wrong and also you were one of them all along * also like.. actually commit to the plot of them NOT being Inherantly Evil Monsters. like seriously i guess loki was the only not bad one cos he was raised as an asgardian?? and then he immediately switches sides as soon as his orignal nature is revealed, so i guess not. >_> * like man there’s fifty bazillion ways you could have handled trying to stop a war between two sides where neither is evil, and like seriously the dude who’s part of both works could have been the symbol of peace who did that... * also minor note but why is every other jotunn identical and never speaks except loki and Evildad Plotdevice, thats really fuckin stupid * srsly imagine if they had any form of established culture or civilization or anything instead of just Standing In A Field, Being Vaguely Menacing, With No Houses Even Nearby. like srsly their whole world is just generic jrpg dungeon tundras i guess... * imagine all the plots that could come from Not Villain Plot Loki getting to go visit this other country of the monster folks and get a first hand experience on how the citizens live and how they’re not just all enemy soldiers with no damn personality or motive beyond Bad Hatewrong The Anger Things. imagine the fuckin complex plot sads that could come from if he was actually WELCOMED by his birth family and had a dad that had been mourning him for like thirty fuckin years and just wanted to keep him happy and safe. You could have eighty more angsts if the plot of those angsts is Oh Fuck I Was So Wrong About These People And Stood By And Supported This War That Was Killing Them, And Am I A Bad Person Because I Only Found Sympathy For Them After Discovering A Blood Relation? * and like you could still have bad guys, you could have bad guys on both sides who are perpetuating the war and both have to be stopped so this peace can happen. And you can have not bad guys who were suckered in by war propeganda into working for these bad guys, and you have to try and make them reach the same realization that poor loki had forced upon him. * and like.. what if they did explore that one weird throwaway line about not knowing if odin’s motives were sympathy for the last survivor of a massacre, or a desire to steal a kid as a trophy of that same massacre? like maybe odin actually was a war hungry monster back then and his intentions were cruel in kidnapping this kid, but he realized what a horrible mistake he’d been making with his life when he began to see the kid grow up and have just as much of a complexity of emotion and potential for goodness as any of his own people. And the reason he never told loki his past was not because of Plot Device but because of shame for his original motives in this whole sad affair, and guilt in feeling that he could never undo what happened. like ‘oh god maybe the boy will be happier if he never knows he had all the stuff he lost because of me’. And thats also why he could seem distant like he doesnt love him, its feeling like he doesnt deserve to experience this kid’s love after he’s coe to realize the true atrocity of what he did to him.. * and also i dunno maybe the two dads could get At Least One Scene of Actually Talking Together and resolve some damn things... * could even be sad if odin like.. wants biological-dad to kill him so he can atone for his sins, and loki goes bursting in at the last second like WAIT NO ITS A TRAP HE’S TRYING TO COMMIT SUICIDE DAMMIT and then we find some way to resolve a plot that isnt Action Scenes And All The Bad Guys Die A Lot * also fuck i dont know if u want a ship of monster dude and not monster dude then do the two dads instead of a guy and his adopted brother, thats just gross * also MORE SCREENTIME FOR THE CUTE AND COOL MONSTER LOKI DESIGN. like yo you cant have any form of plot about accepting yourself unless you show his true form like.. more than once. as far as i know it never appears in the sequels even after they give him his super overdue redemption plot :/

^ Dat’s Pretty Neat

srsly it sucks that this is even the only damn screenshot i could get of it like fuckin 0.4 seconds of one damn movie, never shown again

its funny how just by googling it you’ll get like fifty bazillion edited screenshots of what if he stayed that way for the rest of the film and also the sequels and also a bazillion fanarts and fan jotunn ocs and like seriously fuckin EVERYONE likes the cool blue elves design, marvel, use it more often!!

look at this really great fanart by this artist here I can’t say any opinion on the rest of their art tho cos they seem to be one of those people that ship him with his brother.. sigh... >_> still drawing terrible ships elsewhere doesnt make your other art any less talented! thank u for blessing us with Casual Monster Man Knows He Is Cute BECAUSE MARVEL IS TOO COWARD TO DO IT

[aroadside-attraction]

1-96 on the ask thing 💕💕

(1) Do You Sleep With Your Closet Doors Open Or Closed?

Closed, bruh. fuck ghosts.

(2) Do You Have Freckles?

Some.

(3) Can You Whistle?

Not as well as I used to be able to. Flute playing fucks with your ability to whistle.

(4) Last Song You Listened To.

“Burn” from Hamilton

(5) What Is Your Favourite Colour?

Forest green

(6) Relationship Status.

Crazy in love with @fade-footprints

(7) What Is The Temperature Right Now?

outside- 82F

inside-75F

(8) Did You Wake Up Cranky?

Not usually, just groggy

(9) How Many Followers?

Tumblr mobile claims 307

(10) Zodiac Sign.

Capricorn

(11) What Is Your Eye Colour?

Blue

(12) Take A Vitamin Daily?

I’m supposed to because my bones are weak but I usually wake up to nauseated to consume anything and then I forget. 

(13) Do You Sing In The Shower?

Literally all the fucking time. It annoys my family

(14) What Books Are You Reading?

Currently the first in the Trials of Apollo series

(15) Grab The Book Nearest To You, Turn To Page 64, Give Me Line 14.

“I was thinking all the time we were silent and I decided that, were it possible, I might very well trade with you.”

(16) Favourite Anime?

Either Host Club, Fruits Basket, or Soul Eater

(17) Last Person You Cried In Front Of?

My parents

(18) Do You Collect Anything?

Jewelry from places I visit 

(19) What Did You Have For Lunch?

A tuna and string cheese sandwich

(20) Do You Dance In The Car?

Too much.

(21) Favourite Animal?

I adore birds

(22) Do You Watch The Olympics?

Only for the gymnastics and figure skating

(23) What Time Do You Usually Go To Bed?

Between 10-11:30

(24) Are You Wearing Makeup Right Now?

Nah. It all got stolen when I went to San Francisco and I haven’t replaced it yet.

(25) Do You Prefer To Swim In A Pool Or The Ocean?

A pool, usually. The whole “almost got caught in a riptide” thing makes me not go out very far in the ocean.

(26) Favourite Tumblr Blog?

I’m rather fond of @fade-footprints and @sapphicvanilla and @notsofemalepotato

(27) Bottled Water Or Tap Water?

I lack a preference

(28) What Makes You Happy?

Disney, @fade-footprints, @sapphicvanilla, Harry Potter, and gymnastics

(29) Post A Gif Of What You’re Currently Feeling Right Now.

This is almost exactly what I look like right now, purple top and all

(30) Do You Study Better With Or Without Music?

With. I cannot focus in a quiet room

(31) Dogs Or Cats?

Um, both

(32) If You Were A Crayon What Colour Would You Be?

Probably orange or yellow

(33) PlayStation Or Xbox.

I lack the hand-eye to be able to play video games

(34) Would You Swim In The Lake Or Ocean?

A lake.

(35) Do You Believe In Magic?

100%

(36) What Colour Shirt Are You Wearing?

Its a dress, but its purple. My shirt I was wearing early, though, was powder blue

(37) Can You Curl Your Tongue?

Yep

(38) Do You Save Money Or Spend It?

I try to save it, but I spend it a lot

(39) Is There Anything Pink Within 10 Feet Of You?

A bunch of my book are, and I have a pink shirt nearby, and a beach towel, and my socks are pink

(40) Do You Have Any Obsessions Right Now?

So many. So. Many. PJO, HP, Disney, Hamilton, Release the Hounds- I could go on forever, but these are the current top of the list.

(41) Have You Ever Caught A Butterfly?

Yeah. Also, I remember a boy in my elementary school used to catch butterflies and rip off their wings. He’s still a huge jerk.

(42) Are You Easily Influenced By Other People?

It depends on the situation

(43) Do You Have Strange Dreams?

ALL THE DAMN TIME

(44) Do You Like Going On Airplanes?

I don’t like the taking off and landing part, but the flying bit is okay. As long as I have the aisle seat. #tallpeopleproblems

(45) Name One Movie That Made You Cry.

TFIOS gets me every fucking time

(46) Peanuts Or Sunflower Seeds?

Neither, preferably.

(47) If I Handed You A Concert Ticket Right Now, Who Would You Want The Performer To Be?

I basically only listen to musicals, so do those count as concerts in this case? ‘Cause I wanna see Anastasia.

(48) Are You A Picky Eater?

The pickiest

(49) Are You A Heavy Sleeper?

Nope. My dad snoring in the other room has woken me up on several occasions.

(50) Do You Fear Thunder / Lightning?

Only when I’m not expecting it or trying to sleep. But that just startles me more than anything.

(51) Do You Like To Read / Write?

I love reading. I have a love/hate relationship with writing.

(52) Do You Like Your Music Loud?

The louder the better

(53) Would You Rather Carve Pumpkins Or Wrap Presents?

Wrap presents. I don’t like touching gross things

(54) Put Your Music On Shuffle, What Is The First Song That Came Up?

“What’d I Miss” from Hamilton

(55) What Season Are You In Right Now? (Weather)

Summer.

(56) What Are You Craving Right Now?

Cuddles

(57) Post A Screenshot Of Your Tumblr Feed.

.... I, an IT major, still have not figured out how to screenshot on this damn computer.

(58) What Is Your Gender?

I’m genderfluid

(59) Coffee Or Tea?

Neither.

(60) Do You Have Any Homework Right Now? If So, What Is It About?

No!! I’m on my singular week of summer vacation!!

(61) What Is Your Sexuality?

Demisexual

(62) Do You Make Your Bed In The Morning?

lol no

(63) Favourite Pokemon?

Eevee

(64) Favourite Social Media?

Tumblr or facebook

(65) What’s Your Opinion On Instagram Stories?

I lack one

(66) Do You Get Homesick?

Painfully so

(67) Are You A Virgin?

Yeah

(68) What Shampoo And Conditioner Are You Using Right Now?

Costco brand

(69) If You Were Far From Home And Needed To Sleep For The Night, Would You Choose To Rent A Crappy Motel Room For $60 Or Sleep In Your Car For Free?

Depends on how safe the city is

(70) Are Both Of Your Blood Parents Still In Your Life?

Yep

(71)  Whats The Next Movie You Want To See In Theaters?

The Last Jedi

( @allyouneedisloveisloveislove and I have a movie date)

(72) Do You Miss Your Ex?

Nope. Fuck all of them. 

(Except the Erics. They’re both chill dudes)

(73) What Is Your Favourite Quote Right Now?

I’ve been reciting the beginning of the “to be or not to be” monologue a lot lately

(74) What Eye Colour Do You Find Sexiest?

I don’t.. know???????

(75) Did You Like Swinging As A Child? Do You Still Get Excited When You See A Swing Set?

YES I LOVE SWINGING

(76) What Was The Last Thing You Ate?

Mama and I went to get ice cream

(77) What Games Do You Have On Your Phone?

Listen my shitty little 8 GB phone doesn’t have room for all my necessary shit and games.

(78) Would You Give A Homeless Person CPR If They Were Dying? Why Or Why Not?

Yes, because I’m certified and if I don’t do anything, their life ending is then my fault.

(79) Been On The Computer For 5 Hours Straight?

I don’t have the attention span for that

(80) Stalked Someone On A Social Network?

... Kinda

(hey tall guy)

(81) Do You Like Meeting New People?

Not before I meet them, or during the awkward meeting part, but I like new friends

(82) Do You Wear Rings? If You Do, Take A Picture Of Them.

Sometimes. It’s a pretty fire opal set in silver, but its far away, and if you remember how comfortable Helga looked back up there, I’m like ten times more comfy

(83) Do You Sleep With Your Bedroom Door Open Or Closed?

Closed, because my dad is an insomniac who likes to watch action movies at two in the morning

(84) What Are Three Things You Did Today?

Got a textbook, went shopping for some new school supplies, and worked

(85) What Do You Wear To Bed?

Usually shorts and a shirt, occasionally this really comfy dress

(86) List All Of Your Different Beauty Products You Have Right Now.

Charcoal face wash, witch hazel toner, tea tree oil make up wipes 

(87) Are You A Day Or Night Person?

Day

(88) List All Of Your Video Games On Your Phone, Console Etc.

I don’t have these things you speak of

(89) Tell Me About A Dream That You Had And When It Happened.

I had one of those first day of school anxiety dreams before my senior year where my theatre teacher had been replaced by Tom Hiddleston and my now-girlfriend was sobbing because she has a giant crush on him

90) Favourite Soda Drink?

Pepsi

(91) What Sounds Are Your Favourite?

A swamp cooler starting up, rain hitting the roof

(92) Do You Wear Jeans Or Sweats More?

Jeans. I live in denim

(93) How Do You Look Right Now?

Like shit, yo. Its bedtime, and I went on a walk in the wind before this.

(94) Name Something That Relaxes You.

PJO and the music from Twilight

(Don’t judge me. It reminds me of simpler times, and they’re decently scored movies.)

(95) What Tattoo Do You Want?

I want to finish my wand tattoo with UV ink magic coming out of it. I want “I am constant as the Northern Star” on my left shoulder blade. I have a few other loose ideas that I’m not sure I’m ever gonna get because I have a fairly low threshold for pain, but the first two are definitely happening.

(96) Favourite YouTuber?

Currently I watch Liza Koshy, David Dobrik, and ChronicallyJaquie

[notanicequeen-blog]

Bookworm Reviews: The Outstretched Shadow

Guest starring occasional rattling from my puppy in his crate. But at least the wobbling is minimal this time.

Transcript under the cut

Hi! I'm Elsa, and this is a bookworm. His name is Scrunch, by the way.

Right, anyway. Today we'll be talking about The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory. It's the first book in The Obsidian Trilogy, but if I talked about the entire trilogy at once then this video would be So Long, and I wouldn't properly be milking things for all they're worth. It's a high fantasy young adult series, and the first book was published in 2003.

So, we begin with Kellen in the city of Armethelieh, and please forgive me when I pronounce absolutely everything wrong, especially when we get to the elves later. Kellen is the son of the city's Arch-Mage (arc-mage? arch-mage?) so great things are expected of him, but he seems unlikely to rise to those expectations. He makes an effort, kind of, but everything is thrown into chaos when his High Mage father finds him with books for forbidden wild magic and he's banished from the city.

In an effort to get out of the city limits before the hunt catches him, he uses wild magic, and is thus introduced to Shalkan the unicorn, who helps him get to safety, at the price of remaining chaste and celibate for a year and a day. After narrowly escaping the hunt, they're taken in by Idalia, a wild mage who just so happens to be Kellen's sister who was banished for similar reasons.

The city expands its magical border to overtake where Idalia lives, forcing them to flee to elven territory, where they're taken in gladly. There are a lot of elves, but foremost among them we have Prince Sandalon, Queen Ashaniel, and Jermayan, a knight in love with Idalia, who is in love with him in return. I'll get back to them later. What's important to know about the elves is that they live a long ass time and so do everything very slowly and to very exacting standards.

The elves are being troubled by a drought, and whilst magically poking at it with a stick, Idalia learns it's a magical drought being inflicted upon them by the villains of the series, the Endarkened. Yes, really. It can be fixed, but wild magic always has a price and the price to fix it will be exorbitant. Even so, Idalia, Kellen, and Jermayan are willing to handle it.

In order for Idalia to properly break the drought spell, Kellen, Shalkan, and Jermayan need to go to the curse's epicenter to place a key stone, which is basically a magical battery, so it can be drawn on to help deal with the storms that breaking the curse will cause. While they're on that quest, Jermayan realizes that Kellen is a rather mediocre wild mage because he's actually a knight-mage; a wild mage specialized in combat. Jermayan begins training him appropriately.

Jermayan gets mortally wounded and Kellen heals him as best he can, and the magic informs him he'll know what price he needs to pay for it when the time comes. They rest up for a while, and when they carry on, they meet Vestakia and her family. Jermayan wants to kill Vestakia on sight until Shalkan threatens to kill him, and he chills out. I'll get to that later, too. Vestakia volunteers to go with them as a guide to the barrier holding the curse, because she can sense demons and demon magic.

Upon getting there, they find an obelisk and a whole wad ton of goblins. Jermayan, Shalkan, and Vestakia fight off the goblins while Kellen climbs up to the obelisk to plant the key stone, assuming he will die in doing so as the previous mage price. He doesn't, but he's out cold for a while, and when he wakes up, Jermayan and Vestakia are buddies and Kellen's hands are basically ground beef. Either way, the counter-curse works out and the obelisk is broken.

Idalia, still chilling with the elves, feels the curse falter and works her magic. She's unclear on what the price will be, but accepts to pay it, and Idalia essentially becomes the storms that have built up during the drought so she can control them and keep them from killing anything. I didn't have to say any of the names of any of the elven cities through all of this and I am so happy.

Whew! Alright! So, that's a story. On the whole, it's not a bad one. I mean, nothing about the book is going to challenge you except the elven language, but the story itself isn't bad, even if it's formulaic in places.  The main protagonists are all likable and reasonably developed, even if my favorite character doesn't get introduced until the second book, and the storytelling sucks you in once you get engrossed so you wind up plowing through most of the day with your nose in the book without even realizing it.

Plus I love the magic system. When a wild mage casts a spell, then they must bargain with the gods of the wild magic to pay the price for the spell. If they don't pay, they ain't gettin' shit. The price can be anything from saving a cat from a tree to get a fire, to clearing a cistern to get valuable information, to being willing to lose your life to save people.

And I love Vestakia's backstory. Remember how Jermayan wanted to kill her on sight? See, she looks like one of the Endarkened because her mother was a wild mage who unwittingly slept with the disguised Endarkened prince. Upon bargaining with the gods of wild magic, she was given the option to have a baby with the body of a human and the soul of a demon and hope that nurture overruled nature, or the body of a demon and the soul of a human and have to keep her safe from everyone who would want to kill her on sight. Vestakia's mother went with the second option, and Vestakia winds up being one of the nicest characters in the book and supremely helpful as a spy later on, as courtesy of her birth, Vestakia can sense demons and demon magic in a roundabout way, as the presence of either makes her physically ill.

But there are parts that are… less good. Now, I'm gonna be clear: I love this book, but I'm going to be very hard on it.

The pacing is shit. Once you're engrossed you're hooked, but when you put the book down, getting re-engrossed is an effort each time. Plus the book is LONG and a lot of it is fluff or exposition that isn't necessary. On top of that, it doesn't END so much as it just… stops.

The villains are boring. The Endarkened are… evil. That's it. The queen and prince are incestuous. They all make magic out of pain. They want to take over the world. Torture is a hobby. There is nothing nuanced or compelling about them. They're just evil. The more mundane villains are boring, too. Kellen's dad is just a dick because he's a dick. We get vague reasons about why, but he's mostly just a dick who gets no development whatsoever.

On a slightly nonsensical note, unicorns won't go near anyone who is evil… or who isn't a virgin. There's an effort to explain it away, stating that someone who's a virgin but a horrible person can't touch them, while someone who is good-hearted and had their virginity stolen from them can still touch a unicorn, so it seems like it's about purity, but there's no effort to explain why willingly giving your virginity to someone is automatically impure. It seems like a detail that was included purely because, well, that's how unicorns are SUPPOSED TO BE.

And as more of a personal gripe, Idalia refuses to be together with Jermayan. Because he's an elf and will live to be a thousand or so, and she's a human, and once married, elves mate for life. I do not like this detail. 'Mating for life' amongst sapient creatures basically says 'fuck free will, emotions aren't allowed to change' and I find it really stupid.

As another personal gripe, the elven language. Some of the names are alright, but then you get into shit like Ysterialpoerin and Kindolhinadetil and everything grinds to a screeching halt as you try to figure out how to pronounce it. Actually, just… the elves in general. I find the idea of 'we live a long ass time so everything we do is super slow' to be a little nonsensical. I can get behind the perfectionism and the convoluted rules of politeness, but the fact that every debate and every decision is noted to take an eternity makes me skeptical; the rest of the world doesn't slow down to accommodate their lifespan. But even some of the elves find it annoying, so it evens out pretty well.

Uh… right. So, reasonably good book, but definitely flawed. If you're alright with the pacing issues, I recommend it, as the other issues are things that will really only occur to you in-between binge-reading bursts. It's fun, and I figure that's important.