#even soman took that away from us

[carpexdiemm05]

Never After (SGE x Reader) - Chapter 1

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Foreword

Just a quick A/N before you get started:

1. This story is NOT edited as of January 2023

2. I don't own SGE plot or characters

3. Some lore is used from Lost Boy by Christina Henry

4. Description is taken straight from Soman Chainani's work

5. Will be based on SGE books 1-6

6. Characters are aged up to 18+

Enjoy!

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Tonight, the children of Gavaldon writhed in their beds. Each knew that if the School Master took them, they'd never return. Never lead a full life. Never see their family again. Tonight, the children of Gavaldon dreamed of a red-eyed thief with the body of a beast, come to rip them from their sheets and stifle their screams.

Not that I cared. I was indifferent to the whole thing. In my eyes, it was simple—those taken had the ability to transform their lives into ones worthy of the fairy tales we readers devour here in Gavaldon. And if they didn't, well, that was on them. The School for Good and Evil was just another opportunity for some. Fate was what you made it.

I inhaled deeply. From my position on the roof, I could feel the morning breeze much clearer than had I been sitting on the ground instead. I always liked being in high places. It made me feel relaxed. Detached from the rest of the world. Free, even.

My nose scrunched when aromas of rose and cucumber curled beneath it. A glance at the cemetery gates revealed Sophie, dressed in pink like always, pushing them open. She made her way across the dark tombstones and decaying branches that decorated Graves Hill until she reached the porch steps.

It was then that I slid off the roof, landing right in front of the girl.

She screamed and stumbled backwards. Upon hearing my laugh, however, she regained her composure and scowled. "Y/n."

I shrugged, grinning. "Sorry."

She sighed and brushed imaginary dirt from the front of her dress with one hand, the other clutching a basket. "Is Aggie home?"

"Yes, Agatha is inside," I said pointedly.

Reaper chose this moment to slink across the front porch, stopping right at the doormat. Sophie shrank back.

I rolled my eyes and lightly kicked him along. "Move, cat. You're in our way." After I had a clear path, I rapped on the door.

"Go away," came a gruff voice.

"Agatha, it's me."

"Oh. Sorry. I thought it was Sophie coming by for another visit." The door swung open, revealing a girl with a dome of black hair in a hulking black dress. Her bulging ladybug eyes narrowed when she spotted the blonde behind me.

"And you would be correct," I said, smiling bitterly.

I never really. . .liked Sophie. I didn't dislike her, really, either. She was just rather annoying sometimes. When I was in her company, more often than not I found myself subject to complaints of anything and everything.

Some might call me insane, but I preferred being around Agatha. She didn't talk of shallow things and, when you got to know her, you'd find her to be quite funny.

Besides, I was around her all day, what with me being her adoptive sister and all. I didn't really know much about myself besides what Callis told me—I was left on her doorstep as a baby with a note telling her my name and nothing else.

The click of Sophie's heels dragged me back to the present. "I thought we'd all go for a walk," she said.

Agatha leaned against the door. "I'm still trying to figure out why you're friends with us."

"Because you're both sweet and funny."

"My mother says Y/n's bitter and I'm grumpy," said Agatha, "So one of you is lying."

She reached into Sophie's basket and pulled back the napkin to reveal dry, butterless bran biscuits. Agatha gave Sophie a withering stare and retreated into the house.

"So we can't take a walk?" Sophie asked.

Agatha started to close the door but then paused. I could see the gears turning in her head.

Eventually she sighed. "A short one." Agatha trudged past us both. "But if you say anything smug or stuck-up or shallow, I'll have Reaper follow you home."

Sophie ran after her. "But then I can't talk!"

After four years, the dreaded eleventh night of the eleventh month had arrived. In the late-day sun, the square had become a hive of preparation for the School Master's arrival. The men sharpened swords, set traps, and plotted the night's guard, while the women lined up the children and went to work. Handsome ones had their hair lopped off, teeth blackened, and clothes shredded to rags; homely ones were scrubbed, swathed in bright colors, and fitted with veils. Mothers begged the best-behaved children to curse or kick their sisters, the worst were bribed to pray in the church, while the rest in line were led in choruses of the village anthem: "Blessed Are the Ordinary."

Fear swelled into a contagious fog. In a dim alley, the butcher and blacksmith traded storybooks for clues to save their sons. Beneath the crooked clock tower, two sisters listed fairy-tale villain names to hunt for patterns. A group of boys chained their bodies together, a few girls hid on the school roof, and a masked child jumped from bushes to spook his mother, earning a spanking on the spot. Even the homeless hag got into the act, hopping before a meager fire, croaking, "Burn the storybooks! Burn them all!" But no one listened and no books were burned.

Agatha gawped at all this in disbelief. "How can a whole town believe in fairy tales?"

"Because they're real," Sophie said.

Agatha stopped walking. "You can't actually believe the legend is true."

"Of course I do," said Sophie.

"That a School Master kidnaps two children, takes them to a school where one learns Good, one learns Evil, and they graduate into fairy tales?"

"Sounds about right."

"Tell me if you see an oven."

"Why?"

"I want to put my head in it. And what, pray tell, do they teach at this school exactly?"

"Well, in the School for Good, they teach boys and girls like me how to become heroes and princesses, how to rule kingdoms justly, how to find Happily Ever After," Sophie said. "In the School for Evil, they teach you how to become wicked witches and humpbacked trolls, how to lay curses and cast evil spells."

"Evil spells?" Agatha cackled. "Who came up with this? A four-year-old?"

"Well, the faces of the missing Gavaldon children illustrated in the storybooks is evidence enough for me," I chimed in.

"I don't see anything, because I don't read dumb storybooks."

"Then why is there a stack by your bed?" I asked.

Agatha scowled. "Look, who's to say the books are even real? Maybe it's the bookseller's prank. Maybe it's the Elders' way to keep children out of the woods. Whatever the explanation, it isn't a School Master and it isn't evil spells."

"So who's kidnapping the children?" Sophie asked.

"No one. Every four years, two idiots sneak into the woods, hoping to scare their parents, only to get lost or eaten by wolves, and there you have it, the legend continues."

"That's the stupidest explanation I've ever heard."

"I don't think I'm the stupid one here," Agatha said.

Sophie clenched her fists. "You're just scared."

"Right," Agatha laughed. "And why would I be scared?"

"Because you know you're coming with me."

Agatha stopped laughing.

"Either you or Y/n."

My gaze moved past Sophie into the square. The villagers were staring at us like the solution to a mystery. Good in pink, Evil in black. The School Master's perfect pair.

But who knew which of the witches were to be left behind.

"No," I said, shaking my head, aiming for nonchalance. "We're not close enough to either of the two extremes to be taken."

"Let's go," said Agatha.

I turned. Her eyes were locked on the mob.

"Where?"

"Away from people."

***

As the sun weakened to a red orb, three girls, one beautiful, one ugly, and one in between, sat side by side on the shore of a lake. Sophie packed cucumbers in a silk pouch, while I flicked lit matches into the water.

Sophie threw me a look.

"What? It relaxes me," I said.

Sophie shook her head and tried to make room for the last cucumber. "Why would anyone want to stay here? Who would choose this over a fairy tale?"

"And who would choose to leave their family forever?" Agatha snorted.

"Except me, you mean," said Sophie.

We fell silent.

"Do you ever wonder where your father went?" Sophie asked.

"I told you," Agatha said. "He left after I was born."

"But where would he go? We're surrounded by woods! To suddenly disappear like that . . ." Sophie spun. "Maybe he found a way into the stories! Maybe he found a magic portal! Maybe he's waiting for you on the other side!"

"Or maybe he went back to his wife and pretended I never happened."

I chuckled. "And maybe he's with my dad, warning him never to go back to Gavaldon unless he wants to reclaim the bitter child he abandoned here."

Sophie bit her lip and went back to cucumbers. "Callis is never at home when I visit."

"She goes into town now," said Agatha. "Not enough patients at the house. Probably the location."

"I'm sure that's it," Sophie said. "I don't think a graveyard makes people all that comfortable."

"Graveyards have their benefits," Agatha said. "No nosy neighbors. No dropin salesmen. No fishy 'friends' bearing face masks and diet cookies, telling you you're going to Evil School in Magic Fairy Land." She flicked a match with relish.

Sophie put down her cucumber. "So I'm fishy now."

"Who asked you to show up? Y/n and I were perfectly fine alone."

"You always let me in."

"Because you always seem so lonely," said Agatha. "And I feel sorry for you."

"Sorry for me?" Sophie's eyes flashed. "You're lucky that someone would come see you when no one else will. You're lucky that someone like me would be your friend. You're lucky that someone like me is such a good person."

"I knew it!" Agatha flared. "We're your Good Deeds! Just pawns in your stupid fantasy!"

Sophie didn't say anything for a long time.

"Maybe I became your friend to impress the School Master," she confessed finally. "But there's more to it now."

"Because I found you out," Agatha grumbled.

"Because I like you guys."

I flicked another match.

"No one understands me here," Sophie said, looking at her hands. "But you two do. You see who I am. That's why I kept coming back. You're not my good deed anymore, Agatha. Y/n." Sophie gazed up at us. "You're my friends."

I cocked my head at her declaration, pleasantly surprised.

Agatha's neck flushed red.

"What's wrong?" Sophie frowned.

Agatha hunched into her dress. "It's just, um . . . I—I'm, uh . . . not used to friends."

Sophie smiled and took her hand. "Well, now we'll all be friends at our new school."

Agatha groaned and pulled away. "Say I sink to your intelligence level and pretend to believe all this. Why is either Y/n or I going to villain school? Why has everyone elected us the Mistresses of Evil?"

"No one says you're evil, Agatha," Sophie sighed. "You're just different."

Agatha narrowed her eyes. "Different how?"

"Well, for starters, you two only wear black."

"Because it doesn't get dirty."

"You don't ever leave your house."

"People don't look at me there."

"For the Create-a-Tale Competition, Y/n's story ended with Snow White eaten by vultures and Cinderella drowning herself in a tub."

"I thought it was a better ending," I defended.

"Agatha gave me a dead frog for my birthday!"

"To remind you we all die and end up rotting underground eaten by maggots so we should enjoy our birthdays while we have them. I found it thoughtful."

"Agatha, you dressed as a bride for Halloween."

"Weddings are scary."

Sophie gaped at her.

"Fine. So I'm a little different," Agatha glared. "So what?"

Sophie hesitated. "Well, it's just that in fairy tales, different usually turns out, um . . . evil."

"You're different, too, Sophie," I said. "You dress like the fair maiden in a fairytale. You spend hours grooming yourself. You act as if you're already the princess of some faraway kingdom even though the closest you've gotten to going anywhere else outside this village is tasting the berries collected from the forest."

Sophie didn't say anything for a long time. My gaze softened. "Why is it you want to leave here so badly? That you'd believe in stories you know aren't true?"

Sophie met my gaze.

"Because I can't live here," Sophie said, voice catching. "I can't live an ordinary life."

The tenor-tolled clock sang darkly in the valley.

I stared at the blonde for a moment longer. Then I stood, dusted off my pants, and headed home, wanting to get this night over with.

[iloverianjohnson]

the sge movie was terrible. let me tell you exactly why i think it sucked

i think they messed up sophie and agatha's friendship. they were never lovey-dovey or "besties for life!" kind of friends. sophie was using agatha as her "good deed" to get into the school for good and evil, and agatha knew this. from this toxic relationship emerged a real friendship, but not really until they got to the school for good and evil. also, one of sophie's main character traits is that she's a shallow bitch who uses everyone to get what she wants (and we love her for that!), but they completely removed that trait when they made her "besties!!" with agatha.

wishing tree?? hello?? let sophie be obsessed with fairytales!! i know they had to do it for the exposition and for the people who've never read the books but they're not doing her character justice.

agatha's personality?? where did it go?? where did my frumpy, grumpy, sarcastic, witchy teenage girl go?? they barely gave her any of her original personality - she wasn't even slightly grumpy until she went to the school for good and evil.

tedros and agatha's relationship. it was so DRAB. the enemies to lovers banter was barely there!

i love sofia wylie... and i have literally no problem with agatha being a POC, i have to admit that sofia wylie is conventionally attractive. agatha is not supposed to be conventionally attractive. she is the opposite of the beauty standard, which is one of the contrasting traits between her and sophie. if they chose an actress who definitely does not fit the beauty standard and had agatha's whole self-realization plotline, it would have fit much better with the story. again this has nothing to do with sofia wylie being POC, so please don't take that the wrong way.

what happened to the swan crests??

why was the school master shown. like the biggest mystery of the first book is the school master. they ruined all the fun by introducing him at the very beginning.

where's sader? where's princess uma? WHERE IS CASTOR AND POLLUX????

the beast?? where's the beast at?

why was sophie punished for talking to an ever... when they were literally in the same dining room... they ruined her whole transition into evilness by having Lesso cut off her hair instead of the beast.

THE RANKINGS. THEY GOT RID OF THE RANKINGS. WE NEVER GOT TO SEE SOPHIE'S "F IS FOR..." OUTFITS.

also Lesso's character was fucked up. they took evelyn sader's plotline and meshed it with hers and it makes me so mad because it takes away from her future relationship with Dovey and it strips her of her character!

WHY WAS DOVEY LIKE THAT.

um where was the circus of talents?? like was that not the biggest thing that happened in the whole book... soman i'm so disappointed in you.

i liked how they did the trial by tale in the movie but i wish they kept the original plotline.

they did my boy yuba so dirty.

also the forest groups was so annoying to watch. i wanted to see sophie and agatha mingle with tedros in the forest.

wtf is this blood magic stuff. did we all collectively forget that entire thing happened in book 5 (or was it book 4? i don't even remember)

they could've made this a 10-episode TV show so easily. they didn't have to get lawrence fishburne or kerry washington or michele yeoh. they could've given smaller actors/actresses a big platform. if each episode was an hour long, we would've gotten much more than we got in this shitty movie. each season could be 1 book. catch my drift? netflix, you know i'm onto something.

i wanted a groom room scene.

the ever's ball. ugh. they did agatha so dirty.

HER CIRCUS OF TALENTS GOWN WAS REMOVED BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CIRCUS OF TALENTS

they did hester so dirty. like where was her witchiness? her superiority complex? her intense and undying love for her coven even though she insults and belittles them constantly?

ANADIL!! where were her rats?? also i think i saw someone else point this out that they could've cast an albino person because she is albino in the books. there's already so little albino representation. and that doesn't mean she can't be black, she could be a black albino person. i did love the girl who played her though.

i wanted more coven scenes.

tedros was not annoying like he was in the book and i was mad about it lmao

agatha and tedros felt so forced!!

that's all i can think of right now. im so mad about the movie that im going to go write an entire screenplay for a 10-episode tv series.

[angelicamerlinbarnes]

Albus Dumbledore being an awesome teacher and human being

Bubblegum Bitch - MARINA

(Imma be honest with y’all, it’s mostly just him being a crackhead.)

He tells stories about Grindelwald, about their marriage and their beliefs and their lives together. All of the stories have lessons - sure, a lot of those lessons are about how NOT to make pasta, but they’re still lessons!

He likes to matchmake students using seating charts and certain magical spell assignments. He’s very good at it. I mean, he’s shit at figuring out who likes each other, but he is great at meddling, so Mcgonogall tells him who to mess with and he does as he’s told. They make a great team (and are invited to a lot of weddings). Couples they’ve helped include but are not limited to: Dean and Seamus, Luna and Ginny, Hermione and Harry and Ron, Sirius and Remus, Peter and Maxwell Needles, Peter and Regulus (that was later), Lily and Severus and James, Fred and Lee plus George and Lee, Charlie and Newt (queerplatonic), Leta and Newt (queerplatonic), Harry and Luna (queerplatonic), and Sirius and James and Remus (queerplatonic). They’ve been very busy.

He and Mcgonogall have teatime almost every day. They talk about their students and work on their matchmaking plans. There’s a lot of sass and deadpanning involved. Sometimes they invite Remus, Sirius, and James. (Not Peter. He doesn’t need the same level of torturing that they do.) Bubbles of all shapes and sizes and colors float around the room the whole time. It’s fantastic.

He accepts gossip in exchange for extra credit. He’s a really good secret keeper too, so a lot of students go for it. (It hasn’t broken any friendships. There’s an understanding among the student population that Dumbledore is like Ms. Potts from that Muggle film Beauty and the Beast - well-meaning and trustworthy, but terribly, terribly bored.)

Everything in his classroom is pink. And glittery. And covered in sequins. Once a student asked him why and he just smirked for a solid minute before whispering, “Lemonade.” (As if that makes any fucking sense.)

He once taught class in a full-fledged glittery ballgown that faded from light pink to deep purple. He did not once acknowledge it or act like anything was out of the ordinary. One student raised their hand and asked timidly, “Professor? Why are you wearing a ballgown?” And his brow furrowed as he frowned, looked down at himself, and muttered, “Thought it was a bathrobe.” (Harry does not let him live this one down. His dad is not much help - Severus took many, many pictures.) (Not that it mattered. On Wednesdays Dumbledore wears pink (glittery ballgowns).)

He speaks to kids who have parents, friends, and relatives in prison, whether for being Death Eaters or otherwise. He chaperones visits to Azkaban for them so they can see their loved ones. He casts protective and invisibility charms on them so only the one they’re visiting can see or hear them, and he teaches them Patronuses (with Remus’ help, of course). He often spends these visits on the other side of Grindelwald’s bars, playing wizard’s chess against him. (Sometimes Grindelwald gives him flowers. It always makes Dumbledore smile. There may be no one left in the world who understands why they love each other, but they don’t need to understand it for it to be true.)

He stands at the front of the classroom and makes funny faces during tests and waits to see how long it takes for a student to look up. His latest record is seven minutes.

When he’s teaching Grindelwald’s history, he makes snarky comments about his husband. They range from “I mean really. Who the fuck thought wizards ruling Muggles was a good idea?” (Rest in peace that one student who thought it was a good idea to say, “You did, Professor.”) to “Honestly, that man has no concept of romance. I ask him for a nice night out and he takes me to a Muggle rally about witchcraft and tries to impress me by playing practical magical jokes on the speaker. A toddler could do that.” (He often gets mushy during those stories though, usually trailing off like “But that time he took me to my childhood home for my birthday was sweet… brought me flowers for Ariana’s grave and everything. Sure, he killed her, but… he has a sweet side…” and from there on out he’s basically a lost cause and you might as well go to your next class because he’s not going to stop humming that fucking Elvis song).

He “loses” his glasses all the time by casting an invisibility charm on them and forces his students to search the classroom for them when they’re on his face the whole time. He thinks it’s funny. Harry does not. (But Severus and Mcgonogall do, and that’s really what matters.) (Severus and Mcgonogall and Dumbledore are  a fantastic trio full of snark and sarcasm and shit, I have just decided.)

He makes little animals out of multi-colored magical dust and they fly around the classroom and perch on his favorite students’ heads. Once a dragon fell asleep on Newt’s head and wouldn’t leave even when class was over. Newt had to wait for the magic to wear off so it would disintegrate. (Of course, he had named it by that point and had a meltdown when it disappeared, so Dumbledore recreates the dragon (Robert) every class and just lets Newt coo at it, even during tests.)

He conjured and charmed two giant (I mean Egypt half-animal half-man guard statue size giant) fluffy pink teddy bears that are alive and stand on either side of him like bodyguards during class. A Slytherin student punched one in the stomach once and it vomited enough M&Ms over their head to completely bury them. The student’s partner, a Ravenclaw student, punched the other one in an ill-advised burst of illogical thought and received the same treatment, but in Skittles. (Luckily their Gryffindor aro-ace friend and nonbinary Hufflepuff friend stayed after class and ate until they could move again. Safe to say no one has dared punch the bears again.) (Though I hear they do give very good hugs. And they eat homework if you ask nicely enough!)

He has a bunch of cloaks that act as portals to realms like Merlin’s Celestiums (S.G.E., Soman Chainani). He gives one to each student for tests, and they are transported to their ideal test-taking environments, complete with whatever song they feel like listening to at any given minute playing all around them. Unsurprisingly, his students have the best grades in all of Hogwarts. (He also has a secret cloak that he uses for himself, to see Grindelwald. Grindelwald has his own matching one so he can always make it home for Thursday date night.) (They have been caught. Of course they have. But no one is going to challenge Dumbledore for his right to see his husband, even if he did marry a murderer.) (Sirius and Remus used to steal the cloak for their own dates. And later on James would steal it to take the two of them on friend-dates. Inspired by that, Dumbledore made a special cloak for Mcgonogall that he gifted her on her fiftieth birthday. The smile she gave him then is his favorite of all time.)

He bickers with Fawkes constantly. This often evolves into full-fledged screaming matches with spastic hand gestures, gratuitous spit, and angry hops on both sides. Once Dumbledore drew wand on his “useless babbling bastard of a bird”. No one has bothered to tell Dumbledore that Fawkes probably can’t understand a word of their arguments. (They do evacuate the classroom when these fights start though. The last time they stayed their hair was gone for a week, and when it grew back it was glittery and pink.) (Harry looked especially fantastic. Sirius thought he looked great. He laughed until he was in tears. Harry was not amused.) (Remus was.)

Sometimes he’s absent from class and Mcgonogall teaches them instead. When asked if he’s alright, Mcgonogall simply answers, “My partner is away on personal business for the day. Now, turn to page -” Soon enough people figured out that “personal business” meant “conjugal visit with Genocidal Maniac Husband™ in prison”. They stopped asking.

He gives all of his students the red button test (without knowing what it does, do you press the red button?). Those who pass get automatic A’s and a lollipop. Those who fail get a talking pet pygmy puff. The thing that usually trips people up is that Dumbledore considers the “correct” answer to be pressing the goddamn button. (Seamus is the only one who has ever passed (enthusiastically too!). Newt half-passed because Niffy the Niffler sat on it.) (Sirius and James would have passed too if they had not been the life partners of one Remus Lupin, whose creativity with threats and extensive curse-word vocabulary rivaled Mcgonogall’s even at the tender age of fifteen.)

He has floating war maps just lying around. He plays battleship with his students on them. What he neglects to tell them is that their moves have actual consequences in the world, as the maps are magical and reflect real battles and places. When Harry finds out (he blew up Denmark, completely unawares) he shows up at Dumbledore’s door soaking wet at five-thirty in the morning with a newspaper, his fists clenched, his face red, and his chest heaving. He wouldn’t stop glaring for weeks. (Alas, Dumbledore’s glorious beard has great resistance to fire spells.) (Following an incident involving the original four Marauders in their third year. Shhh… we do not speak of that.)

He has a habit of walking into random classrooms, gesturing for a student to come with him with his finger, and then taking them to his office for teatime. He usually asks them inane questions about a specific theme (fish, pasta strainers, socks, throw pillows, mooses, etc.) for hours until finally dismissing them. It drives Mcgonogall crazy. (She’s yelled at him plenty for “kidnapping students to ask them questions you know you could easily find on that Muggle infer-het thing! They have exams, Albus -” but he just smiles at her while calmly sipping his tea and she always ends up collapsing in the chair across from him with a sigh, taking the tea from his hands and chugging it before wiping her mouth, slamming it down on the desk, and asking, “So. Fish. What’s up with them?” and Albus just beams.)

He spends half of his class lessons babbling on about how Merlin was gay for Arthur and Arthur was gay for Merlin, but not in long tangents. Just a bunch of random comments without context, warning, or explanation. (He mentions “poetry” a lot and waggles his eyebrows for some reason, so… what’s up with that? (Merlin BBC))

He overshares A LOT about his and Grindelwald’s lives. It’s a problem because 90% of the time it’s something sweet or innocent like “Oh, he brought me a tiger lily that bloomed open to show a gold and ruby ring nestled inside on our first anniversary. That’s how he proposed to me” and “He used to hum while he did the housework, you know? He’d stand in the middle of the house and close his eyes and just hum. Almost entire symphonies too, just waving his wand in the air like a conductor” to “This one time in bed he…” and there is NO warning. The amount of things these poor children’s ears have had to endure… (*shakes head in mock disappointment*)

He often cooks during class using wandless magic. The pots and pans heat themselves and float around in the air. Sometimes Dumbledore dances and then they start dancing too. He whistles and creates a base beat for the sizzling, popping, clanging, and other kitchen noises to follow. This usually happens during tests. Oh joy.

He leaves the windows open when it rains, but somehow nothing ever gets wet. Harry and Hermione have a theory that it’s protection charms. (Really it’s a spell Severus made up when he was drunk because he was angry that umbrellas don’t have enough room under them for three, and he’s always been the most self-sacrificial person in his marriage.)

He regularly makes bets with Mcgonogall about the students’ love lives. Not money, but little things the other doesn’t want to do or buy. Dumbledore usually has to handle the Marauders’ detentions or give up one of his teddy bear guards for Mcgonogall’s experimental enjoyments. Mcgonogall has to do something embarrassing or let him borrow one of her glittery hats. They should really stop making bets at this point; the stakes and the winners are dreadfully predictable. He always wins when the bet is on a student’s sexuality or gender and she always wins when the bet is on who a student will end up with. Nonetheless, the bets continue. So too does their grumbling amusement.

He figured out how to make a broom invisible when he and Grindelwald first fell in love, so they could be showy with each other at their Greater Good rallies. They later used it for dates, prison breaks, and daring escapes complete with kisses under the moon. Once Grindelwald went to Azkaban, Dumbledore used it to find some privacy where he could grieve. Now, he uses it to travel around his classroom and Hogwarts and trick everyone into thinking he can fly by sheer will. Only Mcgonogall knows his secret. (And Severus, but Dumbledore doesn’t know that because he told him when he was black out drunk. So.)

He lets pygmy puffs sleep in his beard. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.

He once taught class while teetering on his feet because he had somehow gotten himself tangled in Christmas lights from shoulders to ankles and couldn’t move. (Sirius wandered in and saw this, cried he was laughing so hard, and then warbled his off-key way through as many Christmas carols as he could remember for the rest of class.) (Dumbledore tried to Silencio him but just fell over trying to make the wand movement. He broke his nose. Sirius almost had a panic attack because he couldn’t breathe from how hard he was laughing. By the end of this he had curled up in a fetal position on the floor, Remus was lying down next to him and muttering jokes to him, Mcgonogall was trying to fix Dumbledore’s face, and Severus had taken over the class. Not that they got much done - James was visiting that day. And him, Sirius, and Remus all laughing about the same thing rarely leads to a quiet and calm learning environment.) (They gave him a joint present of rainbow Christmas lights for his birthday - “Happy Gay Day, Professor!” - and he was not amused.) (Grindelwald was though. So was everyone else.)

He tends to mix up holidays in his head and often decorates for the wrong one. He goes all out too. He’s kind of a disaster, and so is his classroom. It became such a problem that the Marauders actually took pity on him and made him a very big calendar with all the holidays marked on it in glitter and fake jewels and flowers. It sits behind his desk and occasionally works.) (Occasionally.)

He’s queerplatonic partners with Mcgonogall. They held a friend-wedding and forced Severus to be the flowergirl. Harry officiated, Remus was Dumbledore’s best man, Sirius was Mcgonogall’s, James wasn’t given a job cause he was crying too much, Lily was in charge of taking care of James, and Peter was the ring bearer (he only lost them TWICE and they were ring pops anyway). Mcgonogall screeches at him a lot and Dumbledore can be depressive and neglectful because he misses Grindelwald but they love each other so it works. (And they’re the prime source of advice for James, Sirius, and Remus regarding their own queerplatonic relationship, for better or for worse.)

He puts his feet up on the desk even though it’s bad for his knees. Mcgonogall told him it’s bad for his knees and he has stubbornly put them up there every class since. (His knees are killing him but he will not give in to “a paranoid, batty old witch who doesn’t know shit about what’s good for me and wouldn’t if she was hit with an Imperio and I told her -” “I’M YOUR FUCKING PARTNER, YOU BLASPHEMOUS ARROGANT BRAT OF AN OLD FART!”)

Instead of walking around his classroom, he struts. (Yes, it worsens his knees.) He does strike poses, he does make obnoxious expressions, and he does look fabulous. WORK! (Yes, that was a Hamilton reference.)

He once taught class without a  face because Mcgonogall cursed him for “fucking up the alphabetical organization of my tea, you old twit. Honestly, Albus, it’s not that hard”. (How did he teach without a mouth, you ask? Easy, he used intermediate BSL (deaf students, plus Azkaban isn’t great on old men’s ears and he and Grindelwald are both gettin’ up there) and Sirius interpreted.) (Incredibly wrongly, crudely, and foul-mouth-ly, but nonetheless he interpreted.)

He has difficulty understanding the straight people in his class. He is fully accepting of everyone and wants the best for all of them, but when it comes to relationship advice, he’s shit.

Excerpt pulled from Pensieve of a conversation he had with a student who identified as female:

Dumbledore: “So your boyfriend is a dick, is what you’re saying?”

Student’s best friend: “Yes. Merlin, he’s such a dick. Would you believe he -”

Dumbledore: *looks at student and points to her best friend* “Why don’t you just date her?”

*cue red faces and sputtering*

(They did not take his advice.)

He wears bowties ALL THE TIME. If he’s not wearing a bowtie, there are bows in his hair and tying the ends of his beard together. Once he wore pigtails. It was great.

He has a habit of bursting into song randomly and performing full-blown Broadway musical numbers (yes, he can rap Guns and Ships at full speed). This usually involves all of the complex moves to be expected in a musical - dramatically climbing up the stairs while looking forlorn, leaping onto the desk and squatting as you launch into a whispered limerick, speedy costume changes - you know, the works. Sometimes Sirius and James back him up, if they’re there. Severus will take over teaching with a bored look on his face (“What are you looking at, Harry?” “Dad, there’s -” “I don’t see anything interesting happening, Harry.” *glares*) while Mcgonogall screeches at Dumbledore to “GET THE FUCK DOWN, YOU NARCISSISTIC HEATHEN!” It’s a problem.

When the Marauders challenge the dress code, Dumbledore is the first Professor to encourage it. While Sirius is perfectly confident in a skirt and Regulus isn’t far behind (neither is Severus, surprisingly), James and Remus are far more insecure. Dumbledore wears a tutu to class one day to show his support, and Remus wouldn’t stop smiling the rest of the day. (James just turned bright red and beamed when Sirius started laughing.) He also backed Lily up when she wore pants (along with Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary) by convincing Mcgonogall to wear pantsuits for a week. (Sirius, despite being a hardcore gay, was quite affected by this. Remus did not appreciate the water spit in his face and refused to kiss Sirius for a week.)

He plays Cecily Smith (Will Connolly) on the ukulele on late nights and stares out at the stars thinking of Grindelwald. Sometimes he forgets to turn off the Sonorus from earlier that day and ends up broadcasting his little song to the whole school. Sirius and Remus will dance to it in the common room while James watches his partners with a happy smile on his face (and Peter sleeps, because he’s tired and doesn’t force himself to stay up simply for the purpose of being cool or finishing that one assignment that isn’t due for another two weeks) (I’m sorry, do you feel called out?).

This man has weed brownies stashed away in his desk and he does eat them during class. He also offered one to Remus once, who is the only student that knows about the stash and tends to use marijuana for medical purposes (helping with anxiety and pain regarding the full moon, courtesy of my beautiful girlfriend who has never read nor seen Harry Potter but nonetheless insists to me that Remus Lupin is a stoner who wears red beanies). This prompted Sirius to ask for one, which Dumbledore refused, but then James joined in and they started a riot by standing on their desks and pumping their fists in the air and screaming, “BROWNIES FOR ALL!” while Remus giggled into his hand and was no help at all, so Dumbledore gave them each a brownie just to shut them up. (Sirius wouldn’t stop rambling about how pretty Remus’ eyes were, James was babbling on about unicorns, Severus was hissing at something no one else could see, Regulus was hissing at the same thing for some reason, Peter was crying because he couldn’t tell the difference between hamsters and gerbils and guinea pigs, and Lily was muttering pi under her breath until she fell asleep.) (Mcgonogall was unimpressed.) (No teatime for eight weeks. Damn.)

Dumbledore cares about all of his students, however little he shows it. He wants them to lead a better life than he did. And maybe fall in love with better people than he did.

[tatttletale]

The School for Good and Evil | Mystery Skulls Animated (AU/Crossover)

'Vivi had waited all her life to be kidnapped.'

Every four years two children are stolen away from Tempo, never to return. Most children fear being taken to the School for Good and Evil. But not Vivi...

She has dreamt all her life of attending the renowned school and believes this could be her chance.

Her best friend Arthur has other ideas.

When the two are taken, things don't quite go to Vivi's plan.

Because sometimes, the princess and the witch don't look like they do in fairy tales.

ONE WITCH. ONE PRINCESS. ONE HAPPILY NEVER AFTER.

[Book 1 of my crossover between The School for Good and Evil franchise by Soman Chainani and the Mystery Skulls Animated franchise by MysteryBen27 and Kressent Rhodes.]

╔═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╗ In the forest primeval A school for Good and Evil Two towers like twin heads One for the pure One for the wicked Try to escape you'll always fail The only way out is Through a fairy tale ��═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══╝

Vivi had waited all her life to be kidnapped.

        But tonight, all the other children of Tempo writhed in their beds. If the School Master took them, they'd never return. Never lead a full life. Never see their family again. Tonight these children dreamt of a red-eyed thief with the body of a beast, come to rip them from their sheets and stifle their screams.

        Vivi dreamt of the very school they were all terrified of instead.

        She had arrived on her first day as an honorary student and stepped into the foyer to find it filled with every manner of fairytale creature, both Good and Evil. For the first time, she was finally in company of the very subject of her obsession, and she found herself rooted to the floor, eyes flicking around frantically, unable to settle on any one target. Werewolves, fairies, goblins, princesses, and any number of sentient animals bustled around the foyer, chattering amongst themselves and shooting coloured spells from pointed fingers. She stepped forward, excitement buzzing as she readied herself to dive headfirst into the clamour, when the crowd parted and she stopped. Standing at the far end of the foyer was a tall, beautiful woman, skin ghostly pale against her jet black hair. When she turned to face her, Vivi was struck by her dazzling green eyes, cold but lilted with mischief. She was almost angelic. Vivi took a step towards her, reaching out—

        A hammer broke through the walls of the room and smashed the occupants, and the dark-haired angel, into shards.

        Vivi's eyes opened to morning. The hammer was real. The woman was not.

        Rubbing her eyes, she pushed herself up in bed, squinting over at the window. ". . . Father? What are you doing?"

        "Everyone in town says that you're to be taken this year," her father said, nailing a misshapen bar over her bedroom window, now completely obscured by locks, spikes, and screws. "But no one's getting in here tonight. I'll make sure of that." He pounded a deafening crack as exclamation.

        Vivi flinched and gazed curiously at the once-lovely window, now something you'd see in a witch's den. "I'm sure we don't need all that. Why not hang a few charms around the windows and circle the house with salt?"

        Her father scoffed. "Vivi, I appreciate your love of our culture but not everything your grandmother did was effective. If this School Master has the power to drag kids out of their homes and into the woods, I doubt he's some simple yokai with an aversion to salt. This, on the other hand—" he tapped the window— "Will keep anything and everything out. And you'll be safe."

        Vivi hid a frown. The hopelessness of her grandmother's charms against the School Master was what she had been counting on. Of course, she loved her family, but she had been dreaming of attending the School all her life.

        A weight settled by her feet and she looked up to see her father sitting on her bed, resting a reassuring hand on her knee. "I'm sure you'll be safe this year. I know it's awful to wish kidnapping on another person's child, but the School Master will probably choose Mala or Tabitha. They're good girls."

        Vivi tensed. Mala was the village's golden girl; if anyone was Good, it was her. But she hadn't waited all her life like Vivi had. She hadn't hung her hopes on this opportunity like she had.

        He father looked at her, adjusting his glasses, and smiled sadly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking about this in front of you." He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead, standing up. "Don't worry. We won't let anything happen to you tonight." And then he slipped out the door.

        Vivi sat in bed for a moment, eyeing the grotesque window, and made up her mind. She threw the covers back and got dressed, pulling out her research and planning what to follow up today. Her last day.

        After dog-earing a recently-bought storybook and charting up its links, she took a break by sitting down and reading one of her older ones, The Goose Girl, skipping to her favourite part of the story, where the wicked hag is rolled down a hill in a nail-spiked barrel, until all that remains is her bracelet made of children's bones, the deceiving gold plating long since rubbed off. Gazing at the gruesome bracelet, Vivi felt a little flicker of righteousness. Served her right, she thought, the wicked thing.

        She didn't allow herself too much time to rest and was soon back on the floor, kneeling amongst her papers. Sitting up, she looked around at the carnage and frowned. She would undoubtedly be taking her research into the woods with her—but how would she fit it all in her luggage? She could borrow another bag, she supposed, but she'd never heard of the School Master sending a carriage or footmen or anything of the sort for his students' bags. Maybe it would be best to only take one, one she could hold onto.

        After selecting today's papers and packing the rest into her reserved leather bag, she downed a light breakfast and left the house in a breezy blue dress and a basket on her arm, long hair flowing in the wind. She had one last day before the School Master's arrival and planned to use each and every minute to remind him in a last-ditch effort why she, and not Mala or Tabitha or Sabrina or any other impostor, should be kidnapped. This was her lifelong dream, after all, and she was not about to give it up easily.

༻·𖥸·༺

Vivi's best friend lived in a workshop on the outskirts of town. To get there, she had to walk nearly a mile from the bright lakeside cottages, with green eaves and sun-drenched turrets, towards the gloomy edges of the forest. Sounds of hammering echoed through cottage lanes as she passed fathers boarding up doors, mothers stuffing scarecrows, boys and girls hunched on porches, noses buried in storybooks. The last sight wasn't unusual, for children in Tempo did little besides read their fairytales. But today Vivi noticed their eyes, wild, frenzied, scouring each page as if their lives depended on it. She almost laughed seeing the children's futile attempts at salvation—four years ago, that had been her, not yet past her twelfth year but still searching for a way to get out of the town. By now, she had scoured every storybook available to her and mapped out dozens of connections between them, establishing common links between the kidnapped children in an attempt to maximise her chances of being taken.

        And now, it was her turn. At sixteen, she could no longer disguise as a child in the School Master's eyes, but that didn't matter. She was ready.

        As she descended the slope on the edge of town, picnic basket in hand, Vivi mused at the way her thighs no longer burned at the strain. These treks had made her fit and capable—something she'd need in the Woods. She had taken other measures to prepare as well, alongside her research—though she knew she was Good and a likely candidate, she had been undertaking charitable deeds the past year in order to ensure her place at the School. Fundraising for the orphanage, donating to struggling businesses, volunteering work at short-staffed shops, and buying birdfeed off the homeless hag in the square, even if she didn't use it. At least she was giving her some income.

        "Are you going to see the witch boy?"

        Vivi turned. A small group of children frolicked nearby on the hill. The eldest boy was standing and looking at her.

        "He's not a witch," she said, frowning.

        "He has no friends and he's queer. That makes him a witch." The boy thought for a moment. "And he's a bastard."

        Vivi felt a pang of anger. That was hardly his fault. Seeing as his parents were no longer alive to receive the scorn, it had fallen on him and his uncle instead.

        "You shouldn't judge someone by things out of their control," she replied, voice cold. "And I can think of many queer, friendless people that aren't branded as witches."

        The boy shrugged. "He's just different."

        She rolled her eyes and turned her back on the ignorant child, restraining herself from lecturing him. As if he knew any better; rumours were perpetuated by adults and passed onto their children. If she were to take her own advice, she shouldn't hold that ignorance against the boy.

        But on the other hand, she certainly wasn't going to waste her time trying to make the children of Tempo see reason. It was a fruitless endeavour.

        "You'll need to find a new friend when he's taken."

        She wheeled around again, indignant. "The School Master takes two."

        "He'll take Mala for the other one. No one's as Good as Mala."

        Vivi's jaw clenched. All her research, all her hard work, and they thought Mala deserved to go?

        "We'll see," she muttered, and turned away.

        By now she had transitioned onto the faint, gravelly path leading up to the workshop. Despite its prime position at the bottom of the slope as a vehicle repair station, it hardly received any visitors, and it showed. The paint was flaky and the tiled roof in need of repair, with windows sitting crookedly on broken hinges. She guessed the lack of business was due to its close proximity to the village cemetery, marked by a rusted iron fence a few paces behind the dwelling, but it hardly bothered her.

        Approaching the front door, Vivi screwed her nose up as the usual smell greeted her—the strong tang of oil, grease and wood shavings. Casting a quick glance to the open workshop to find it empty, she knocked on the door and prepared for a confrontation.

        The door swung open to reveal a gangly figure in oil-stained clothes, eyes bulging and cheeks sunken, spiked blonde hair stained blue at the roots. "What," Arthur said, sounding annoyed.

        Vivi winced. "Still hasn't come out?"

        "Does it look like it?" he huffed. "I look ridiculous."

        "Well, no one's gonna see you, anyway," she joked, humour falling flat as he frowned. She cleared her throat. "Uh, look, I'm sorry about the. . . dye."

        He crossed his arms. "At least it looks good on you."

        She raised a hand to her own cyan hair, perfectly coloured through. "I thought we could match!"

        "Mhm," he grouched. Silence.

        A chittering squeak, and Vivi looked down to find a hamster by her feet, hips suspended with a miniature wheeled cart. She kneeled down, stroking the animal. "Hey, Galahad."

        Arthur flushed and scooped the pet up, setting him inside. Vivi smirked at him. "What, embarrassed?"

        "No," he grumbled, scuffing a shoe in the dirt. "I just don't like people touching him."

        "Right." Another pause. "You wanna. . . come for a walk with me today?"

        Arthur leaned against the door. "I'm still trying to figure out why you're friends with me."

        "Because you're sweet and funny," said Vivi.

        He looked away for a moment, tinged with red, before clearing his throat. "Alright, well. . . it's not like I have much else to do." That was a lie, and Vivi knew it.

        She flashed him a bright smile. "Good you have me to keep you occupied, then."

༻·𖥸·༺

The dreaded 13th day of June had arrived, falling as it often did every four years on a Friday. Beneath waning sun, the village square had become a hive of preparation for the School Master's arrival. Fathers barricaded doors and boarded windows while the village mothers lined children up and set to work. Handsome ones had their hair lopped off and their teeth blackened, homely ones were scrubbed and dressed in bright colours. The best children were begged to curse or kick their sisters, and the worst were bribed to pray in church, all in hopes of confusing the visitor into, perhaps, taking none at all.

        Fear swelled into a contagious fog. In the alleyway, the butcher and blacksmith traded books in hopes of finding clues to save their sons. Two sisters sat beneath the crooked clock tower, listing fairytale villains to search for a pattern. A group of boys chained themselves together, a handful of girls hid on the schoolhouse roof, and a masked child jumped from bushes to spook his mother, earning a scolding on the spot and a barely veiled threat that maybe the School Master would take him instead tonight. The boy sobered up after that. Even the homeless hag got into the act, hopping around a meagre fire and shouting, "Burn the books! Burn them all!" But no one listened and no books were burned. If anything, villagers hugged their books tighter to their chests and avoided the man woman.

        Arthur gawked at all this in disbelief. "How can a whole town believe in fairy tales?"

        "Because they're real."

        Arthur dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. "Oh yeah, I forgot about you."

        "You can't deny all the evidence! There are just too many patterns for it to all be a coincidence. And don't even start on your man-eating wolves story," she said quickly, before he could interject. "That is the weakest explanation I've ever heard."

        "Look Vivi, honestly, I've tried to humour you. I've read all the storybooks. But it's just . . ." he gestured vaguely. "It's not real."

        "Well I'll prove you wrong when we're taken tonight," she replied.

        He stopped walking. "We?"

        She stopped ahead of him and turned, realising her mistake. "I—didn't mean it that way."

        Arthur's gaze flicked pointedly beyond her and then back. "Sure you didn't."

        She followed his glance, settling on the villagers in the square. The crowd was staring at them like a solution to a mystery. Popular and outcast, Good and Evil, standing side by side. The School Master's perfect pair.

        "Can we go?" came Arthur's voice.

        Vivi turned. His eyes were once again locked on the mob.

        "Where?"

        He avoided her gaze. "Just . . . away from people."

༻·𖥸·༺

As the sun weakened to a red orb, bleeding into the sky, two friends sat side-by-side on the shore of a lake. Vivi scribbled notes on her papers, finalising her research, while Arthur scrubbed away at some gismo he'd pulled out of one of his many pockets. Vivi snatched a sideways glance at him. He was always pulling tools out of that thing like some eccentric magician. What looked to be a burnt-orange worker's shirt, hanging down to the waist and torn off at the sleeves, and sewn with a myriad of capped pockets. He defended the rag as an apron, but that never prevented copious amounts of oil and grease from staining the white shirt he wore underneath.

        "Is your house just . . . a tar pit?" she joked, counting up the black streaks over his clothing. "I never see you clean."

        Arthur glanced up at her, looking offended for a moment, then returned his focus to the thing in his hands. "I guess you wouldn't know what hard work looks like."

        Despite knowing it was only a playful jab, Vivi's ears burned. "Excuse me!" She promptly thwacked him with her papers.

        Arthur only chuckled, hands steady over the gadget in his lap, and she craned over to look. "What are you working on today?"

        He shied away immediately, almost dropping the thing into the water. "No— Nothing!"

        "Well, that's highly suspicious," she teased, easing back into her research. They were silent for a moment, listening to the chatter of geese on the far side of the lake, until she spoke up again. "You know, everyone thinks Mala is going to be taken this year."

        Arthur scoffed. "I hope."

        Vivi was offended. "Taken for Good!"

        He scrunched his nose up. "What? Mala? Mala Kostakis?"

        "That's the one," Vivi sighed. "Everyone loves her."

        "She's a master manipulator," Arthur shot back. "They can't help it. She's got the whole town wrapped around her finger."

        "Oh, c'mon, she's not that bad."

        "She puts up a front around everyone she sees as useful," he said, face etched in a deep frown. "Because I'm of no use to her, I see how she's really like. She's a scornful, snarky beast."

        Vivi heaved a sigh of relief. "So you think she'll be taken for Evil instead?"

        A beat of silence. When Arthur spoke again, he sounded hurt. "Why do you want to leave so badly?"

        Vivi paused, choosing her words carefully. "I'm . . . just not meant to be here. I can feel it. Obaachan was the same. Some people are just born . . . different."

        Another silence.

        "Do I . . . matter to you?"

        Vivi whirled, alarmed. "What kind of a question is that?"

        "I dunno, just . . ." he hunched in on himself. "You seem really happy about the idea of leaving me behind."

        Vivi gazed at him, softening, and then laid a reassuring hand on his arm. "I'm not . . . happy to leave you behind. I'll really miss you." She thought for a moment. "Maybe he'll even take you too, and we can still be together at our new school."

        He yanked his arm away. "And why are you so confident that he'll take you, if he's even real? What makes you so good and perfect and worthy of a fairytale life?"

        Vivi felt her face redden. "You think I'm . . . worth less?"

        "I don't know, probably!" He flung his arms out, raising his voice. "It's not like you're purer than everyone else! Every other ordinary person in this town! Every other loser like me!"

        "Oh-hoh, is that what you think?" she spat back. "Well, I am better than everyone else here."

        "Prove it," he hissed.

        "I became friends with you, didn't I?"

        Arthur stared at her, shocked. Words registering too late, she clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. Silence descended.

        After a long time, Vivi reached her hand out. Arthur smacked it away and stood up.

        "Arthur, please," she pried. "I'm sorry—"

        "I can't believe it," he muttered. "I can't believe I let you in. I knew it. No one here likes me at all. I'm just . . . a means to an end."

        He trudged off across the banks, leaving something behind in the grass. Vivi leaned over and took it carefully into her hands.

        It was the trinket he'd been working on—a silver music box, freshly polished. She opened the lid nonetheless to find a delicate blue orchid inside, composed of tiny, flake-thin metal plates, turning slowly along to a jingling lullaby. Something caught her eye and she squinted closer.

        Her name, engraved on the inside of the lid.

        Her head jerked up urgently, but he was gone.

        As the sun set, she sat alone on the grass, music box twinkling with the last rays. She stayed there as the last notes of the song petered out, leaving her in silence, and she stayed there as the light dimmed completely, leaving her in darkness. It was only when the first fathers emerged from their homes, locking doors behind them and wielding torches, that she dragged herself up and slogged back to her house, fingers stinging against the ice-cold keepsake.

All direct similarities between this AU and the original books, including excerpts and characters, have been included as artistic choice.

(Chapter 1/5)

Check out the rest of this story on: - Wattpad - FanFiction - Archive Of Our Own

[evitachristine]

Anti-Hophie Rant

So I finally finished reading One True King, and this is what I have to say. It’s long. 

WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Before I get into this, just a small warning: If Hophie is your OTP and embodiment of perfection, this text is not for you. I will not argue with anyone, alright?

To start this off, in my opinion OTK is the weakest of the series. It just feels like a connection between the last book and the fact that Tedros has to become the King. Some might argue that the second book was the worst, well, I disagree. It’s not just because Hophie happens here, but I kind of believe that when the internet spoiled to me that my hated ship was going to happen (because I had to wait until the book comes out in my country), I was expecting more from it. That I would actually be convinced it’s meant to be, which didn’t happen. Also the execution of some characters (Ahem...Merlin) was just...why. It seemed to me that there were a lot of other fan services in this book, apart from Hort and Sophie getting together, but more about that later. 

 I need to remember this for good, and next time I become a fan of something, I will avoid its fanbase. I do not mean to offend anyone, but a fanbase can really ruin a platform, especially when the platform is still developping and the fanbase is influencing it, which I believe did happen a lot with SGE. I will not deny that a fandom can improve such thing - that is definitely true as well - but sometimes the line between improving and ruining is slim, and if it doesn’t ruin the platform, then it might ruin a couple of fans’ experience of it. 

Now to the point of me hating Hophie.

As I mentioned in my previous post, and above. When I discovered the fandom and found out that people are shipping Hort and Sophie, I asked myself “But why? Sophie doesn’t like Hort.” and I kind of thought this was a joke or a meme ship. I always ship characters where both sides have at least a visible bit of attraction towards each other. Whether its friends to lovers or enemies to lovers. Hophie, until the last book and half, was not the case. It was a typical example of unrequited crush, Sophie once only used Hort to make Tedros jealous. But if my mind isn’t tricking me, she was always disgusted by him and even during their first encounter, he attempted to harass her! And the fact that “they were still kids back then” is not an excuse to me. 

Allow me to make a slight turn from SGE. When I was about 8-10, my mum took me to see an opera called Turandot. I will not bother you with opera, but long story short: A princess is very beautiful and a lot of men want to marry her. So she is giving everyone three questions, if they answer incorrectly, they are executed. Everyone are getting executed until a prince in disguise arrives and is in love with her, answers all questions correctly. Princess doesn’t want to marry him tho, so he asks her to guess his name and if she succeeds, he will gladly die. The princess doesn’t feel love at all and doesn’t want to fall in love. She believes she is a saint. Then in a dramatic duet the prince kisses her and ALL OF SUDDEN the princess falls in love with him. 

Whew. Sorry, I tried to make this as short as possible. I remember asking my mum after this: “Why is the girl always forced to love the boy?” Little me didn’t like this idea of a “magical kiss” already, lol. Mum’s answer was “Because it was written by a boy.”, but that’s not even my point here. Do you see the pattern? Girl keeps refusing guy but in the end he still gets her. THIS RIGHT HERE is the main reason why I hate Hophie. It reinforces the stereotype that if a guy is persistent enough, he will get the girl even if she said no a million times. 

Another note I’d like to say about this, and I’m going to receive hate for this opinion. I started book 1 when I was 16. Now I’m in my early twenties and I get that most SGE readers are still teenagers. The age of crushes, clumsy love experiments, etc. OK now I sound like a grandma. But I think this is where Hophie stems from. Everyone are seeing themselves in Hort. Your crush doesn’t like you back, his crush doesn’t like him back. Something like Éponine in Les Misérables. If Marius and Sophie both fall in love with the person who likes them, it’s like the crush of the fan does. Can we call this the Hort-Éponine complex? 

Aside from that, I believe that people who already experienced both sides of unrequited love (like yours truly grandma, right here), meaning Sophie’s side of it, are less likely to support such ships. 

I will now dive into the OTK “resolution” of this pairing. First let me just say, this book made me, if not hate, then at least strongly dislike Hort’s character. The first half of the book and even a some time after before he finally gets with Sophie, his character is disgusting to me. He is so obsessed with her, even while he’s still dating Nicola. As in my previous post, it’s like a huge part of his character is only “I LOVE SOPHIE”. While he’s still with Nicola, he never fails to mention “his FRIEND Sophie”. I will now paraphrase because I read a translation, not the original, but even when Hort’s singing to the guards to distract them so Agatha and Tedros can sneak into the Library, he sings something along the lines “Girlfriend Nikki and friend Soph”. I’m not sure if this was meant to convince the reader that Sophie ending up with Hort is a good idea, but with me, it did the exact opposite. 

In general, their “romance” feels extremely rushed to me. Compared to Sophie’s previous love interests, regardless of who they were as people, these two have zero chemistry. It seems as if Sophie decided to settle because there was no other guy for her. And the description of her suddenly being in love with him, as mentioned above, is another of those “magical kiss” stories. It is hardly believable and kind of... shallow. 

There even were several moments when Rafal was mentioned. In COT, when the protagonists wanted to flee Camelot but Sophie decided to stay, she saw Hort flying to her and she mistook him for Rafal. Goodness. Even in OTK there were a few moments when it seemed that Sophie still has issues from that relationship. Very few, but they were there. 

Therefore I refuse to believe that the reason for this was anything other than to satisfy the majority of the fandom. In addition, the entire book feels like one huge “fan service”, as other ships are “sailing” as well. We have Hestadil and Bogden/Willam, but these two are at least believable. Hestadil started, even tho inconspicously, two books ago, and it resolved naturally. And beforehand they were close friends, so there’s that. As for the boys, they were side characters, so we can only think that all resolved while they were off the scene. 

To sum it up, I thought of three different endings I’d prefer for Sophie. 

On the first place, this was mentioned several times by other people, is that she should have stayed on her own. That happened in TLEA, but this time, really. I hated that OTK made it seem that she really needs a partner. Yes, love, but heck... is romantic love the only thing that is out there? How about friendship? Content with oneself? Pursuing hobbies that you love? Freedom? Come on. Awesome characters that end up single AND ARE HAPPY should have more representation. And I think Sophie would have been amazing like that. 

On the second place I have two things. First, Sophie with a girl. Only I’m not sure who. Maybe Nicola, or Betty if she survived. Or maybe, people might hate me for this, but... Dot? I don’t ship it but I think it could have been cute. Maybe they would start off getting closer as friends and the rest would be left up to the reader’s imagination.

The other preferable ending I have at second place was originally on the third place, but some weird nostalgia overcame me when reading OTK and I had to move it up. People will hate me. But if Sophie should end up with a guy, it should have been Rhian. Yes, I know what you are thinking right now. But think about it. That guy really believed he was Arthur’s son. Imagine if he found out the truth. Something tells me it would be really hard for him at first, but in the end, if he found out that Japeth really only wants Aric, he could’ve joined the protagonists. In my opinion Sophie had the best dynamic with him, before it all spiralled downwards with snakes etc. Maybe he could pretend to help his twin but in the end... I believe I read something like this somewhere on Tumblr as well. Also this kind of feels as if it could have been Soman’s original plan before he turned to pleasing the fans. Or maybe I’m just fantasising too much.  Regardless of how much you’re cursing me right now, I believe Rhian deserved better and shouldn’t have died. After all, he was the better twin. 

As for Hort, well, before OTK I didn’t really care for his character, I didn’t dislike him but he wasn’t my favourite. I simply wished him well hoping he’ll get over Sophie so he can be happy, either with Nicola/someone else, or on his own. After the last book made me resent him, I’m not sure. He could have died, but I know that is cruel. 

He could have been slowly realising that he doesn’t need Sophie, his love would fade away, maybe Nicola could break up with him in the process, then they would get back together, at a natural pace, realisation, etc. Or they wouldn’t, or they wouldn’t break up at all, just separate on different missions, and then reunite and realise they were truly meant to be together all along. 

Whew, if you made it here, congratulations. If you read this as a Hophie shipper, I’m not taking away your opinion. I just needed to let this out. Hope we can respect each other. 

...But I still kinda wish we could get another version of OTK where Hophie doesn’t happen. 

[marieschunne]

SGE AU: Chapter One

Author’s Note

This story is based on the fiction world created by the very talented Soman Chainani, an alternative universe/fan fiction written by a reader and is not at all affiliated with the original series. This story will not include the series’s main characters (notably Agatha, Sophie, or Tedros) and is focused solely on telling the story of a fictional main character that I made.

Note that I have made changes to some parts/story concepts, as well as including darker themes to better suit on describing the tale of the Evil Queen’s daughter.

Summary

Maeve of Avalon is the princess of the most famous evil kingdom in all the woods. Growing up, she has been groomed by the Evil Queen to become her successor, to continue the legacy of evil.

But it was soon proved to be in vain when the invitation for the School for Good came instead. Her fate was not at all as as she thought; for Maeve found herself trapped in the worst of nightmares and the thin line between good and evil, forcing her to choose between her wicked destiny… or accepting her mother’s wrath.

The room tilted under me as my head spun with disbelief, my fingers clutching the Flowerground ticket—the pressure of my grip on the shining, glossy surface creating a crease on the edges. My name gleamed under the casted dim light from the chandelier above, dripping of oil and cobwebs in which the spiders have long since crawled away to avoid the wrath of my broom. There was no mistaking it, I thought, as my eyes widened and once again ran over the glittering words: Princess Maeve of Avalon; 1 Passage Ticket; the School for Good.

Sucking in a sharp breath, I placed the ticket on the edge of the windowsill where I’d found it earlier. My shoulders suddenly felt heavy… too heavy, as though invisible boulders have been dropped against it. I fell to the ground, feeling the rough surface of the carpet tucked between me and the cold stone floor. Pressing my hand against the bridge of my nose, I struggled to keep the emotions from rising, though it was clear a raging thought appeared in my mind, in bold black letters atop the small words screaming in my head: Mother is going to kill me.

I shouldn’t have opened the windows this morning, though I always do it every day. Even if the letter hadn’t fallen straight to the windowsill for me to find, it would have somehow ended up in my hands anyway, although I doubt it wouldn’t cause a sort of chaos in the castle, not to mention my mother’s bubbling wrath. Ever since I turned fourteen and the date of acceptance came near, Mother would not stop talking about the School for Evil, where my place as a student must have been guaranteed already after the success of Mother’s story. She was the Evil Queen in Snow White’s fairytale who didn’t even bother with burying her stepdaughter or her foolish prince; instead, she had them both cremated and frozen in the dungeon so that whenever she brews a potion of mischief, she could do so while staring at their dead souls.

For years I have been training for this moment—hours spent in the dungeon following Mother’s potion and spell books, creating explosives and capturing doves, putting them in a cage just for the fun of it. When I was seven, I remembered catching a mouse hiding in a small corner near the throne room before presenting it to Mother, always eager to earn her approval. That was when she told me to kill it.

I cried then, refusing blatantly. In return, Mother lashed my palms and killed the poor animal right in front of me. A pitiful soul is unbecoming of a villain. Since then, I never cried; nor did I blink when I saw other creatures getting murdered before me.

What would she do when she finds out about my ticket? Lash me again? Torture me in her dungeon? Kill me before another villain could and cremate me beside my stepsister?

Though ashamed, I don’t want to die yet. Mother used to tell me that to die is a weakness—of course, except for the years catching up on you—and to live is to win in the universe’s game. If she ever discovered the existence of this wretched Flowerground ticket, if she ever found out that her blood daughter is a student of Good—

My hands shot out to the metal ball at the end of the bed, one I used for practice torture, before flinging it at the gilded mirror. The echo of glass shattering pierced my ears, but I could barely hear it over the sound of my pumping heart banging against my eardrums, adrenaline coursing through my blood. If there was anyone I fear most in this world it would be Mother, and should she ever find out that a stymph bird never came to whisk me away to that school, I might as well be doomed.

Suddenly, a hard knock came from the door, snapping me out of my dark thoughts and back into reality. Quickly, I grabbed for the ticket and stuffed it inside my drawer. I barely had time to push the thing shut before the door opens, revealing an ugly goblin that is the castle’s Chief Steward standing in the doorway, her rock grey skin murkier than usual. She sneered at me with her crusted lips, her eyes a muddled green, “the Queen is awaiting your presence at the gates.”

Hiding my shaking fingers, I forced my expression to remain calm. “What for? Is she going somewhere?” I truthfully doubt my ability to remain neutral and not give away the yawning chaos of fear inside me if I were to face her at this time… but do I have a choice?

“It is the weekly trial, girl,” the goblin said, narrowing her eyes as though she could smell my skepticism.

“Right,” I said, straightening the creases of my black sheer skirt. “And it is Your Highness to you, Gill. Or simply princess should suffice.”

Ignoring her dark expression after being scolded, I rushed out of the door without another glance, blood still roaring in my ears.

✧ ༄ ♥ ༄ ✧

“At last!” Mother announced, tapping her long, slender fingers against the carriage door, her red nails the color of her enemy’s blood. Her lips were turned upside down in a frown—an expression between upset and irritated as she sighed, “where have you been, Maeve? The people are anxious for this trial! They demand justice!”

They always do. Under Mother’s rule, the people have grown to be either cruel or cowardice, with no one daring to lift a finger for rebellion. How can they, when Mother was a product of a successful Evil story, read by every single child in the Reader world? Besides, Mother would of crush them into pieces in a blink of an eye.

“I lost track of time,” I mumbled, carefully tiptoeing the apology at the edge of my tongue. Was this why the School Master appointed me as a Good student, instead of Evil? Because he knew that somewhere deep inside, a small part of me cared enough to say sorry?

“Villains don’t just forget about time!” She scolded sharply. “If I were a tad bit late in killing Snow White, she would have been a queen in my stead!”

“Yes, Mother,” I said, forcing my voice to be firm.

She climbed into the carriage first and I followed, feeling the dark velvet of the chair cold as any stone under my skin, keeping the whole aura always in gloom and doom, just as Mother liked. If I were her, I would have added something red, or perhaps a lighter color…

I cringed in disgust. Pink is a color for good princesses. It is a color that should never enter my eyesight.

Not letting my thoughts run any deeper, Mother quickly engaged me in a conversation that always included bits of advice on torture, death, and more misery. Her lips widened to form her trademark storybook sneer, her dark brows arched elegantly. “Only a day more until you must leave for the School, Maeve. Now, remember to make sure that your windows are always open to easier access for the stymph birds. No nonsense of pretending to be asleep in bed; absolutely ridiculous! I was more awake than I had ever been when they took me.”

“What were you doing when they took you?” I wondered, the invisible weight of the Flowerground ticket still pressing against my palm.

“I was carving open my old Gran’s heart—I didn’t need her to pester me while I was at school,” she told me, her eyes far away as her face contorted with satisfaction. My stomach dropped. If Mother was cruel enough to kill her own blood, then what was there to stop her from killing me?

It felt much like pushing myself off a cliff when I dared myself to ask, “Mother, what do you think of the School for Good? What—What if, in some extraordinary case, one of our people was taken to Good?”

She frowned, taking her time to think about it. Probably imagining all sorts of torture for this imaginary Good person—who also happens to be real, and that person is me. “I wouldn’t be able to reach the School for Good to kill that child myself… there are violations set by the School Master. But the family… oh, yes. The family should suffer enough that the child would be too afraid to ever set foot upon this kingdom again.”

I pursed my lips. Now I’ve heard enough. After acknowledging her reply with a curt nod, I inclined my head to look out the window, at the sight of our kingdom. Like the castle, the richer part of the kingdom is dark, built from the smooth ground with precious obsidian and silver. The trial has always been held at the Square, in the middle of the village. Soon, our carriage rumbled down the jagged streets over dirty pebbles down the less fortunate neighborhood. Here, the houses are in ruins, some of the stones crumbling down over roofs and causing a leak to trickle all over the already damp curtains. Iron buckets were placed on the doors after being emptied from the rain that poured heavy last night. I’ve noticed that some of them had enough gall to try and plant flowers, only to have it wither and die on the small boxes placed on their broken, dirty windowsills.

“Such a hurtful sight to my eyes,” muttered Mother, tone tainted with disgust. Her eyes ran critically over the neighborhood that we passed by every week, though I know beforehand that she thought it unnecessary to mend the slum. They must work their way for money; that’s the only way they’ll repair their hideous homes.

Finally, the carriage rumbled to a stop and the door was opened by our coachman: another goblin, this one grim looking. He bowed at us as we descended the small flight of stairs to the Square, where a crowd has already gathered to witness the trial. Every villager must be present for the trial in respect for the Queen and to see by their own eyes just how cruel the punishment if they dared to cross the line.

We approached the dais in which two thrones—one made of great obsidian, and the smaller one of iron—have been placed atop. Mother took a seat first and the people bowed in her presence, no one daring to meet our eyes. Even when I ascended they feared me too, though whereas Mother was full of glee to have her part of the cruelty of the week, my face remained blank; an expression I’ve long mastered to not give away my true feelings.

Perhaps I used to feel sorry for them when I was young. Remorse on their behalf, even. But now I felt nothing; just a cold abyss robbed of emotions. Perhaps if I were taking a more gleeful perspective, the School Master would consider kicking me out of the School for Good?

With that in thought, I plastered on a smile. Mother looked at me suspiciously but didn’t say anything. She lets the people stay like that for a whole minute, relishing in their tired shoulders, before her voice, cold and loud–like a mallet hitting glass–echoed in the Square: “Rise, my people.”

The people rose. While some of the lords and ladies wealthy enough to live in the richer neighborhood stood at the front lines, smiles on their faces in respect for the Queen are displayed, the peasants standing behind them looked as miserable as ever, their faces powdered with dirt and ash. An awful odor hung in the air—the scent of previous corpses whose lives had been taken here before.

At the center of the Square was a stage, which I think used to be a place to house performances instead of a large, hulking guillotine made of wood with a blade at the top, sharper than any knives. Mother made the blade herself—it never failed to perform a kill filled with blood instead of a clean one, since she loves the idea of the townspeople rubbing off the trickles from the Square’s pavement. The executioner stood ready by the guillotine, his eyes that could barely be seen over the piece of fabric covering half of his face examined a large bucket placed under the killing machine, as though contemplating whether it would hold the heads about to be chopped off today.

There was no law in the kingdom; not really. Mother, true to her Evil, lets the streets roam with beggars and thieves, even murderers. They go unpunished if it was not associated with the nobles or the royal family. Trying to escape, however, holds the same level of crime as both, because it meant abandoning the kingdom and its queen.

A senior goblin stepped forward, wearing a ridiculous cap that Mother insisted they wear for the trial as if the whole setting wasn’t horrific enough. “Your Majesties the Queen Grimhilde and Princess Maeve; may I present to you Hal, a slave who was caught trying to escape from the House of Waldorf in which he was employed,” the goblin announced.

A bulky man with thick muscles up his arms dragged a rope behind him in which a man was tied around the neck and made his way through the crowd for the stage by crawling on his knees. Like an arrow, a strange emotion rose inside me, and I battled it back down, disgusted by myself. Why did I feel that way? My hands twitched against the armrest of my throne, as though it was about to spring forward and save the slave from the dark fate that awaited him.

Beside me, Mother roared, “what do you have to say for yourself, slave?”

Does he not have a name? Even in his last living seconds, he would be known as the disobeying slave—never the man that he was inside. I caught myself with such thoughts and held back a wince. Fingers digging into my palm, I watched as one of the lords stepped forward with a look of hidden pride—perhaps to acknowledge the fact that the slave was his—over a mask of disappointment. He announced, “I shall speak for him, my Queen, for he was a property of mine.”

The Queen gave a curt nod. The Lord continued, “this man was found trying to flee to the woods last night. I say there shall not be mercy for this one!”

In reply, Mother raised a hand, shutting him up. The lord dropped his head under the Queen’s hard gaze. “Let the people decide,” she clipped, her eyes roaming over the audience. “What do you say, my people? Do we spare him?” A glint of mirth danced in her emerald green eyes. “Or do we punish him?”

The crowd roared at the last sentence. It was expected as any, especially with the careful watch of the guards surrounding every corner. Mother gave another nod, and the bulky man marched the slave up the stage, where the executioner was waiting, almost eager. We all waited with bated breath as the man was strapped down to the guillotine hole. I could almost see the executioner’s wicked grin behind his mask when he pulled the blade higher.

My face was blank as stone when the blade fell and the man’s screams filled my ears. The music of pure evil.

[witchofrvnswood]

A Crystal Of Time - Book Review

SPOILER ALERT. THIS REVIEW GOES IN DEPTH AND MAJOR PLOT POINTS WILL BE DISCUSSED. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Wow. I am amazed. Beyond amazed. More like speechless.

(But no, this does not steal TLEA's place as my most favorite <3 )

This book was absolutely worth the wait! Never in a million theories could I have guessed the truth behind everything. Never could I have guessed the deaths and plot twists and turns that occurred in this book. And never before has an SGE book left me feeling so satisfied (not even TLEA cause I didn't want the story to end yet!). Even though there are so many loose ends and cliffhangers, this book lived up to my expectations and went beyond. It solved mysteries I didn't even know existed. It explained parts I never questioned.

In other words: pure a m a z i n g. However, as always, I did have a few complaints. Let's dive right in!

PROS:

- The whole crew being reunited

- We find out how our two devil reincarnates came to be (*cough*imstillrecovering*cough*)

- The Unbury me riddle is solved along with the mystery of Rhian and Japeth's education and their time at Arbed house

- Learning more about Kei and his whole history (I don't hate him, he didn't do anything with malicious intent. Rhian was his friend and he was just following him after losing faith in Tedros ((I was glad to learn that Kei gave him a chance)) and he was loyal right to the end) Theory: Since he hates Japeth and Rhian is gone, I think he might shift his loyalties towards Tedros (and hopefully start to have a thing with Dot...like pretty please...like Dot deserves love and happiness and since Kei is confirmed not be an a**hole, they might just be a thing...looking at you, Soman)

- THE ENDING <3333 As in, the last chapter, last paragraph, you know what I mean (I hope). That moment, when Tedros talked to Arthur's spirit and got the locket (I think it's a locket???) and the ring. Those last few sentences really sparked hope in me, rather than terror or cursing  Soman for putting my babies through so much :( I mean, it looks pretty bad for Sophie, but the two chapters after that and all the good things that happened eased my suffering just a little. It's always good to end a book on a hopeful note, rather than ripping out your readers' hearts and leaving them with fear and so much impatience!

- The characters. Man, I just love 'em all. Sophie SLAYED in this book. I love her acting and how perceptive and cunning she is. I love how she used her evil for the greater good and to save lives, rather than pushing it away and treating it like a curse. Agatha was amazing as ever and oh man. Tedros made me so proud. His character development is so real. I love his self-realization and how he's taking steps and putting in an effort to be a better person and a better king. In that dungeon, he showed true leadership skills (he's not that dumb guys, he's brilliant @all you Tedros haters). Of course, he's not all the way there yet (as you can see at times). He still tends to have poor judgment skills (like whenhe automatically believed Rhian about Sophie or provoked the Lady and such). But he's getting there! He! Is! Getting! There!

- Also love the Hicola (no Hophie, I officially turn my back on this ship, nope, never, come at me loyalists). I love Hort and Nicola's characters too. Amazing <333

- DOVEY'S SACRIFICE WAS SUCH AN EMOTIONAL SCENE. This probably sounds insensitive, but her death was one of the best and emotional parts of the book. I love her thought process throughout the chapter and her ultimate sacrifice (when Lady Lesso pulled her to heaven... <3333 my heartttt)

- C.R.R. TEAPEA!!!! OMG, REAPER! I knew he would come back at some point and I wanted him to so bad, but never did I expect he would be king! Of course he's magic and involved with the world and such, but a king? Of Gnomeland? OMG. Also, I love Reaper even more now, especially after learning of his backstory and his whole speech was so heartwarming. I love how he says he will always watch out for Agatha and do his best to getTedros on the throne. Reaper is literally the BEST.

- VALENTINA <3333 She is perfection, I tell you. Perfection.

- And there is so much more, but this is long as it is and I have even more coming, so without further ado, we will proceed!

CONS:

- Lack of coven. These amazing people make the story SO MUCH BETTER. We get one chapter of them, see them in one more chapter after that before they're whisked away on a mission and never heard from again.

- Lack of HESTADIL. We got one Hestadil scene. ONE. Like...I had so many hopes. High, high hopes. I am enraged rn. I mean, couldn't we have had one more coven chapter when they were on their way (as it's now pretty clear that the Caves of Contempo and whatever's happening to Merlin in there is a secret). Then we could have Hestadil scenes!

- (Speaking of Merlin, is he un-aging? Cause his hair is turning from white to brown and the lock of hair he sent removed some of Dovey's wrinkles when she touched it. Is Merlin going to be a teenager or a little boy when he gets back? That would be soooo weird.)

- It's probably just me, but the book seemed to go by so fast? It took me three days to finish it, but the events seemed so...fast. I don't know. I feel like the book spanned over a little more than a week with skipped days? Quests for Glory felt more eventful and so did the other books. I was dunno. Probably just me.

I will post an even more detailed review based on certain scenes soon!

Cheers!

[rajchakravorty]

5315 CGTG 2019

Don’t cancel your ticket!

Manas was calling from Vizag waiting to board the train on 28th evening. He was bewildered by the turn of events. With the forces going into full alert our CGTG was in jeopardy. Our entry to INS Shivaji was curtailed.

Manas come to Bombay and stay with us, I told him on the phone

Theek hai. Rehne ka problem nahi hai bhai. But CGTG hai ya nahi hai

Let me check

I went through a slew of messages in our whatsapp group. Charlie sitting in Goa had risen to the occasion. Plan B was initiated.

I thought to myself ‘How does Charlie know about Lonavala while I sitting in Navi Mumbai was clueless?’

Charles had zeroed in on a few resorts in Pune and Lonavala that fell within our budget (10K already collected + 3K additional). The gen was passed to KOT sitting in Delhi who took over from there to salvage the get together which he had planned for months and now seemed to be derailed by events outside his control.

He took control gave directions to his staff, started making his calls. The program was back on the rails.

BYOB someone said. I took out my Limited Edition Chivas Regal that I had kept for a special occasion. This was a special occasion

Next day we were all there at Serenity Resort coming from Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Vizag, Goa, Chennai, Kerala and nearby Mumbai & Pune. I felt happy meeting old faces. I realized we had become older. Those jaunty strides were missing but the josh was high.

KOT rallied us around with the revised schedule. The trip to Shivaji hung by a thread. Fortunately, by next day Shivaji was back in our schedule. KOT managed to get back the invitation thanks to his connections. After breakfast we all trooped into the Navy bus. As we entered the hallowed gates of Shivaji we were transported from the dusty chaotic town into a neat green institution. The transformation was magical.

Only when you lose something good you realize how precious it was. My mother always used to say you don’t know how lucky you guys are in the defence leading a clean healthy life. I took it all for granted. I thought these privileges were my rights. Now settled in the civvy street I realized what I was missing when I entered Shivaji

At the motivational hall I read the history of Shivaji and the people who made it what it is today. I realized my country is great today because of such institutions. The defence academies, IITs, FRI, ISRO etc which nurture our youngsters and make them solid citizens are the institutions that make our country great. All those dedicated people- the giants- who worked so hard to create these institutions are our real heroes.

I was reminded of the quote by Sir Isaac Newton “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”.

At the WTC it was fun to participate in the water sports. The years melted away as I went kayaking. The aches and pains were relegated to the backburner. We became young and merry once again

CO Shivaji and his good lady welcomed us all. We had tasty sandwiches and samosas for refreshment enjoying their lovely hospitality. When he presented us with a cap I felt a lump in my throat. The respect that our juniors give us feels the same when our kids respect us today for been strict with them when they were growing up

In the evening the smiles had become wider. The ladies had organized an impromptu show. They called out the names and we gents had to identify the person

Demo Handspring – Okay That’s me

Sunny Side Up – Mallu! Who else

Thompson & Thomson – That got me thinking. It turned out to be Valsan and Bhadra. Apt

The Don – Binny of course

Bahri – Einstein

KOT – Capt Haddock – Blistering Barnacles

Kapil – Chocolate Man

Rana – Hasya Kavi

Charlie – St Nicholas

PK Mishra – Atal Behari

Davray – Modiji

KMD – Amit Bhai

Lavangi Mirchi – Rathi

19th hole – Jiban

Iron Man – Manas (for the iron in his knees though he said it was titanium

Standup Papa – Seby. God Bless his famous son Kenny the standup comedian

Masseur – SK Mishra. Aha the chumpy on Chowpatty

Shayar – Venu

Flying Dolphin – Baijal

Calculus – Tuli

Next day Rajni told me ‘I wanted to name you Milind Soman’

Wow O Wow. I walked a little taller. I felt emboldened and walked up to the lady who had conducted the show

‘Sharmila what a marvellous performance it was. You are a natural emcee’

I am Pramila not Sharmila!

Duh

Ladies! Thanks for the great show. You Rock!

(Ashim & Venu showed their appreciation with their rock-star dance moves)

Every time there is a CGTG I feel this is - the best! Azad (who started it all and whom we missed badly), Murgu & Batta, Kapil, Thakare with help from Naga (RIP) and Manas at Vizag, Charlie who proved there can be a rollicking get together without the Navy support. Thank you guys, you are the pillars of 5315. This time a new benchmark has been set.

Thank you Charles for initiating Plan B when everything seemed lost. Thank you KOT. All those planning and effort that you took was visible. Thank you all participants for without you guys there can be no CGTG

Those who missed out do try to make it for the next one. Believe me we have a champion group here – the 5315!

Au Revoir! Till we meet again

PS – The cost was restricted to 10K. The additional 3K was ultimately not required

[bookaholic1012]

Diverse Reading Challenge: June Review

June Challenge: Pick up books by LGBTQIAP+ writers this month! Anything from the acronym is acceptable–but please, if you don’t know whether an author you like is out yet, don’t bother them about it! Suggested authors include V.E. Schwab, Oscar Wilde, Julie Anne Peters, Heidi Heilig, Malinda Lo, Amanda Lovelace, Kathryn Ormsbee, Adam Silvera, April Daniels, Jazz Jennings, Andrea Dworkin, and David Levithan.

Synopsis: When Griffin's first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he's been imagining for himself has gone far off course.

 To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin's downward spiral continues. He's losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he's been keeping are tearing him apart.

 If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

Rating: 5/5 stars

As with all of Adam Silvera’s books, I cried and laughed and adored every page! Adam Silvera has a unique voice that helps me feel connected to Griffin and his pain. His characters are real people; they have secrets and flaws and make a ton of mistakes. But they always come to terms with whatever is going on in their life and accept themselves.

My opinions of most of the characters changed as I read, which was surprising. That doesn’t usually happen. I did a complete 180 on two characters (I won’t say who to avoid giving away anything). I refused to change my opinion in the beginning, but then more was revealed, and how could still think highly or unfavorably after learning about certain events!?

Every novel by Adam Silvera thus far has a powerful message, and History is no different. My favorite quote would have to be:

“People are complicated puzzles, always trying to piece together a complete picture, but sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we’re left unfinished. Sometimes that’s for the best. Some pieces can’t be forced into a puzzle, or at least they shouldn’t be, because they won’t make sense.”

While dealing with his grief, Griffin reached out to Jackson because he is the only one who loves Theo the way Griffin did. When he was with Jackson, Griffin was trying to figure out who Theo was in California because it was a big part of his coping method for the majority of the book. Eventually, Griffin realized that even though he wanted to put the puzzle of Theo’s life together, he should stop because it would not make sense and he would go crazy trying to find all the missing pieces.

I am so happy that Griffin was able to come to terms with Theo’s death. He also started taking care of himself more and accepted who he was. I thought Griffin’s mental health was portrayed perfectly and I loved how Jackson immediately adapted to help Griffin (staying on Griffin’s right, doing things in pairs and even numbers, etc.)

History Is All You Left Me was raw, moving, and emotional. I gained so much from reading this story and took away many lessons. It is definitely one my favorite 2018 reads!

July Challenge: As I mentioned above, the colloquial use of “Asian” is problematic because ASIA IS HUGE. So this month we’re covering more of Asia, specifically South Asia and India. South Asia includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. If you’d like to expand to Central Asia and the other former Soviet republics this month, that’s also encouraged! Suggested authors include Aisha Saeed, Sabaa Tahir, Salman Rushdie, Soman Chainani, Lily Singh, Sandhya Menon, Sona Charaipotra, and Samira Ahmed. 

My next review will be on: July DVRC Book (TBA)

ALL DVRC REVIEWS

[bigyack-com]

Milind Soman shares nude throwback pic from 1991, the year wife Ankita ‘arrived’ - bollywood

Actor Milind Soman took to Instagram to share a throwback picture from his modelling days back in 1991. The picture has received a lot of love, including from his wife Ankita Konwar.Sharing the picture, Milind informed us that it was taken at the Ridge in Delhi, back in 1991. Wearing nothing, Milind is kneeling by the woods. Appearing God-like, Milind can be seen looking away from the camera. The picture immediately went viral. It also got a comment from Ankita, who wrote, “And that’s exactly why I arrived hello lover.” Milind replied saying ‘all for you’.Many fans wrote in to show their admiration. One fan wrote: “More like Throw Caution Thursday. Rahul Khanna and now you. Hai!” while another said, “Wow! This picture tells a story in itself. As if a young wolf just came back to its human form after his first transition. And so utterly hot and delicious to llok at! You rock, Mr. SO_SO_SO_MAN! Wow! This picture tells a story in itself. As if a young wolf just came back to its human form after his first transition. And so utterly hot and delicious to llok at! You rock, Mr. SO_SO_SO_MAN!”

Milind Soman in 1991. ( Instagram ) The picture is a testimony to how fit Milind is; age has only added a few greys, it seems. The actor was a leading model in the 1990s, having appeared in many leading advertisements of the day. His nude picture with model Madhu Sapre for a brand shoot became hugely controversial. Milind has appeared in a number of films too.Milind and Ankita are passionate about fitness and often share pictures and videos from their participation in various runs and marathons across the country. Also read: Kareena Kapoor asks Sara Ali Khan if she has had a one-night stand, sent naughty textsMilind and Ankita married in April 2018 after dating for few years. Ankita had shared many pictures from their wedding. “Love always finds it’s way #foreveryouandi,” Ankita captioned a photo from their wedding mandap. “Then love knew it was called love. And when I lifted my eyes to your name, suddenly your heart showed me my way - #pabloneruda #myman#foreveryouandi #love,” she had captioned another photograph.Thursday was memorable as another actor shared a nude picture. Actor Rahul Khanna shared a picture, where he has nothing but the back of a mirror to cover his modesty even as he smiles cheekily at the camera.Follow @htshowbiz for more Read the full article

[devourer--of--books]

blinking in the starlight

I am so excited to tell you that I actually did it. You may ask yourself, what is this crazy bitch up to now?

So, as some of you might know, during Tagatha Ship Week 2016 I originaly had planned to do a Tangled AU one shot. It turned out messy because I had to rush the whole thing to be able to write it in one day, so that draft was deleted. However, I decided to go down this road and write an actual multichapter story. I think it will be about 12 chapters long? Maybe a few bonus chapters along the way? Not sure yet. What I do know is that updates will be slow, perhaps once a month? I keep all information on progress and updating on my profile at FF.net (https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4592257/), so if you wanna know what I’m up to or when the next chapter will be posted, check it out.

Disclaimer: I do not own The School For Good And Evil series and all characters belong to Soman.

Warning: As always, language, because I have a sailor’s mouth. Not half as many as in “if you’re not the bride”, but stil.

- Cece

Caged Birds Don’t Sing

Happy ever after is a little more boring than Sophie thought it would be.

As she finished another book, the blonde young beauty couldn’t help but frown. Yet again, the princess rode off into the sunshine, with a dashing prince, to a ginormous diamond castle, and guess what, “they lived happily ever after, the end”.

How… unoriginal.

Sitting at the big chair placed at the center of the library, Sophie let mind wander around a bit. How about a plot twist? “Princess decides to travel the world”? Or maybe “princess makes new friends and throws the sickest party ever after”?

Not that she was ungrateful.

Sophie had everything one could wish for. She lived in a magnificent luxurious tower, with maids that attended to her every will, all kinds of beauty cosmetics to make sure her wellbeing was a hundred per cent perfect, and she had the most handsome prince in the world.

She had fancy groom-rooms, tons of jewels and dresses, all the shoes a woman could ever hope to own. She was beautiful, rich, charming and she lived the dream. She was a real life princess.

It’s just… When she read about in her fairytale books it always seemed a little bit… greater? After all, she couldn’t even remember most of her own story. She was just a child when it happened.

“Lady Sophie?” her personal maid, Kiko, called by the door. “It’s time for your bath”.

Kiko had been assigned to her a few years ago. She was a little darling thing and definitely an upgrade from that annoying Beatrix girl that used to occupy that position. Beatrix always had that small smirk on her face and the only thing worse than her attitude was that look she sometimes sent Sophie. It made the princess’ blood boil.

Blue eyes filled with pity. Ugh.

Yes, Kiko, the sickly sweet maid that could never look her in the eye was definitely an upgrade.

“Oh” Sophie raised her eyebrow, slowly looking away from her book while lazily uncrossing her long legs “Is it lavender or enchanted bubbles?”

“W-which one would your highness prefer?” Kiko asked quietly, eyes looking downwards to Sophie’s velvet pink heels.

“Both” She answered uninterested, dismissing the shy maid.

The same thing, every day.

Wake up, morning routine, breakfast, free time, lunch, free time, lessons, free time, afternoon routine, free time, guard switch, dinner, free time, night routine, sleep. Wake up, morning routine, breakfast …

Ugh.

You would think that for someone with so much free time, Sophie would have found something to do with it. The thing was, it was called free time, but there was a surprisingly lack of freedom involved.

No matter how many times Rafal explained it was for her own safety, Sophie couldn’t help but wonder what could lie beyond the enormous walls of her tower.

It was a dangerous world, all kinds of sorcerers and black-magic-users could attack her, bandits could get her, she could even end up as a meal to some savage beast, bla bla bla. She got it, really.

But she had already read and re-read every book on the library, no matter how many books her prince would bring her. Her maids took care of the tower, no need to cook, or clean or anything. The gallery could only fit so many portraits and Sophie knew every single detail by heart.

She would ask him when he got home. After dinner, tomorrow.

But tomorrow seemed so far away…

“Sophie?!” The rude exclamation echoes from the main room, and Sophie’s mood turns south very fast.

Aric, the main general of her guard.

Also known as the bane of her existence.

How many times she complained to Rafal about him? Her prince would always dismiss her frustration, presenting her a new jewel as a peace offering, and while Sophie appreciated the gifts, she would trade them all for a chance to kick Aric’s sorry behind all the way down from her tower.

Aric was rude, bad mannered, scary as hell and his only joy came from working the other guards to death and annoying the daylights out of her.

“Lady Sophie, Aric” she gritted her teeth, forcing a polite smile, as she entered the room. “Know your place, will you?”

“My apologies” he smirked, mock bowing, violet eyes never leaving hers.

As always, Aric was dressed in his sweaty black and green uniform, wolfy smile in place and looking at her with that superior attitude that pushed her buttons in all the wrong ways.

Sophie suppressed the instinct of backing away from him, knowing that acknowledging his attempt to intimidate her would only serve to amuse him.

“Apology accepted,” She granted eyeing the general cautiously. “What are you doing here?”

“Master Rafal sent a falcon today. He’s coming for lunch tomorrow, so the guard switch will be done earlier” Aric explains, toying with the small dagger he carried in his sleeve. “Didn’t he tell you, lady?

"No.” Sophie answers, crossing her arms while transferring her weight to one leg “Why would he do that?”

“Does it matter? Ask him yourself.”

“You should stop this attitude, Aric. A little bird by the window told me you were late to work yesterday. Careful, or…”

Aric tensed up, his right hand gripping the silver dagger.

“Or what? I’m pretty sure where I go is my business. You, however, should watch your step…”

“Is this a threat?” Sophie asks, her voice low and incredulous.

A shiver goes down her spine as in a swift movement Aric throws the dagger.

The sharp blade shatters the window, the shards barely missing the blonde waves of her hair and the general smirks while admiring his work.

“I thought I saw a bird. They’re common at this time of the year. Interesting, I keep seeing them near the windows, don’t you agree that they should know their place and mind their business? Accidents do happen, could be dangerous.”

Sophie doesn’t say a thing, green eyes glaring at him.

“Don’t forget to close the curtains; It will take a while to get that window repaired and Master hates birds inside the tower” Aric taunts her in his way out.

Kiko and some other maid appear to clean up the shattered glass, but Sophie doesn’t stay to see the damage. It’s everywhere, and the curtain is probably ripped. Great.

She’s partly furious and partly terrified, her hands shaking like a leaf.

That tended to be the effect Aric caused every single time he went within a ten-meter radius from her.

Not that Rafal would ever let anything happen to her. He promised.

And soon enough Rafal would be back home. Then she could ask him.

Ask him to take her with him the next time he left.

.

.

Sophie is hopeful.

She always is this time of the year. Is near her birthday (tomorrow) and Rafal always visits on her birthday. Ever since he rescued her he visits every two months or so (running kingdoms must keep him busy), but he always stays an extra day or two for her birthday.

Usually she goes straight to bed after her night routine, but today, Sophie sits by her bedroom’s window.

It’s a beautiful view. The forest that surrounds the tower looks emerald green during the day, but Sophie liked it better during the night, when the moon and the stars color the trees in shades of grey and silver. Beyond the trees Rafal told her there are kingdoms, full of evil kings and witches.

Sophie doesn’t doubt him, of course not, but she can’t help but think that it was quite a waste for such beautiful woods to be infested with beasts and bandits and for such evil kingdoms to produce such an alluring light.

Oh yes, the lights.

The beautiful lights that came into view a few days after her birthday, at the beginning of spring. At night, one by one, the lights colored the sky, orange, yellow and gold lit up the sky, irradiating warm and comfort.

Rafal told her it was a festival. The witches set fire to the sky so all the birds would be burnt and fall to the ground.

And that’s why she should stay in her tower, where she was safe. So no harm would ever come to her.

My little bird, Rafal called her.

Because Sophie was a princess for a reason, you see.

She could sing.

But unlike any other singer, she did not sing songs. Oh no. Sophie sang people.

Rafal, mostly.

Everyone had a special tune, an essence. Her prince asked her to sing his at least once every time he visited. He told her that his tune reminded him of the birds that sang every day outside his window when he was a child.

That it made him feel young.

Sophie did not understand what kind of bird could sing such a melancholic melody. Rafal would laugh and then whisper in her ear:

“Blue falcons, Sophie. They are native from my kingdom.”

She wanted to ask more.

But she didn’t, and the information wasn’t offered either.

Tonight, sitting by the window, bathing in moonlight, Sophie tried to remember.

Rafal’s song was slow and husky, in a dark and dangerous pace.

Her mother’s song used to be soft and sophisticated, like an expensive velvet dress.

But Sophie couldn’t remember her own song.

She sang it every day as a child. But, like magic, she forgot.

Rafal told her it might have been a scar from pos-trauma. From her fairytale.

Sophie doesn’t remember when it was exactly, but she might have been around ten.

She lived in a luxurious house in a big estate. Her mother had inherited from a wealthy uncle or something. She loved Sophie’s voice, told her to sing every day. Her father wasn’t much of a fan.

One day, a dark old wizard attempted to kidnap her, so he could sell her voice for money to buy more ingredients for his potions. Rafal was passing nearby and heard the fighting between her father and the wizard.

Her mother hid her in a closet. Told Sophie she should stay there.

Sophie remember screwing her eyes shut and singing her song quietly.

After what felt like hours, someone came to her rescue.

A dashing young man, with shiny white hair and intense eyes greeted her. Told her that her parents were dead, but he was a prince and could keep her safe.

Even back then, Rafal was gorgeous.

And she lived happily ever after ever since.

Tired, Sophie decided that maybe she should have gone to bed: Now, she was tired and Rafal liked her better when she looked her best.

.

.

Stupid Aric.

Sophie’s high heels clicked against the expensive dark marble floor as she paced back and forth, her hand gripping the hairbrush hard enough that her knuckles were turning white.

He should already be here.

The guard switch was done earlier. Aric was supposed be here already. If Rafal arrived and he wasn’t here, his mood would be ruined.

Then, there was no way for Sophie to ask him her birthday gift.

To leave with him.

Oh, she was going to kick Aric out of this tower.

As soon as he got here.

Distracted by her angry-pacing Sophie did not hear the sound of the door opening.

A cold hand gripped her shoulder and she screamed on the top of her lungs, tripping on her heels. Instinctively, Sophie pointed her hairbrush to the stranger, wielding it like one would a sword.

“Woah.” Rafal exclaimed, backing away, hands up in mock surrender. His serious composure was intact as always, but his eyes looked amused. He offered her a hand.

“Hello.” Sophie answered, taking up on his offer “What do you find so funny?”

“Your brush” He told her, brow raised “What would you have done if I was actually an intruder? Get back or I’ll brush your hair?”

“Well, if the intruder was you, it would have worked. Your hair looks like it hasn’t seen one in weeks.” She noticed, taking up on his appearance.

As always, Rafal was dressed in a black outfit, detailed in gold and red, the huge cape trailing behind him, made out of grey-ish feathers. However, his hair was a mess, differing from the usual soft spikes it was usually sported in.

Rafal lifted a brow.

“Really?”

He walked in the direction of the giant mirror in Sophie’s room. His hands fondled with the white locks, sealing them in place.

“Aric usually remembers me to do this before I come inside.” He tells her, frowning “Where’s Aric?”

Sophie can feel the dread of telling him the general is not there and she decides that no, Aric isn’t going to ruin this.

“He must be checking on something since guard switch was done earlier. You can look for him later.”

“Sophie” Rafal narrows his eyes “Where’s Aric?”

Plan B it is then.

“You haven’t even wished me happy birthday yet.”

Her prince seems to calm down a bit.

“I’m sorry, my little bird.” He approaches “Happy birthday.”

“It’s quite alright” She answers, the fake tears drowning her green eyes.

“Please, don’t cry, Sophie.” He hugs her close and whispers compliments on her ear. “I have a gift for you”

“Do you? I was thinking about asking you…”

“Later, my little bird. For now, I’m hungry.” Rafal says, backing away, and Sophie follows him on his heels.

“It’s kind of important, Rafal, and…”

Her prince does not hear and she stops trying to catch up with him.

.

.

“So, you said you had a gift for me?”

The two of them are sitting in the library; Rafal is sipping his coffee (as he always did after lunch), seated at the big chair in the center of the room while Sophie nervously plays with a book, not quite looking him in the eyes, but standing directly in front of him.

“I do” He answers.

He reaches into his pocket and takes out a small box. A ring box.

Sophie eyes go wide.

“Yes”

“I’m afraid, my little bird, this is not that kind of ring”

Sophie’s excitement dies when she notices her prince’s serious demeanor. He puts the mug down, leaning forward, not once breaking eye contact.

“This is a safety ring, Sophie. It’s not a toy. You’ll wear it every day, 24/7. You won’t be taking it off for showers, for beauty treatments or for sleep. If you take it off, I’ll know you’re in danger and I’ll show up immediately. You’ll most likely never have to, but just in case, so we won’t have a repeat of today’s hairbrush incident”

He pulls Sophie’s hand away from the book, and slowly, slides the ring up her finger.

The piece itself was probably one of the most beautiful pieces she ever got from him, and that’s saying a lot. The ring shines in pale gold, dark reflexes running along the metal. Underneath, the words “True Love” could be read in silver. It was very light and delicate, but, somehow, Sophie felt like it yet another thing weighting her down.

“Happy birthday, my little bird. Now, how about you sing me my song again?”

“Thank you, Rafal”

Sophie finds herself singing his song four times in a roll. She quite enjoys the pleased look on his face, as he closes his eyes and lies back on the chair, expression twisted in the rare form of joy.

“Now, my little bird, I need to talk to Aric.” He excuses himself, heading to the door.

Sophie gets up from her chair so fast Rafal actually stops walking. She throws herself in front of him, blocking his way, sheepish smile and hopeful eyes.

“Remember that thing I wanted to talk to you about?” She batted her eyelashes at him, pouting.

“Oh, right”

“Well, since it is my birthday, and I now have a way to stay safe 24/7” She told him carefully “I was thing that maybe you could take me with you when you leave this time? To see our kingdom. I thought it might be a good experience for me, since one day I’m going to be a queen and…”

Rafal’s stoic expression and unreadable eyes were killing her.

“No.”

“But I…”

“No, Sophie.” He said firmly, trying to walk around her.

“Why not?” She asked, grabbing his arm, pulling at his sleeve.

“Are you not happy here, Sophie?”

“Of course I am…”

“Because if you’re not, I can arrange for you to live in a half-assed cottage in the middle of the woods, living out of nothing but berries and water, vulnerable to every single wizard and beast on the forest!” Rafal snapped.

Sophie suddenly lets go of his sleeve, her face losing color as real tears threaten to roll down her face.

“You wouldn’t”

“You’re right; I wouldn’t, because you can’t handle yourself out there. You’re weak, Sophie! Weak like a freaking chicken waiting to be somebody’s next meal! Don’t you understand, no one will ever care for your safety the way I do!”

She lets him walk around her, and as he finally reaches the door, Rafal signs, not once looking back:

“I won’t be home for dinner. Tell Aric I’ll be back in two weeks.”

She’s quiet.

“And Sophie” He adds, “I don’t wanna hear another word about you thinking about leaving this tower ever again”.

The door closes with a soft noise. Almost as soft as the quiet sobs she lets out as soon as he leaves.

.

.

Sophie spends another night sitting by her window.

She warns Kiko to let Aric know Rafal’s message, but after dinner, her maid tells her Aric never showed up to work. She also asks if Sophie need anything but the blonde doesn’t feel like dealing with Kiko’s over sweetness at the moment.

As she stares at the forest, Sophie wonders if it would be best if she left.

Not forever, of course. Just for some time. Away from Aric, from Kiko, from her maids, from the guards…

From Rafal.

Her ring shines in the moonlight.

“Happy fucking birthday.”

Language, Sophie. She can hear Beatrix’s voice taunting her in an old memory of her etiquette lessons.

This is her mouth. Her window. Her bedroom.

Her cage.

She’ll curse as much as she wants.

…Besides is not like anyone can hear her. The walls are thick and it’s late. The only ones awake are the guards posted on the staff levels and in the forest.

A quiet song is audible, and Sophie turns her head down to look at the small bird that sat by her window. She opens it with extra care not to scare the bird away. Upon closer inspection, she can tell it is tired. It’s night after all. Birds are usually day-time creatures.

The song is sad and Sophie can feel it tugging in her heartstrings.

She tries to touch the little animal, but as soon as she reaches for him, it flies away.

Sophie tries not to feel jealous.

It’s a bird. They’re supposed to be free creatures. That’s why Rafal won’t let her built a cage for them to keep her company.

Then why don’t you ever let me go…?

Sophie shakes her head. Nonsense. Rafal is just protecting her. He loves her.

She retracts from the window, deciding that yes, just for today she’ll leave it open. Rafal wouldn’t approve, but if Rafal wanted the window closed then he could come home and close it himself.

Looking back, if Sophie had indeed closed the window, our history might have gone in a completely different direction. Fate has a funny way of intervening in our lives.

.

.

It’s four AM when Sophie hears it.

It’s not very loud, but the soft sounds reach her ears and wake her up. She looks around for the source of the noise, when her eyes lie in her open window.

There’s hook on her window sill. Probably linked to a rope. With an evil bandit coming up to her bedroom, where no one could hear her.

And if he climbed up the tower and got through the guards, what could she do…

Her eyes darted to the ring.

She could call Rafal, he would protect her!

… but then he would be completely right, wouldn’t he? She was just some damsel in distress, like a princess in her fairytale books.

She moved her hand away from the ring.

“You’re weak, Sophie!”

No, this is something she could do by herself.

She walked slowly, making no sound, to the other side of the room, crouching near beauty supplies where the shadows were darker to help blend her blonde hair in the moonlit place.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the intruder sneaked into the bedroom.

Covered in a dark cape, hood covering most of their features the intruder drew a bow, arrow in position, while scanning the room. Sophie held her breath, not daring to move a single muscle.

The bow was put down a few seconds later, returned to their back, as was the arrow. She noticed the intruder carried a big satchel and walked around in heavy hunting boots.

Then, they signed.

“Finaly”

To Sophie’s surprise, the intruder was apparently a woman. At least, they sounded like one.

With all her attention on the so-called woman, who was now walking around the bedroom, Sophie nearly missed a new character’s arrival.

“I don’t think so” the new voice said.

It belonged to a man, about as tall as Rafal. But there’s where all similarities ended.

This man wore a military based uniform, much like her guards’, but instead of black and green, his was light blue and gold, a glowing sword attached to his belt, his feet covered by hunting boots. His features, while still immensely handsome, were rounder than Rafal’s and the strangers hair was several tones darker than her prince’s was, more like her golden sun-kissed tresses.

“You simply don’t know when to let it go, do you?” The first intruder questions the man, arrow ready.

“I told you I would hunt you down. I’ve been told quite a few times that I am a great hunter.” He answers, wielding his sword.

“By whom? Your fangils?” The caped woman mocked.

Despite drawing out weapons, they didn’t show signs of attacking any time soon, the banter between the two getting to a level Sophie would almost label flirty.

This was going too far. If these intruders decided to go at each other’s throats, then Sophie would be doomed. Again, she felt tempted to take off the ring…

No, she just had to do some quick thinking.

The first stranger was a priority, she had a long range weapon and was closer to her, so Sophie had to take her down first. But how…

Her eyes laid on her beauty supplies. Of course!

As quietly as she could, Sophie sneaked her hand to grab a small jar.

Imported from Maidenville, sleeping-rose’s petals.

Great to get rid of under eye bags and it’s tea had anti-insomnia properties.

Also, good for knocking people out in a few seconds or so through inhalation.

Please work.

The jar collided with the front of the hood, knocking the woman to her knees, shards of glass everywhere.

“What the actu…alll…?”

She tried to get up but the petals did their magic. Limp on the floor.

On the other side of the room, the man lowered his sword.

“If this is a trick, it won’t work, witch.” He threatened, but worry was clear in his voice. “Witch?”

He was coming near and Sophie started to panic. He would see the petals and it wouldn’t work unless he got really close to the woman’s face.

Okay, now what to do, what to do, what to…

Is that a brush?

“What would you have done if I was actually an intruder? Get back or I’ll brush your hair?”

Sophie would show him.

With all her might, she threw the hairbrush at the stranger. It hit the center of his forehead and Sophie swore she could see his blue eyes roll back as he too fell down, face first on the floor.

So. That happened.

She did it. Holy… she actually did it.

Who’s week now, Rafal? I’ve got two intruders in my bedroom, and you know who neutralized them? Yours truly!

Oh, god, she couldn’t wait to take off the ring and summon Rafal! He would be so…

…Angry that she didn’t take it off when he expressly ordered her to do so.

And if Rafal got angry with her again then he would not even notice her skills. He would probably double the security and then her tower wouldn’t even have windows!

What to do then?

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

As Kabir Singh battles brickbats, a have a look at Malayalam cinema's latest subversion of poisonous alpha males- Leisure Information, Firstpost

http://tinyurl.com/yxdlm6xr On this 12 months’s Kumbalangi Nights, one of many primary leads Saji (Soubin Shahir), believing himself chargeable for the surprising loss of life of his good friend, is nearly on the verge of a meltdown when he turns to his little brother—”I believe I’m shedding it. I need assistance. Can you’re taking me to a health care provider?” Within the second that he confides to the Physician and sobs throughout him, we’re witnessing the overhaul of the poisonous masculinity that has been celebrated in Malayalam cinema for ages. The scene concurrently subverts one among its oldest and most profitable tropes—the highly effective, protecting elder brother. In any case, Saji is the eldest in that dysfunctional household of 4 brothers. In the identical movie, his youthful brother (Shane Nigam) proves to be a by-product of poisonous masculinity and will get enraged when he realises that he isn’t entitled to take possession of his girlfriend but. The girlfriend, in the meantime, calls out her misogynist brother-in-law who considers himself the protector and the legislation of the household. “In our household we give ladies affordable freedom” being the fixed chorus. The brother-in-law, Shammi (Fahadh Faasil), the image of an “supreme household man” who can also be casteist, snobbish and misogynist, finally ends up being the psychopathic antagonist within the movie. Kumbalangi Nights, directed by Madhu C Narayanan and written by Syam Pushkaran, not solely succeeds in overthrowing the celebrated alpha male but additionally factors out that in idea he’s the villain of the story. “However I want they hadn’t made him right into a psychopath. He truly represents the typical chauvinistic Malayalee male,” says CS Venkiteswaran, movie academician. A nonetheless from Kumbalangi Nights. Having stated that, the movie nonetheless doesn’t drift away from the bigger narrative in Malayalam cinema — exhibiting ladies as nurturers, about ladies anchoring the boys and providing them objective in life. Agrees movie critic Sreehari Nair, who says Kumbalangi Nights was additionally about “what number of sturdy, gifted, impartial ladies willingly hand over their very own character to grow to be captives of bushy brutes.” “In Kumbalangi, the reactions of these ladies within the Shammi family, the best way they virtually tense up in his presence, how they, by conditioning, cower down earlier than his masculine grandeur, is a actuality in lots of Indian and Malayali households. These reactions, I believe, are as vital to review because the character of Shammi. The reality is that quite a lot of ladies, by placing love earlier than their very own honour, carry slavishness upon themselves. I personally don’t suppose this is a component that wants ‘correction’. It merely is one among our nation’s many poetic insanities,” Nair observes. Malayalam cinema, which has been on a studying curve publish WCC and New Wave, is consciously making an attempt to rephrase the century-old conditioning layered within the basically male-centric narrative. Although Malayalam cinema has not at all times glorified the poisonous male, it can’t be discounted that standard cinema at all times gave credence to him over the feminine voice. There have been the occasional KG George (thought of one of many most interesting filmmakers of all instances) movies (1980s) with advanced women and men who fell from the excessive pedestal of morality, obtained up and continued with their lives with out being judged. Whereas the 1980s had a mix of real looking portrayal and endorsement of the poisonous male hero, it was in the direction of the mid-1990s that it grew out of hand. A lot earlier than Ranji Panicker-Ranjith-Shaji Kailas trio scripted their alpha male icons, Director Balachandra Menon (between 1979-mid 1990s) had created and popularised a story the place the best girl was somebody who bowed to her man and was not able to making large selections in the home. He made positive that every time the standard position play obtained disrupted (or every time a girl spoke towards this male-order), he introduced them again within the patriarchal order, as he believed solely that stabilised the right household. A number of of his movies rallied across the “actual man” syndrome. Maniyan Pillai Athava Maniyan Pillai has a hero who rapes a girl to reveal his masculinity, whereas Prashnam Gurutharam’s protagonist opts for suicide over residing as an impotent man. “Within the 1980s there wasn’t a lot age parity between the hero and the heroine, which helped to carry an equality within the relationship, not like post-2000. Be it Jayabharathi-Soman, Venu Nagavalli-Jalaja or Shobha. However after superstardom, the age hole between the hero and heroine drastically widened, making the creation of alpha males simpler. Now after all, we see the age hole decreasing,” observes CS. Director Padmarajan has depicted poisonous masculinity in a number of of his movies. In Kariyila Kattu Pole, we see a hero (Mammootty) raping a girl to “educate her a lesson” and to point out her “what an actual man” can do. And worse, her trauma is hardly addressed within the movie which opts to digress into the bond between the daddy and youngster. In the meantime, his 1983 movie Koodevide has an entitled misogynistic hero who results in jail for murdering the scholar of his lover. In Thoovanathumpikal, his most celebrated work, the main man, Jayakrishnan is a product of poisonous masculinity, unable to take a woman’s rejection leading to a one-night stand with a name woman. However even there, his fragile male ego makes him responsible of coveting a woman’s virginity as he believes like each patriarchal male that it defines a girl’s existence, prompting him to supply her marriage. Within the late 1990s, when heroines have been being sidelined, alpha males rose in prominence. Director Rajasenan’s standard mainstream movies that includes Jayaram had appalling plotlines woven round middle-class households. In all his celebrated movies, be it Ayalathe Adheham, Meleparambil Aan Veedu or Njangal Santhushtaranu, males steeped in patriarchy mocked, judged or introduced the “drifting ladies” again into the household. In Ayalathe Adheham, the hero is a grouchy sexist who believed that exhibiting affection or flaws earlier than his spouse would make him much less of a person. So, they find yourself demonising the one who overtly made a present about loving his spouse. Whereas Meleparambil Aan Veedu makes an announcement that society considers a girl virtuous as alongside as her unborn youngster is claimed by the daddy. The heroine in Njangal Santhushtaranu is the stereotypical trendy spouse who can’t prepare dinner or be motherly and wears trendy garments. She is named out for not being the standard obedient spouse. However the minute she “realises her errors” she wears a sari and turns into the motherly determine he needed her to be. Sathyan Anthikad made positive his heroines have been the catalyst for his heroes to know their objective in life. As soon as that’s completed, the women go into the standard gender roles. In Priyadarshan’s Mithunam, it’s once more a hero who doesn���t speak in confidence to his spouse concerning his financial points, as he both thinks she is simply too dim-witted to know him, or she would suppose much less of him as a person. Finally, she is pressured to apologise for not empathising along with his silent remedy of her. Lohithadas’s Kanmadam has a hero (Mohanlal) who thinks he can weaken a girl’s (Manju Warrier) defences with a kiss, as he feels that’s all she yearns for. However then she can also be proven as a daring, grumpy girl who’s being pressured to shoulder the accountability of her household within the absence of her brother. The overall thought being sketched is {that a} girl is happiest when a person takes care of the home and she or he performs the spouse and mom. A minimum of the hero’s motion and her response reinstate that idea. Although Malayalam cinema has had comparatively fewer romantic films, the notable ones had stalking (Vandanam, Chithram, Annayum Rasoolum) getting used as mandatory instrument for wooing. Whereas these are largely depictions, the narrative took a disturbing flip by the late 1990s and early-mid 2000 when superstars (Mammootty and Mohanlal) have been crafted as demi-god alpha males and their heroines the place diminished to arm sweet. They adhered extra to hegemonic and hyper masculinity. There was Renji Panicker, who created heroes who at all times judged the “trendy lipstick sporting girl with a thoughts of her personal,” gave them a category on self-discipline, traditions, and household. After which there was writer-director Ranjith who made positive he created ladies who prostrated earlier than their main males and eagerly jumped at their flippant, sexist marriage proposals. In all these narratives, a person’s value is at all times weighed on the paternity scale — “If you’re born of a single father, carry it on,” is the ISI mark of heroism in Malayalam cinema. Dileep movies endorsed misogyny and sexism within the guise of household entertainers, passing off crude humour concentrating on ladies in each movie. As soon as the development of alpha male superstars began to say no (although this 12 months, one of many greatest hits is a celebrity glorification car known as Lucifer), the New Wave set in. That and social media collectively prompted the emergence of girls writers in movie criticism and the formation of WCC. Conversations started on ladies’s illustration and misogyny in older Malayalam movies, leading to extra insightful discussions. Political correctness was thought of as essential to a movie’s acceptability because the story, medium and method. The change is clear in latest instances, when audiences are woke in the direction of misogyny, racism, and casteism being glorified on display screen. A nonetheless from Varathan. The result’s the likes of Varathan and Ishq. In final 12 months’s Amal Neerad directed Varathan, the hero is a metrosexual, the subversion of poisonous masculinity. He’s mild, type, giving, and doesn’t react to conditions like how society perceives a person ought to. He’s additionally susceptible, emotional, and compassionate, traits typically seen as weaknesses in a person. Of their marriage, he makes no fuss about being helpful within the kitchen or in not being the salaried associate. “It’s an fascinating depiction, however his climactic transformation is that of a celebrity’s, which I believe was deliberate,” says CS. Whereas director Anuraj Manohar’s Ishq has a extra advanced layering. It’s a few younger couple who tries to rescue themselves from the clutches of a creep who harasses them within the garb of ethical policing. However as soon as the issues tide over and the vengeance has been extracted, comes the reality concerning the hero. It’s solely when he’s reassured that the villain didn’t contact his girlfriend that he decides to stroll again into her life. He endorses machismo and has all of the particular traits of a poisonous male who thinks his manliness has been mocked and challenged when he couldn’t “shield and defend” his girlfriend. It’s that alone which makes him plot a revenge plan that goes utterly towards his character. However in the long run when that façade falls in entrance of her, it’s heartening to observe her take a stand. Between all that is the baffling indisputable fact that Arjun Reddy, the 2017 Telugu movie which has been remade in Hindi as Kabir Singh (and is at the moment operating in theatres) which in flip has been aggressively slammed by North Indian movie critics for its blunt glorification of poisonous masculinity was effectively acquired in Kerala. Shahid Kapoor in a nonetheless from Kabir Singh. YouTube Most likely we should always simply take coronary heart in the truth that Malayalam cinema and a piece of the discerning viewers has although belatedly acknowledged poisonous masculinity and the dangerous, abusive methods it’s reared its head, the conversations are in full swing. The change may even be effectively on its means. 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[gethealthy18-blog]

8 Bollywood Celebrities Who Took Their Relationship To The Next Level In 2018

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8 Bollywood Celebrities Who Took Their Relationship To The Next Level In 2018

Shivani K February 7, 2019

Our country’s tinsel town which we so-lovingly call as Bollywood is always buzzing with some hot gossip or controversy every single day. Relationships, breakups, engagements, and marriages of Bollywood celebs have always formed the headlines of every entertainment news channel, paper or magazine. However, the year 2018 was more special. Unlike the denials or secrecy which usually happen in Bollywood when it comes to relationships, in 2018 we came across a lot of celebs who chose to be open about their dating life, their relationships, and even chose to let the world know about their big D-day, their marriage.

For the paparazzi, 2018 was a year of sheer grandeur as they got to capture all of the big news in a detailed manner (Courtesy: the openness about the events from the celeb side). We know its 2019 now, but we’d like to take you down the stories of 8 Bollywood celebrities who decided to take a plunge in their relationship by being open about them or by tying the holy matrimony knots in 2018. Let’s read to find out who they are.

1. Deepika Padukone And Ranveer Singh

For nearly six years people were guessing about them dating each other. And in 2018 we saw them sizzle onscreen in the movie Padmaavat and won every viewer’s heart. This was followed by the sudden announcement of their wedding which was a dream destination wedding at Lake Como away from their fan frenzy and the paparazzi trauma. For both these love birds, the year 2018 was all about achieving happiness both on their personal front as well as professional front. #DeepVeer was their couple hashtag!

2. Priyanka Chopra Jonas And Nick Jonas

In 2018, thanks to Priyanka, the western side of the world understood the meanings of “roka”, “mehendi”, “jiju.” We’re so sure that the west never googled such words ever in their life before. It was in August 2018, that Nick made his relationship with Priyanka insta-official which surprised the world. In December, they entered the holy matrimony by having two wedding ceremonies (the Hindu and the Christian). Their wedding ceremonies which took place at Umaid Bhavan palace made the entire world gasp in awe.

3. Sushmita Sen And Rohman Shawl

Of course, former Miss Universe, Sushmita Sen has set an example for most single mothers out there by adopting two girls and raising them in the best possible way. In 2018, she made headlines for more than just being the perfect mom. She chose to pose with her boyfriend Rohman Shawl and introduced him to her fans through her Instagram account. In most of her Instagram posts, the couple is seen dancing, singing, and even posing in front of the monument of love — the Taj Mahal.

4. Natasha Dalal And Varun Dhawan

This heartthrob has been linked to most of the leading actresses of Bollywood but never once has he confirmed or denied any of the rumors. Finally, in the year 2018, Varun decided to take the official step and made his long-term relationship with girlfriend Natasha insta-official which hushed away all the baseless rumors about his personal life. We’re so glad he made his love life clear to everybody.

5. Neha Dhupia And Angad Bedi

Neha posted a picture of her Gurudwara wedding with Angad and captioned it as “Best decision of my life.” The post came as a surprise for both her fans and her well-wishers of Bollywood. However, everybody was happy for the newly wedded couple who tied the knot in May 2018.

6. Ankita Konwar And Milind Soman

Call them “the marathon runner couple.” Ankita and Milind tied the knot in the month of April 2018 in a conventional Maharashtrian style wedding in Alibaug with their near and dear ones. Their wedding broke the age barrier which is always talked about when it comes to marriages. The handsome man is 52 years old whereas his beautiful wife Ankita is only 27 years old.

7. Sonam Kapoor And Anand Ahuja

They are known as “#EverydayPhenomenal” couple on Instagram. But they never really spoke about their relationship out in open. It was only when their wedding dates were decided that they chose to be open about it. Their wedding was a star-studded affair which took place in Mumbai and had the attendance of most of the Bollywood biggies.

8. Shibani Dandekar And Farhan Akhtar

They seem to be the most cupid-struck couple in the tinsel town. From Shibani posting a picture of a mystery man on her Instagram profile to her celebrating her birthday with Farhan. If this cannot be called as taking the next step then what is it?

All the above stories can only make us wonder what 2019 has in store for us. Wonder which Bollywood celebs are going to get hitched or admit their love. Which of the above tinsel town couple is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

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[theclockworkbibliophile-blog]

Because You Love to Hate Me: 13 Tales of Villainy Book Review

Summary:

Leave it to the heroes to save the world--villains just want to rule the world. In this unique YA anthology, thirteen acclaimed, bestselling authors team up with thirteen influential BookTubers to reimagine fairy tales from the oft-misunderstood villains' points of view. These fractured, unconventional spins on classics like "Medusa," Sherlock Holmes, and "Jack and the Beanstalk" provide a behind-the-curtain look at villains' acts of vengeance, defiance, and rage--and the pain, heartbreak, and sorrow that spurned them on. No fairy tale will ever seem quite the same again! Featuring writing from . . . Authors: Renée Ahdieh, Ameriie, Soman Chainani, Susan Dennard, Sarah Enni, Marissa Meyer, Cindy Pon, Victoria Schwab, Samantha Shannon, Adam Silvera, Andrew Smith, April Genevieve Tucholke, and Nicola Yoon BookTubers: Benjamin Alderson (Benjaminoftomes), Sasha Alsberg (abookutopia), Whitney Atkinson (WhittyNovels), Tina Burke (ChristinaReadsYA blog and TheLushables), Catriona Feeney (LittleBookOwl), Jesse George (JessetheReader), Zoë Herdt (readbyzoe), Samantha Lane (Thoughts on Tomes), Sophia Lee (thebookbasement), Raeleen Lemay (padfootandprongs07), Regan Perusse (PeruseProject), Christine Riccio (polandbananasBOOKS), and Steph Sinclair & Kat Kennedy (Cuddlebuggery blog and channel). 

My Review:

Though this review is so late and I finished this novel a day after its release date, I did receive an early hardcover copy from Bloomsbury.

So, like the other anthologies I have reviewed, I will section this out by the relative short stories. I did receive the sampler package a while ago, so I was definitely excited for this anthology. I know you’re supposed to hate villains, but I love to read about them in novels anyway. This anthology takes classic villains on a whole new level with backstory and even some feelings! Let’s get to it!

Please note that the endings will not be spoiled, but I will finish each review with whether or not the villain is still a villain.

The Blood of Imuriv by Renee Ahdieh; Challenged by Christine Riccio

I read this one in the sampler and I read it again because it is so good! Rhone is a villain that seems to hold some grudges and anger. I mean, hell. He kicks a robot and enjoys it. 

To me, it appeared as if he has a sort of close relationship with his sister, Altais. The major scene in this short story is of one where they play a game together which seems kind of like a chess, but more dangerous. Think of Wizard’s Chess, but more virtual. 

So, it doesn’t last long of course. Some words are said, not intentionally, and Rhone loses his temper.

Still a villain? Yes.

Jack by Ameriie; Challenged by Tina Burke

The title gives it away. This is set during the time of Jack and the Beanstalk. However, the story is from the POV of the giant, who happens to be a female. She definitely does have some doubts about being an “evil” giant. Her dream is to actually be able to walk the ground below from the skies, even though giants are technically forbidden. She’s also afraid of heights, which stops her from looking over the railing from the clouds.

Now, she meets Jack as he steals that goose. However, he returns it after some time and the two grow a sort of bond. This kind of confuses me only because Jack is a normal human and this giant is...a giant. I prayed there wouldn’t be a relationship. That would just be odd.

Anyway, time keeps passing and Jack teaches her to let go of her fear so she can look over the railing at the ground below. While they grow closer, the giant keeps imagining crushing him in her hand. Disturbing much. 

Well...the ending is not really a happy ending. I’ll say that.

Still a villain? Yes and no. I think she still has a conscious and, if the story were to continue, she’d think more about her decisions.

Gwen and Art and Lance by Woman Chainani; Challenged by Samantha Lane

I read this one in the sampler, too. However, it is written as a text message exchange, so it’s pretty fast. 

We have Gwen who is kind of stuck in a love triangle between Art and Lance. She wants to go to the dance with one and the other wants to go with her. It becomes a pretty big mess and the ending is kind of dark and it’s hard for me to tell what actually really becomes of Gwen.

Still a villain? I’d say both Lance and Gwen are the villains and, are they? Duh.

Shirley & Jim by Susan Dennard; Challenged by Sasha Alsberg

This short story is revolved around Sherlock Holmes. However, her name is Shirley Holmes and she is a lot younger. This whole story is kind of in the form of a letter to Jean Watson and Shirley is describing her relationship with Jim Moriarty. 

Shirley seems to be completely in love with him, but it’s not all sunshine and roses. Jim challenges her, but she can’t help but fall for him despite his confusing personality. He likes to be secretive and deep and dark, but she still wants him.

However, he commits a major betrayal that Shirley can’t really get over, ending her letter to Jean with a promise to get Jim and “checkmate”. 

Still a villain? Eh, hard to tell.

The Blessings of Little Wants by Sarah Enni; Challenged by Sophia Lee

This one was a doozy and definitely dark. However, I think that’s what made me enjoy it. We have Sigrid Balfour attending a boarding school of some sort and she has magical powers, though she knows there is a certain extent that shouldn’t be reached.

She has a friend named Thomas who has powers, too. He can make her see things. The catch? Nobody else seems to notice him. It took me a while to catch on to this.

Thomas doesn’t even exist.

However, they both go on a journey to complete a magical quest that was never achieved. In order to do this, Sigrid must do something that will make your head spin. 

Let’s just say that...

Still a villain? Yeah. Yes. Mhm-hmm. Maybe.

The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer; Challenged by Zoe Herdt

Ah, I loved this one! This is basically a backstory to Ursula’s life in The Little Mermaid and it definitely grabbed my attention.

Ursula had her powers already, but she wanted to use a certain spell to gain he love of a merman she was in love with herself. However, it backfired when she was found out by the merman and his friends. They taunted her and destroyed her cave full of treasures and spell books. 

She ran away to the shore and met a man there and it was kind of like instal-love. She decided she wanted to be with this man since he kept making her promises, so she pulled an Ariel. She wanted to give herself legs. The description of the pain seemed so realistic. 

She did end up reaching shore and finding her new man. However...it takes a drastic turn. 

We all know how Ursula ended up, but did you know that the merman was actually King Triton? 

Still a villain? Well, she is destroyed as well know from the films. But, yeah.

Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon; Challenged by Benjamin Alderson

This short story is about Medusa and her backstory. Cindy gave Medusa a very unique background as Mei Du, who was meant to be married off to the emperor. It’s really not something that she wants and, while awaiting her leave, she is visited by a strange man who seems to be able to disappear without a trace. He entrances her and seduces her slowly until, on the way to the palace, she is left alone and the man rapes her. It turns out he was the God of the Sea. 

Angry that she has given herself up like this, the Goddess of Purity turns her into the monster believed to be from the inside. She is now Medusa and is hunted down by men throughout the years.

If you’ve read about the legend of Medusa, then you should know how it ends for her.

Still a villain? Not the classic kind. One that is angry about what has been done to her for no true reason at all.

Death Knell by Victoria Schwab; Challenged by Jesse George

I really liked this one. It was unique and definitely was the perfect fit for Victoria’s style.

We have death taking over a boy’s body. From what I gathered, death takes over someone’s body that it has killed. So, it’s like a chain. The body changes after very death.

This boy is hunting down a girl and she knows who he is immediately. Instead, she shows him a fun life for her last hours and it actually gives death some feeling, even though he doesn’t want to feel anything.

Uh...there is no happy ending.

Still a villain? I don’t think so. Maybe that’s just me.

Marigold by Samantha Shannon; Challenged by Regan Perusse

This was an interesting story. I believe it’s meant to feature the sirens and Marigold, a princess that Isaac is rather in love with, has been taken by these sirens. Isaac is set to rescue her because that’s how deep his run loves. 

However, it’s not an easy task. Marigold doesn’t actually want to leave. She feels more at peace there then with Isaac and it’s all very troubling, especially considering where they are at. It’s a foggy and mysterious place that holds its own beauty. 

Marigold’s brother has come with Isaac and Marigold actually tries to convince Isaac that George, the brother, is the one who has caused her to choose this life away from civilization. There’s your twist.

The ending is very dark, too. It’s something of your nightmares. For real.

Still a villain? Uh, I’m not sure if the villain is supposed to be a siren or George. If it’s George, yes. The sirens? Uh, undecided. I think.

You, You, It’s All About You by Adam Silvera; Challenged by Catriona Feeney

This one was very interesting. A girl is basically a mastermind with a mask made of skin. She sells certain drugs that can alter a person’s memory, mind, personality, etc. It’s something of the future, for sure. She can also make people do whatever she wants them to do, like kill.

The main part of this story is the fact she has a...lover? named Karl. He is basically her accomplice and their lives seem perfect together. 

However, there is a twist. This review is definitely hard to write without spoiling things, so I’m not going to go further. It’s definitely a story you should read, though.

Still a villain? Nah. I like her.

Julian Breaks Every Rule by Andrew Smith; Challenged by Raeleen Lemay

I really liked this one. Julian is basically a...psycho...who feels he must kill someone if they do or say something wrong that just annoys him. The murders seem to happen as if by fate. Like, he thinks about it and it happens.

There is one person he can’t seem to kill, though. Steven Kemple. 

The short story basically showcases Julian’s thoughts about Steven and the events that happen where he is present. He likes to call these moments “foreshadowing”. 

His last foreshadowing moment? He knows where Steven Kemple lives.

Still a villain? Yeah, but I like him.

Indigo and Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke; Challenged by Whitney Atkinson

This one is related to Beauty and the Beast, but it seems to be from Gaston’s POV. Brahm Valois is depicted as a big, hunky, egotistical blockhead. His own thoughts actually praise his own beauty. It’s disgusting. 

Well, there are rumors of people going missing and being killed by a beast, which Brahm has only seen himself. 

While in the forest where the beast resides, he finds a young woman reading. She seems to be very mysterious, but Brahm falls for her. 

Until it’s revealed she is the beast. It’s a curse that she wants to escape, but she doesn’t know how to.

No, there is no wedding like the Disney movie. 

Let’s just say Brahm finds a way that is difficult for him to do.

Still a villain? His attitude just says it all. Yes.

Sera by Nicola Yoon; Challenged by Steph Sinclair and Kat Kennedy

I read this one in the sampler and it is kind of disturbing. It’s not too long. But we have a child that basically grows up to be someone who can’t help but destroy people. 

I mean, she catches her own sister on fire.

Her own mother hated her. 

It starts with the present day with Sera, the child, walking through the city with men fighting and things catching on fire. After that, we learn about her childhood in different increments. 

The last part is in Sera’s POV and it does seem like Sera wants to be normal, but she doesn’t know how. She essentially gives up and accepts who she is.

Still a villain? I’m going say yes, because it’s freaky.

This anthology was one of the best I’ve read. I really want some of these stories to be longer as novels, but we can only dream. 

My Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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