#please read with caution 🧡💛

[tadpolesonalgae]

Hi, idk if this is weird but in playmate, does Rhys feel bad for what he does to her? Because he obviously gets off on her crying lol but at the same time he’s weirdly thoughtful and praises her. And you said in his backstory that he’s using his court of nightmares persona so does he actually like her or feel bad for what he does to her or for hurting her

Warnings: dark!rhys, reference to noncon, reference to dubcon, please look after yourselves 🧡💛

So Desk Pet and Play-Mate were not planned at all, in the sense I hadn’t really considered making it a multi-part story which is why you might spot some inconsistencies here and there with his behaviour, which I’m sorry about 😕🧡💛

However, going with the new plot line, the story is (roughly) Rhys and reader became close after he got out from Under The Mountain, Rhys latched onto her since she was the only one who gave the security and comfort he needed, and the only one who could provide the right type of care, which is how he became so obsessive. Rhys then ended up taking her for himself but reader wasn’t ready for that, so he goes down the psychological manipulation route of getting her to expect the absolute worse from him, so that when he gets nicer and gives reader that same level of attentive care he was before taking her, she’ll feel grateful and relieved (and also so mentally distorted and turned around she’ll be thankful to him for ‘saving her’, despite him doing everything he’s done up to this point)

I’d also like to add that from dark!rhys’ perspective, while he doesn’t enjoy hurting her (just seeing her cry), he’s so focused on his end goal that for him it justifies the means. He knows that the amount of love and care and utter devotion he’ll give her will make up for all the bad stuff (objectively, no Rhys, that’s not how it works, but he’s not entirely sane anymore) 🧡💛

From here onward it’s probably going to switch more into a Stockholm Syndrome situation where reader is much more compliant and content to be with him :)

[sarah-sandwich]

Hello!

I just finished writing my book, an original work. Where is a good place to post it where it will actually be read?

Thank you

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

Wow congratulations!!! Way to go!!

Unfortunately I don't have a good answer. I've only just started writing original fiction and it's nowhere near ready for other eyes lol

I'd caution you to do your research and make sure anywhere you decide to post won't steal your work or take away your rights to it. You could look into self-publishing? I hear it's much easier than it used to be but still a lot of work to get it out there and then promote yourself. Super rewarding though!

There's also the option to make your own website and post it there? The issue would be getting people to go to your website so you'd still have to do a lot of leg work promoting yourself.

Sorry I don't have a better answer! If anyone else does, please chime in and I'll reblog for author anon.

[imagining-in-the-margins]

can we get a sneak peak plz?❤️🧡💛

You asked for this... Don't blame me.

Also, reminder that I will not be posting a new chapter this week. BUT I do have a smut blurb that I will try to queue for Thursday!

I probably won't do another Sneak Peek this week tho. You'll have to wait.

Sneak Peek for TB&TB Pt. 18 (Rear View) Below!*

*Please read the warnings below the cut.

Content Warnings: This chapter features a graphic PTSD episode/flashback in which Spencer’s canonical trauma is briefly recounted/referenced.

This chapter might be troubling for those who have trauma-induced flashbacks, feelings of suicidal ideation, sexual trauma, or experiences with gun violence.

Please proceed with caution. No story is worth your mental health.

“I won’t. I promise, I won’t hurt you.” I wanted to believe myself, but I couldn’t. Even when the tears came like brackish waters pouring over a forgotten, demolished dam, all I could taste was the bitter bile rising in my throat. All I could feel was the most disgusting kind of self-hatred. I could feel them, all of the people I’d ever failed, chastising the man I’d become. As if I ever could have made gold thread from the cobwebs they left behind. It wasn’t enough that I had fashioned body armor from the spider’s silk. I would never be able to make up for who I was. “I’m so sorry, please,” I pleaded from my position still above her. It figures that even when my body gave in, it refused to fall. It maintained that level of superiority as long as it could. I looked down at her as I cried what I was almost convinced were crocodile tears. “I won’t hurt you, please. It was an accident. I’m so… I’m so sorry.” But she believed me. My Bunny saw something. Ever so cautiously, the young girl stood on shaky legs with even more precarious breath. After a moment of silence, or the closest we could come with both of us crying, she took a step forward. It was an unfortunate move. It wasn’t her fault. It was the culmination of decades of training and a goddamn permanently fucked up prefrontal cortex and amygdala that had made me do it. But there was no describing the way it wounded me to see the sheer, unadulterated panic on her face when my hand went straight to my holster. Danger. You’re in danger. It’s going to hurt.

[tadpolesonalgae]

CBMTHY gang, unite.

In all honesty, regarding your question about reader and mor forgiving each other i think it'd be complicated.

Reader is passive enough to let mor walk over her (for now), as seen by her just walking away rather than defend herself. Mor however? I think for her to completely forgive reader, part of her would also have to acknowledge that Eris isn't the monster that she believes he is.

For example, when i imagine Mor TRULY regretting what shes said to reader it couldn't be an argument or a disagreement of any kind. Mor is too stubborn for that imo, i think she would personally have to see how eris and reader speak with one another. And i have a feeling even then, with how shes been spoken about in acowar (amren mentioning theres truths even THE truth teller is avoiding as well as eris implying theres more to the story several times to several different characters) i don't know if she would be able to *ACCEPT* that about him. (the IC's blind rage when something bad happens to one of their own is sweet from their POVs? but theyre DEFINITELY biased so i cant trust any of their takes atp 😭)

Part of me admittedly wants to see eris get defensive over reader in an older sibling way against specifically mor. i think that would be a real stone to the head for ALL of them. To know that she found family in someone that they found so horrible, and to know in the back of their heads that eris was better to her than she was? and for that to torment them all for a long while.

Now, I've had a theory for a while that eris KNEW that if he laid a hand on mor at the border that she would be chained to him permanently and that not helping her 💫directly💫 wouldve been best. Think about beron, if eris had taken mor home and HE found out what mor did? i think beron would've killed them both for the disgrace. We already know eris isnt what he seems, so this seems plausible to me 👀Especially because eris said "how do you think lucien got to the border" to feyre when she implies in acowar that he helped kill jesminda. I think he may have done something similar here and sent an anonymous tip of sorts to the night court, that fuckery was happening on autumn's borders... where mor happened to have been left by her family.

As for CC and TOG 👀 cc starts really 💫dense💫 a lot of information all at once and it made it very difficult to begin, (similar to priory of the orange tree imo). But its easily SJMs best written series that is currently published, acotar and tog both were started very early in her career and it shows. While not perfect, CC shows that that sadistic woman has improved 😭 (she pulled off the ending to CC2, which at the time of reading i can say i debated whether buying CC3 would even be worth it)

and id LOVE to chat about TOG however, last time i did i accidentally info dumped to my ex for six hours (he was a great sport 😭) so uhhh brace urself 😂

-🤠

Warnings: big spoilers for the Crescent City series, some pretty heavy CC slander on my part so please look away if you don’t want to read!!!, also spoilers for the Throne of Glass series 🧡💛

Small note: I feel I should also mention that I haven’t finished CC3—I got about halfway through and had to put the book down so if some massive stuff happens at the end, I have no idea about it 🫣🫢

I think I agree with you about Mor being kind of stubborn in her forgiveness but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad trait of hers? I think for the most part Mor’s able to stand her ground perfectly fine and reader did kind of mess up to be fair? So yeah, if reader were to just amble up to Mor, even if it was done in private, entirely sincerely and reader explained her side of things with perfect clarity (explained her side as in, reader saying she didn’t do it to hurt or betray Mor, but reader would leave out all the personal/emotional stuff because it’s reader 🤨) Mor just wouldn’t be able to do it? I think it would have to be a candid/genuine moment? Especially if because of Mor’s past she feels reader is being kind of manipulative (even if she might not mean to be) it would take Mor witnessing reader either interacting with Eris on her own or seeing reader do something genuine that isn’t just apologising and trying to sweep it under the rug for her to understand fully/see reader’s side?

‘(amren mentioning theres truths even THE truth teller is avoiding as well as eris implying theres more to the story several times to several different characters)’

While I’m kind of interested to see what Miss Maas will do with this plot line, I’m 100% not even going to attempt to touch on it in cbmthy because I think my head would explode trying weave that into the stuff I’m already trying to remember to do 😭

‘Part of me admittedly wants to see eris get defensive over reader in an older sibling way against specifically mor.’

I would so love to write a scene like this too, and I’ve thought about putting it in, but I feel it would ultimately undermine reader further and make her more doubtful? And also just wrongly portraying the IC? To make them only forgive/understand reader when Eris/a male character steps in? That’s one of the reasons I want reader to handle it herself because while it would be super satisfying in theory to get a scene of Eris ripping into them, it would be too unrealistic for me :/

‘But its easily SJMs best written series that is currently published, acotar and tog both were started very early in her career and it shows.’

Okay this is absolutely WILD to me since Crescent City is easily the series of hers that I despise most? In fairness I do struggle a lot when fantasy is set in a modern word because in my opinion it defeats the point of fantasy—I read it to escape from the real world so making it contemporary immediately puts me off.

When you say ‘it shows’ I’d genuinely love to hear what parts in particular you mean since for me there’s no competition between ToG and acotar, and CC? Particularly the slightly eldritch-y feeling we get in Throne of Glass when Aelin’s first discovering the Wyrd marks, the portals, the strange creature hunting in the dark, gothic halls of the palace? I love that stuff so much, having the sense of something so vastly larger than yourself?

‘While not perfect, CC shows that that sadistic woman has improved 😭 (she pulled off the ending to CC2, which at the time of reading i can say i debated whether buying CC3 would even be worth it)’

The ending for CC2 I agree was mind blowing (for me at least) and I spent ages in a absolute awe over the connections, however it wasn’t enough to compensate for the intense boredom and disinterest I experienced through the rest of the first two books? I feel I should also mention that I genuinely can’t stand Bryce, and struggle a lot with Hunt, so I’m sure not clicking with the two main characters impacts my perception of the story a lot.

For me, while I can see how making Danika such a mystery could be really cool for the plot, it got way too repetitive? Everything being related back to Danika after Bryce was so insistent they shared everything with one another got old so quickly? I can see how miss Maas might have been trying to make it sad, with Bryce caring so much for Danika then finding out how little she really knew about her would eat at Bryce, but it did not work for me and felt cheap and repetitive.

(Also Bryce having the fourth item of the dread trove? Nesta said it looked like a skull, I think in the vision she got from Lanthys, so turning it into a trumpet felt like Miss Maas hadn’t planned it properly? A trumpet and a skull look nothing alike?)

What I most dislike about Bryce is how inelegant and uncompromising she is, which might very well be the reason other people like her (I suppose it could be interpreted as strong-willed or being brave/courageous? Having a strong fighting spirit?)

She comes off as narcissistic and narrow minded to me, particularly when being put in the acotar world how she immediately assumed the worst of the fae and her prejudices come out? I can understand with how humans are treated in the CC world why she would have those views, but they were hardly mentioned in the CC books? If we’d had a section dedicated to actually showing the imbalance between vanir and non-vanir, the violence that’s probably inflicted and maybe Bryce personally experiencing that inequality it would feel so much more justified, but none of that was shown so to me it just came off as hateful and baseless? That and also since I easily adore acotar and intensely dislike CC it was difficult to see Bryce treat the acotar characters as such untrustworthy people? I understand that from Bryce’s pov she doesn’t know the IC, but I kind of feel like Miss Maas should have taken that into account?

Then also I kind of have a problem with how Bryce is described physically? It feels like she was made plus-size to try and be more inclusive but she feels so over-sexualised, both through how much sex Bryce and Hunt have (that’s a whole other point though) and how the words ‘luscious curves’ were used for a couple of female characters? I felt Miss Maas included plus-size characters but then made them all fit into conventionally attractive shapes that would appeal to a male-gaze? Feyre and Aelin are both described as beautiful in my memory, as well as being given traits of strong-will and having overcome numerous difficulties, whereas for Bryce so many of her character’s descriptions are about how sexy she is or how good her body looks? It feels disingenuous and like she isn’t a real character and it’s such a missed opportunity (in my opinion)? I would have loved a Bryce who was a little more human (ironically) and experienced the thoughts and doubts that I think are pretty common in women regardless of their size or shape, so to dismiss that side of things entirely, particularly in a book series that’s set in a modern world? It frustrates me a lot :/

(That and also the moment in CC3 where Hunt is in the Asteri’s dungeons, being tortured, not knowing where his mate is or what state she’s in and all he wants is to have sex with her? I think the line is something like ‘and all he wanted was to slide into her sweet heat’ like are you kidding Hunt? Your mate could be in awful danger and that’s what you’re thinking about? You’re in awful danger and that’s what you’re thinking about? It felt so shallow and lust-fuelled?)

‘and id LOVE to chat about TOG however, last time i did i accidentally info dumped to my ex for six hours (he was a great sport 😭) so uhhh brace urself 😂’

Genuinely if you’re up for it I would love to hear your reply because I haven’t come across someone who’s been so enthusiastic about Crescent City and I would genuinely adore the chance to hear why you love it so much? We read the same books so I’d love to find out why we had such different reactions to it? And with Throne of Glass too, give me all of your thoughts!! Please!! I love getting to have discussions like this (as long as you don’t mind me possibly arguing against you with CC things? I don’t know if I was too harsh or unfair in my expression of what I think about CC/Bryce but I am sorry if it sounded mean) 🧡💛