#should the main character be Mallory

[ruvviks]

the fractured anthology is genuinely one of my finest works. if i'm being honest

[yanderelionwrites]

Trick or Treat (Male!Yandere x Reader)

A Halloween one-shot for spooky season 🎃 I didn't want it to be too long so it's a little rushed, but here it is. Enjoy!

Content Warning: yandere, breaking and entering, assault/grabbing, manipulation

Word Count: 1.9k

“Are you sure you don’t wanna come to the party with us? I have a spare costume you could borrow that I know you would look great in!” Your roommate asked, adjusting the faux dog ears that were sitting atop her head as she walked into the kitchen.

You pulled a candy bowl out of the cupboard, dumping the sweet treats you had bought earlier today and filling it up to the brim. You smiled politely at her, but shook your head.

“Nah, I’m good. You know parties aren’t really my thing. Besides, somebody’s gotta watch over the house to make sure it doesn’t get TP’d or egged or whatever.”

“Still, though, I feel bad leaving you here by yourself. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“You sound like such a mom, Mallory,” Your other roommate, Tristan, snarked, coming down the stairs clad in a black cat costume. “(Name)’s been home alone plenty of times before. They’re not a kid.”

“I know, but it’s Halloween! The holiday just makes being alone feel more scary…”

“I’ll be fine, Mal,” You sighed, though you were still grateful for her concern. 

“We should probably get going now,” Tristan said, checking his phone. “Come on, Mal, let’s go,” Tristan grabbed ahold of her wrist, dragging her out the front door. “Don’t have too much fun without us, alright?” He winked at you.

“Bye, (Name)! We’ll probably be back around midnight! Call us if you need anything!”

After waving them goodbye, you took a small table and placed the candy bowl on top, leaving it out front with a “take two” sign. You had only bought one bag so if it ran out, it ran out. Locking the door behind you, you made your way upstairs to your bedroom, excitement coursing through your body. You loved your roommates, but there was just something about having the whole house to yourself that made you giddy. A true introvert at heart.

Plopping down on your bed, you turned on your TV, scrolling through streaming sites to decide what to watch. In honor of the holiday, you naturally chose a horror movie, something you’ve never seen before but heard good things about. Cuddling up with your favorite plush, you get comfortable as the film starts, ready to experience the same dread and terror alongside the main characters.

That feeling never came however, because you quickly fell asleep not even 30 minutes into the movie. An hour had gone by by the time you woke up, with the credits rolling and the obnoxious sound of the doorbell going off. You stuffed your face into the blanket you were wrapped up in, hoping and waiting for the visitor to go away. The candy bowl was probably empty and some greedy brat was outside demanding for more.

You were forced to jump out of bed and stomp down the stairs when the ringing only continued, followed by loud knocking. Damn entitled kids. You thought bitterly, undoing the locks and yanking the front door back without even checking who was outside first.

“Look, I don’t got any more candy, so just-” You barked, but stopped mid-sentence when you were met with a tall figure dressed head to toe in black clothes. He had a hood covering his eyes, with a mask obscuring his nose and mouth. He stood eerily still, staying completely silent, only the sound of his heavy breathing being heard. It felt like an eternity before he said, “...Trick or Treat.”

Your eyes widen, backing up a bit and closing the door enough to shield yourself from him. You definitely were not expecting a grown-ass man to be outside your door asking for treats. Chuckling awkwardly, you stutter, “U-Uhm, sorry…we unfortunately ran out of candy…”

“Darn…that’s too bad,” The man’s voice was husky, but muffled by his mask. “I was really looking forward to having something sweet tonight,” He flipped his hood off before pulling his mask down, giving you a hungry look. “You’re wrong, though. The sweetest piece of candy is standing right in front of me. I could just devour you in one bite.“

Slamming the door shut, you quickly locked it again, disgust and slight fear taking over you. The audacity he had to just start flirting with you was downright deplorable, the creepiness of it all causing your hair to stand on end. Maybe this could be a prank? A stupid Halloween scare that would rack up millions of views online, with poor you being one of the unfortunate victims. 

Yeah, that’s probably what it was. You wouldn’t expect any less from this neighborhood, after all. Your heart was still pounding as you tried to convince yourself that it was just a joke, however, and you headed into the kitchen to grab something to drink. A glass of water was needed to calm your nerves.

After gulping down the cool liquid, you searched for a snack to chow down on. Hopefully if you eat something while watching your movie, you won’t fall asleep this time. Deciding on microwave popcorn, you popped a bag in and waited for it to be ready. 

Only a few seconds went by when you heard tapping on a window. It was coming from the sliding glass door that led out into the backyard. At first, you wanted to believe you were just hearing things, but the next taps were louder and incessant. The last thing you wanted to do was investigate, having had enough fright for one night, so you stayed where you were.

Good thing you did, because immediately after the tapping stopped, came a loud crash. You screamed, watching in horror as you witnessed a brick fly through the glass door, shattering it to pieces. Reflexively, you quickly grabbed a knife from the knife block, just in time to see the man from before casually stalking into your home. He turned to you, an eerie grin on his face as he approached. You pointed your weapon towards him, making sure he kept his distance.

“Stay the hell away! The fuck’s your problem, why are you breaking into my house?!” You shouted, putting on your nastiest glare.

He cocked his head to the side, as if he couldn’t understand why you were angry. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here for my candy,” He said matter-of-factly. Smirking, he curled his pointer finger at you. “So put that silly thing down and c’mere.”

“You’re insane! Get the fuck out of my house!”

“So rude,” The man huffed, pouting like a child as if this was all a game to him. “Well, if you’re not going to give me my treat, I’ll just have to give you a trick. That’s how this works, hm?”

Before you could even process his words, he lunged forward, twisting the knife out of your hands with ease. He was stronger than he looked, and within a matter of seconds, he had you pinned against the counter. You winced as your stomach dug into the marble surface, and you desperately tried to move your hands from out underneath his iron grip. They wouldn’t budge.

“Don’t struggle too hard, darling. It’ll make this easier for the both of us,” The man breathed into your ear. Chuckling, he added, “You’re cute when you’re scared, you know. God, I can’t wait to taste you.”

Your fear only worsened at that, struggling even harder even though it was useless. “W-Why are you doing this? Who even are you?” Your voice wobbled as tears pricked the corners of your eyes.

“Who I am doesn’t matter right now. And maybe you’ll find out why this is happening to you if you do some digging later. A little detective work, if you will.”

What the hell does that mean? You couldn’t dwell on it for very long, though, because the man was pressing into you even closer now. You squealed when he dragged his tongue along the shell of your ear, anger getting ready to burst when he only laughed at your reaction.

“Get off me, creep!” You snarled, and you actually managed to jerk your arm back and elbow him in the stomach. Hissing, his grip loosened, allowing you to push him off. He stumbled back, and while he was vulnerable, you promptly kicked him in the groin. The intruder yelped in pain as he fell to the floor. You took this chance to run, practically throwing yourself at the front door and fumbling with the locks so you could get the hell out of there.

“Yeah, you better run…while you still can…” The man groaned, but his threats hardly fazed you considering he was just a pathetic heap on the ground now.

Flinging open the door, you sprinted out of the house, planning to find safety with one of your neighbors. You couldn’t get far, however, as you ran into someone quite familiar.

“Tristan?” You panted, hands on your knees as you tried to catch your breath while looking up at your worried roommate.

“(Name)? Are you okay? What’s wrong?” Tristan asked, putting a hand on your shoulder to try and comfort you. “What are you doing out here?”

You sucked in a few more breaths before explaining the situation to him. “There…someone….some guy broke into the house… He was after me…he tried…tried…” You couldn’t even finish your sentence, it was too terrifying to relive. 

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re safe now,” Tristan hushed you, pulling you into a surprising embrace. It was something you never expected from him, but you returned the gesture anyway.

“He’s still in the house, Tristan… We need to call the cops and get away from here,” You pulled away from the hug, eyes now focused back on the house. “I left my phone in my room, so can you call them?”

“Yeah, I will,” He nodded, whipping out his phone to start dialing. “Let’s go back to my car and stay there until they arrive, okay?”

The two of you made yourselves comfortable in the warm car, and you listened intently as Tristan called 911. After he hung up, he told you that they were on their way and would be there as soon as possible. It was able to calm your beating heart only a little bit. There was a beat of silence between you two before you decided to speak up.

“So where’s Mallory? Is she still at the party?”

Without missing a beat, Tristan said, “Yeah, she is. I just had to come back cuz I forgot something. The last thing I expected was to see you in such a panic, though. Good thing I got here when I did.”

“Yeah… I wasn’t sure what neighbor would answer the door to help me, so I’m glad I ran into you,” You confessed.

Tristan laid a comforting hand over yours and smiled. “I’m just happy you’re not hurt. That guy’s gonna pay for what he did.”

You gave him a weak smile in return, before leaning into his touch. Seeing Tristan being so soft was new, but you found it sweet and appreciated how hard he was trying to soothe you. You closed your eyes as he wrapped an arm around you, glad that you were finally away from that creepy intruder.

Tristan let you rest, pulling out his phone when it buzzed with a text alert. Opening the message, it read:

I’m out of the house now. Sorry I couldn’t keep em pinned for longer, I know u wanted to look like the hero or some shit. Though it looks like it still worked out in the end

Trying to hide his smile, Tristan replied:

Thanks man. I’ll send the rest of your payment over in a bit, after the cops leave and things settle down.

Stuffing his phone away, he squeezed your arm gently, smirking at the way you moved in closer. You were so easy to scare.

Right into his arms.

[traeumenvonbuechern]

Which books would the Hallowoods characters read?

Happy HFTH season 4 day! I'm so excited for the new episodes, and I want to celebrate by recommending some books I think some of the main characters would love.

Diggory Graves - Unwieldy Creatures

I have a feeling that Diggory might be interested in a nonbinary Frankenstein retelling...

Percy Reed - The Spirit Bares Its Teeth

A transmasc protagonist, ghosts, a t4t love story - Percy would relate to this book so much.

Nikignik - This Is How You Lose the Time War

Even aside from the whole Bigolas Dickolas thing, I think Nikignik would really love this book. It's an epic, complicated, super emotional love story, written in a way that almost feels like poetry - I have a feeling that Nikignik would like that.

Lady Ethel Mallory - Lady Susan

It's short, it's funny, it's a classic, it's from the perspective of the villain and said villain uses the title "lady"? Lady Ethel would love this book.

Riot Maidstone - Gideon the Ninth

It's about a butch lesbian with a sword. That alone would probably convince Riot to read it, but I think she would love the story, too.

Olivier Song - Infinity Alchemist

This book is about an alchemist who is rejected by the magic school he tried so hard to get into, and one of the love interests is genderfluid - Olivier might relate to it a little too much.

Clara Martin - The Grimoire of Grave Fates

It's a murder mystery set at a magic school that moves around the world, and it's told from 18 (!) different perspectives. I think Clara would love reading about all these different types of magic and trying to solve the mystery.

Polly - Good Omens

Polly reminds me so much of Crowley sometimes - to quote this post, they're both "demons sent on a celestial audit of earth and catching more feelings than they signed up for" - so Polly would probably either love or hate Good Omens, no in-between.

Yaretzi - The Salt Grows Heavy

I can't really explain why I think Yaretzi would like this book, but she would. Something about the main character being a murderous mermaid, probably.

Mort - All Systems Red

Mort would definitely want to be friends with Murderbot.

Hector Mendoza and Jonah Duckworth - Silver in the Wood

This is my go-to "Read this if you like Our Flag Means Death" book because the main characters remind me a lot of Stede and Ed, but the book also reminds me so much of Hector and Jonah, especially with the magical sentient forest setting.

Zelda Duckworth - The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher

This book is about a 83-year-old Chosen One who has to save the world armed with nothing but gumption and knitting needles - I think Zelda would enjoy that.

Mx. Morrell - What Moves the Dead

I think a fungal horror book with a nonbinary protagonist would be perfect for Mx. Morrell.

Danielle O'Hara - Pet

Pet is about a trans girl who has to reconsider everything she's been taught and save her friend with the help of a terrifying creature - everyone should read this book, but I think Danielle would especially like it.

Book titles:

Diggory Graves: Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai

Percy Reed: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Nikignik: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Lady Ethel Mallory: Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Riot Maidstone: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Olivier Song: Infinity Alchemist by Kacen Callender

Clara Martin: The Grimoire of Grave Fates, edited by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen

Polly: Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Yaretzi: The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw

Mort: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Hector Mendoza and Jonah Duckworth: Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

Zelda Duckworth: The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher by E.M. Anderson

Mx. Morrell: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Danielle O'Hara: Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

[captainimfangirling]

The Boys Season 4 Episode 8

I loved this episode! The Homelander I've been waiting for since that bad room episode!

Warning: Major Spoilers

Annie & Hughie

I really wish they had Annie f*cking apologies to Hughie because he was f*cking raped! I don't give a sh*t that she was locked up. Anyway I do get that she's mostly hurt about Hughie realizing it wasn't her and that he might've enjoyed being with the shifter more than her. Hughie omg my poor boy was really about to take a leadership role but Butcher really messed it up. I'm glad Starlight escaped and I have a feeling her, Kimiko, and A-Train are going to work together to save the others. The supes saving the humans they love and care about.

Also I loved Erin's performance was the shifter. I totally saw 2 different characters.

Butcher, Ryan, Victoria

Butcher really did try but he saw the way Ryan didn't react to killing Mallory so he probably lost hope for the kid. I think (like Homelander) Ryan has attachment issues. If he's not careful he will turn into his dad. I never really cared for Victoria to be honest so I didn't care Butcher killed her. I actually thought it was such a cool scene. Lets be honest she did deserve it. She killed many people.

The Deep and Black Noir

I thought I would hate it but I'm actually enjoying their broship. I still think The Deep lied about the original Black Noir having a boner from killing but I do think the new one does only because he thinks the original did. It would be interesting to see him get angry if he finds out about how the real Black Noir was like because his main goal is to become the real Black Noir, not The Deeps version of him. Now that Sage is back I wonder if it's going to ruin their broship.

Sage

I knew it! Many of you wanted her to go against Homelander only because you like her but I knew that wouldn't happen. I think she just wants to see if her ideas would work. That's all she cares about. she reminds me of someone but I can't put my finger on it.

Frenchie & Kimiko

Finally they kissed! I know a lot still don't get it. There is a reason Frenchie and Colin. It was to show the evil things Frenchie has done and how messed up he is. It wasn't about representation, it was about Frenchie's story line. Kimiko has done messed up things too but like Kimiko said Hughie is right about forgiveness and realizes that she and Hughie should forgive themselves. OMG Kimiko finally speaking saying "No" when Cate took control of Frenchie! My heart couldn't take it!

Also why didn't they try to take Kimiko? It looked like Cate was just going to leave her and just take Frenchie.

Mother's Milk

Poor guy can't get away from Love Sausage! LMAO I love how he becomes a good and confident leader. I love how they were finally a team and it broke my heart when they tried to leave each other at the end.

Homelander & Solider Boy

This was the f*cking Homelander I was waiting for since the beginning of season 4! The crazy unhinged that acts more like a god than a celebrity who's desperate for love! I hope they don't f*cking ruin it when they bring in Solider Boy and turn Homelander into a needy human being again (he was in tears when he saw Soldier Boy).

Ashley

Oh Ashley you stupid, stupid girl but I get it. If she tried to run they would be dead anyways. I can't wait to see how she turns out but I am thinking she's going to turn into some sort of swamp thing.

A-Train

I think he's going to come back and help Kimiko and Starlight. He better because he would be a complete hypocrite when he stopped M.M. from going to his family. Yes A-Train has his family to think of but so did M.M.

Firecracker

I have a feeling Firecracker is sick and the milk Homelander is drinking is contaminated. Would be funny if that's what kills him at the end. Like Milk actually being his weakness like Superdud from All That.

[ageofgeek]

Bond falls victim to what I am now calling "Steve Rogers Syndrome," where a main character throws away his found family (which the audience has become much more attached to) in favor of a bland, boring, nuclear/heterosexual life. Just because Bond doesn't get his "happy ending" doesn't mean that he doesn't fall into this trope.

I think a lot of people would agree with me when I say that Bond & Madeline have no chemistry. They had no chemistry in Spectre and they continue to have none in NTTD. And yet, we're supposed to care about their relationship because 1) the narrative (i.e. Bond) tells us, instead of shows us, that he loves her, and 2) there is a child (which the narrative also tells us that we should care about).

But the truth is that Bond doesn't trust Madeline. Not really. The second he's attacked by Spectre, he immediately blames her and doesn't even question if he's wrong (and she doesn't really try to convince him otherwise). Now, you may chalk this up to Bond not trusting anybody, but here's where we get to the found family: because he does trust his MI6 family, implicitly, immediately.

He trusts Eve enough to tell her about the scientist, Feliks, what happened in Cuba, etc., and to ask for her help. He trusts Q so much that he gives him the flashdrive he recovered in Cuba, he stays with Q in his apt while he's in London, he places his life in Q's hands multiple times throughout Skyfall, Spectre, and NTTD. He trusts Mallory - even after knowing his shadiness with Herakles, he still trusts him enough to go back under his command. He even trusts Nomi after only a few days of meeting her - enough to trust her to have his back on the island, enough to trust her with Madeline and his child.

So the fact that Bond doesn't trust Madeline is a huge, huge red flag. To me, the "trilogy" of Skyfall, Spectre, and NTTD were all about establishing Bond's support system and family within MI6. In Casino Royale and QoS, he really only had M, and no other connections to MI6 beyond her. But starting with Skyfall, he begins to build a support network of people he does trust in MI6, and the audience begins to trust them (and love them) along with Bond.

This simply doesn't apply to Madeline, because Bond doesn't trust her, and so the audience is never shown why we should trust her or love her.

[j-sanarih]

book prompt up for adoption (just tag me if you do write it)

teenwolf au! eli hale x female!oc (you can change the gender idc)

ELI HALE-STILINSKI has always had a problem of sleepwalking since he was a child, but for some reason it has gotten worse since the accident that brought his aunt allison back. he constantly ends up at the same place: the NEMETON, a beacon for the supernatural. his parents have tried to figure out the connection, but no one knew or understood why he was so drawn to that stupid tree. but that night, however, everything changes… he might’ve found the reason for the connection.

MAIN CHARACTERS

ELI (ELIAS) hale-stilinski

CEDAR mallory 

MILES moore

MADELEINE fontaine

CARSON boyce

IMOGEN blackwell

IAN blackwell

MILO mendoza

ships that should be included:

eli x cedar (or whatever you name the oc)

eli x madeleine

miles x carson

ian x milo

derek x stiles

you can add extra is you want like thiam, sciassc, scallison, or whatever but those 5 are kinda the main ships

also sexualities and race

eli; polish and mexican??? (ik stiles is polish, but idk if the hale family is supposed to be white and mexican but until ik that derek is white and mexican until further notice 😗) and he’s straight

cedar (again you can change the gender and name); african-american …honestly don’t know her sexuality 🧎🏽‍♀️ …you can pick that

miles; african-american and he’s pansexual 🍳

madeleine/maddie; french-american and she’s straight

carson; british (idk why, but I can just imagine him with a little accent 🤷🏽‍♀️) and he’s gay

imogen; native american and white and their nonbinary and queer

ian; same as his sister/sibling (duh they’re twins 🙄) and he’s transmasc and bi

milo; mexican-american and he’s bi

anddddddd that’s all, you can add in your own ocs or even add past characters from teen wolf, just have fun writing 🧚🏽‍♀️✨

-sana ✨( and if you are wondering, i did write this while sleep deprived…college is hard 🧍🏽‍♀️)

[bibliophilecats]

Mid-Year Book Freakout

I saw this going around on booktube and @theinquisitxor's post and since I like this kind of book tag, here is my version.

1.Best Book so far in 2024: I actually read many highly enjoyable books this year - I gave 7/28 books full marks. Among those, I want ot highlight The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett. A bitter-sweet middle-grade novel, losely inspired by Anne of Green Gables (the author says it is a reimagining but to me it felt more "inspired by").

2.Best Sequel you've read so far in 2024: Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell. When I first heard that there would be more Simon Snow books, I was really sceptic (well, I thought "money grab"), but now that I have actually read the books, I am amazed at how much I enjoyed them. And while the second book in the trilogy is completely different in tone and setting and the third actually gets to the main story again, I loved that in the second book, we get to see Simon struggle with the fact that "the big fight" he had been trained for all his life was supposedly over and he was without any idea what to do now with his life.

3.New Release you haven't read yet, but want to: Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

4.Anticipated Release for the second half of the year: I have big hopes for The Masquerades of Spring by Ben Aaronovitch

5.Biggest Disappointment: Julie Caplin's Secret Cove in Croatia and other books from that series. I read The Little Teashop in Tokyio some years ago and enjoyed it a lot - unfortunately, it seems that time was a fluke, a perfect alignment of circumstances because I tried three other books of hers and found them boring or DNF'd. The Croatia novel annoyed me so much, I had to refrain from throwing the book across the room (if I hate it, at least I might get a little resell money out of it).

6.Biggest Surprise: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang. I saw this book everywhere, which already put me off. And I do not particularly like the cover. My sister loved it though and convinced me to try it too. It was a good decision.

7.Favorite New Author: Darcie Little Badger. I love Elatsoe and hope to read more stories set in that world.

8.Newest Fictional Crush: none so far.

9.Newest Favorite Character: Mallory Viridian from Mur Lafferty's Station Eternity.

10.Book that made you cry: The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett

11.Book that made you happy: The Simon Snow trilogy be Rainbow Rowell.

12.Most Beautiful Book you've bought/acquired this year: Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands, UK edition.

13.Book you need to read by the end of the year: In the Serpent's Wake by Rachel Hartman. I have already forgotten nearly everything from Tess of the Road so I should probably read that one too. Actually, I want to read all sequels before I forget too much from the previous book(s).

I tag @linebetween @the-forest-library @lizziethereader @books-are-portals and everyone else who wants to do this.

[sharonisthebettercarter]

I need the Gen-v kids and writers to fold Billy's ass because they're not like Maeve, Kimiko, Ryan, nor Starlight to take the disrespect from Billy. I need the to go off on his monkey ass because he not finna disrespect them, like he disrespects the former. Fuck around and find out.

oooohhhh i wish. but i can't picture it honestly, i get the feeling he will absolutely trick and hurt them as per that usual game of his

billy's been fucking awful from the get go and very good at it, it's only now that his team is getting fed up with his bullshit but that was a long time coming. i love this motherfucker to death in all the wrong ways but i ain't fittin' to turn a blind eye to all the shit he pulls and how grossly manipulative he is, even with hughie

ESPECIALLY with hughie. AND STARLIGHT.

like it's very concrete clear *what* he is from the start, something a certain darling mentioned to me was that billy technically never actually lies about who he is to the reader/viewer (don't get me wrong, there is a bit of deception and the build up and showcase is also def there, rather i should say, he lies to those around him and this is made clear to the reader/viewer)

he is awful, makes it clear he's going to be awful, and then does awful things that line up perfectly with the total piece of shit he is

but it is SUPER consistently clear.

*it's the characters around him that don't see the truth in what he is, give him the benefit of the doubt, or at the time being, don't see through the lies he gives them*

astonishingly enough, even when he's *actually* honest with them.

mallory said it perfectly

"you're only here because you're desperate and fucked and you want something!"

mmmmmmmmmmhmmmmmm~<3 mah FAVORITE kinda billy bean<3<3<3

and mallory in both settings is one of the few people able to see through butcher's lies but i have big doubts those poor kids are gonna be on mallory or starlight's level, or even kimiko, because they just don't have that experience with him or what he brings to the table, especially if he starts promising 'jUsTiCe' for them. (it's not, it's never about justice, it's just straight up revenge porn. billy bean is a revenge porn addict--)

but hell, he drags mm back into that whole mess and mm won't blame him, but i sure as hell will because *mm has ocd* and butcher fucking *took advantage of that fact*, AND THEN--even mm says it

"always about becca with you." and "you are so hot for homelander right now"

LEIK--... i'm not gonna go into mah regular trash butchlander rhetoric (hey~<3) but leik, homelander literally does not give a damn about this man, there is always a legit *reason* or bargain that is *the* reason he *lets* the mofo live.

first time was becca cutting a deal with him, next time was blackmail, but like this mofo DID NOT hesitate to try to kill butcher when they met at herogasm which just shows how thin that ice is or how flimsy the 'scorched urf' deal was and how he's itching to be done with butcher, third time was RYAN. who got his attention and pulled him away before he could kill butcher when he very clearly wanted to, and now we're gonna get the euthanasia offering??? OOH--

yeah, homelander gives no shits about butcher beyond him being an inconvenience and it's pretty clear the main reason he hasn't bothered killing him is because he still doesn't perceive billy as any sort of threat to him... but butcher?

butcher is OBSESSED and yeah leik i know i say it every goddamn time but like he's really REALLY obsessed to the point where his brain rot for homie is 1000x WORSE than anything ANY of the girlies in fandom *COULD* have for homie--

oops look at that accidentally threw in a little more butchlander garbage lmao

there's def always a part of me that blames fandom misogyny for giving this boi a free pass half the time (motherfucker spends all his time shitting on becca's memory for his revenge porn fantasy+the way he treats all our lovely lady supes--)

amazingly, the framing is actually really well done because even though we know billy is fuckin' awful beyond any reasonable doubt or redeemability, it's still enough in what the characters around him believe to lead people astray and have them wishing for him to do the right thing even when we know he won't (with the rare few exceptions it's something that benefits him...)

altho deep down i think they know billy will just disappoint them because his whole ass job in the story is to make things HURT lmao.

the boi does know better... he just *chooses* to do *worse*...

i do think that because these kids have less experience with billy and aren't completely alone for him to be a vulture about, it also means they might be quicker to learn especially if they get help from starlight or the others. but unfortunately, i don't picture these kids being able to handle this crafty slimeball. maybe make the attempt but...

gawd, i do not have high hopes for these poor youngins...

[flycasual]

Thy Dark Brotherhood OCs ..... prithee milord .... I should like to hear of them

Ohoho boy would I LOVE to talk about them!

The main one is, of course, Phora. Who is not in fact a member of the Dark Brotherhood any longer. Because she betrayed them. For the guy who adopted her, Forvyth (my partner's character), and brought her into it in the first place. They're both very traumatized and have SUCH a sad, messed up, turmoil filled father-daughter relationship, but they'd go to the ends of the world for each other.

Then I have a little group for a Sanctuary my partner and I made for Forvyth to fuck up, so my half includes: Fondael - Jaqspur dropout who realized one day that, actually, he just really liked killing people? It was fun and he was good at it, and he had the skills to go toe-to-toe with any actual jaqspur, and he'd rather join a murder cult about it and be around like-minded individuals. Frequently got called "fondle" by his dear family. ("You can fondle me any time!") Not that he was any better. He mostly teased Hyacil, honestly they all mostly tease Hyacil. He'd take his stuff and claim the Rite of Theft just to fuck with him and ultimately give it back. Overall a smug, self-assured bastard that got a sick kick out of murder. None of that saved him, he's the first (and only so far) to die.

Hyacil - my sweet baby boy poor little meow meow Agoraphobic Alchemist Altmer Assassin. One of many children belonging to a well-off family who showed an inclination for alchemy from a pretty young age. The fact that he accidentally poisoned a servant with an experiment was brushed under the rug, but his refusal to enter into the marriage his family had arranged for him? Disowned. Disinherited. He found himself alone and homeless in a world that he was terrified to be alone and outside in. So when the Brotherhood came knocking, he went along. He rarely leaves the Sanctuary, mostly he just provides poisons and potions to the others. He likes bugs.

Aesif - Youngest in the Sanctuary. They were infected with Lycanthropy at a young age and abandoned by their family out of fear as a result. They barely survived multiple times over, but adapted and fought to live. Eventually they were found, taken in, and trained by Mallory Moor, who soon after was given her own Sanctuary. Aesif is young and full of energy and is really just Happy To Be Here. It's nice to have a home, and a family, and a purpose. They like to have fun and don't have like, the best social skills in the world, because Mallory never really bothered to teach them.

Mallory Moor - Little is known about her and little needs to be known. She was a knight, once, but those days are long behind her. She's quiet, severe, and takes her job and her commitment to Sithis and the Night Mother seriously. She hasn’t gone on a contract on her own in years, all of her time is spent managing the Velyn Sanctuary. She raised Aesif in the loosest possible meaning of the word. She brought them into the Brotherhood when she found them because she found an effective killer, and thought it would have been a waste to leave them living like a wild animal when they would be of more use tamed and as an assassin. 

Ciiri - Oh Ciiri. Sithis' favorite little princess. When she's not on a contract she's working in a brothel nearby in the harbor. She doesn't need to, but then you could say she doesn't need to be an assassin. She's good enough at either one to support herself, but she's a little obsessed with both. A little convinced she's the best at both. Queen of sex and murder. She believes they go together, and the only thing that keeps her clients at the brothel alive is that they're clients at the brothel and she likes that job. Most in the Sanctuary just see her as a sex pest who is dogmatically obsessed with her religion, but they just don't quite realize how dedicated or dangerous she actually is. She's a powerful blood mage, and only two people in the Sanctuary know that. Even without it she's a well trained and determined assassin who is frequently given the highest value contracts without any of the others ever knowing about it. She'd kill them all for Sithis in the blink of an eye and wouldn't think twice about it. She sticks to the Green Pact in the laziest, loosest way because she barely cares. Why should she? What is Y'ffre compared to Sithis and the Night Mother?

We also have Drusilla & Regulus Tharn, who are almost never around. Distant, minor, absolute who Tharns - married when they were younger and joined the Brotherhood around the same time; after they murdered Drusilla’s entire family together over their disapproval of her desire to marry a Tharn. Asshole older rich couple who show up at the Sanctuary when they can be bothered and treat it like a hobby. Drusilla sometimes keeps trophies. 

[khaleesiofalicante]

So, now that I re-read LDV with more time (because I recently become unemployed HAHA) there are two questions that are living rent free in my mind:

1. In the second chapter when Max is at the Oval Office with Alec and Anjali discussing the Cake gate issue, and suddenly Magnus appears, I noticed a little tension between him and Anjali (I just felt it). And then when Max thought that it seemed that Alec spent more time with Anjali than with his husband, I wondered: “is Magnus, at some point, frustrated that Alec spend more time with his assistant that with him? Is Magnus kind of jealous of Anjali?” I mean, is totally understandable WHY Alec interacts with Anjali almost all day, but is still a little annoying, for Magnus I mean.

2. We usually are used to know what happened with the main characters in a story, that we almost forgot what happened with the villains. What happened with Mallory at the end? Did she get arrested? Did she tried to contact Max?

Long live LDV 🧎🏼❤️

These are some great questions! Thank you for asking them 💙

I don't think Magnus is jealous of or annoyed by Anjali. If anything, he must be glad that Alec is surrounded by people like Anjali who are efficient and helpful. If he resents anything, it would be the job itself and how much it demands of Alec. But, one important thing is, I think LDV Alec was much better at handling the pressures of his job than TLND Alec (but then again, he is older/more experienced).

This is a very intentional decision. You never ever get closure for Mallory in many of my stories. Like in LBAF, we don't really know what happened to her in the original timeline (in Other Max's timeline). That's because the characters (mainly mavid) forget about her and "move on". I think at one point someone (Max?) mentions that she is a footnote in their story, forgotten and gone. I don't want to do her the favor of giving her "an ending" - even a bad one. She just...washes away. We don't see her 'ending' because if we read the story from Max or David's POV, they don't bother to find out. They completely erase her from their lives - because she has already left enough reminders. But if you'd lke to know - In LDV, she doesn't get arrested because she isn't directly linked to the Devlin criminal stuff. But she loses her father and brother. Claire (predictably) abandons her. She mostly definitely does contact Max, but he cuts her out of his life. I think Mallory gets forgotten. As she should.

[blueengland-multiplechoiceblog]

looks like nobody wanted a boy character... the main character will be non binary, as decided by a 39.8% majority. ... your character will need a name... i see you have a few suggestions... some... less than conventional. ...i should have expected that. oh, well,

[doggirling]

decided to make a pie chart of my kirby oc post distribution out of curiosity and its. ??? hm. rambling below

chart with the numbers of posts each listed to preface

ok now onto my thoughts.

for starters. i was 100000% convinced chavra would have more posts than ricky so that surprised me. ricky is by all accounts my main kirby oc and my #1 og but i've struggled posting him as much and chavra just inevitably became a character i found easier to draw/more comfortable to post about due to internalized #cringe (ricky's story has heavy oc x canon elements unlike chavra's lol). it's why i've joked in the past that people who come across me might think chavra's my main kirby oc instead of ricky, which she isn't, although i do love her a lot. so i am pleased that ricky does at least have a somewhat noticeable presence on my account lol

second. i am flabbergasteddddd at the lack of dahlia family posting on here like omfg. 13 ricky posts 1 florence post 0 ARDONA MALLORY AND COSMIN POSTS WHAT THE HELL LOL. i think this is a time-old case of how much i think about a character not actually translating to how much i draw/write/post about them because the dahlia family is like The family in starstruck. they have literal real estate in my brain and are probably one of the most fleshed-out family units in the entire story. i could excuse the nextgen dahlias (teddy/estella/sucos kid) having not many posts but the current dahlias situation is downright egregious i need to fix this. actually minnie is included too since she's functionally a part of the dahlia family by association and later marriage. why am i not posting The doggirl .

third. im not gonna go too hard on myself since some of these characters have been in a prolonged beta state some without finalized designs and some without even proper names. but i think it might be an issue if over half of the starstruck characters have not ever been posted on here lol. like 20 have been posted at least once while at least 28 have never appeared on here including a good amount of major characters. sure some are on toyhouse but toyhouse is more of a storing site so like. i really need to overcome the cringe man

to conclude. you guys should do this too lmao i think its a very fun thing to ponder on and gives a lot of insight. and for the love of god if you're gonna make an incredibly fleshed-out fan universe and turbo hyperfixate on it maybe don't hesitate to post anything about it

[rxin3akamallory]

Howdy!

(I am Taiga Aisaka irl lol)

I finally decided to make an intro on this account because it’s inconsistent as hell even though it’s my main one.

But yeah hello!

I’m Mallory (people call me Mal a lot) I’m a goofy ahh autistic 22 year old

She/Her are my preferred pronouns, but I’m okay with They/Them as well if it’s easier for you to use.

I’m biromantic/asexual

I’m not in college but I’ve been working for a year and a half now! It takes up half of my time but I’m still free decently often.

I like to draw, write, make OCs and self inserts, play video games, sing and listen to music. I sometimes post my art and characters occasionally but not often on here. (I should tho)

This is my main tumblr where I used to post strictly Finding Nemo related posts but my fixation had faded out since 2021 (I still love the movie and it’s sequel but it hasn’t been my main interest anymore)

Here are my other tumblrs if they’re interesting enough to take a look at.

Second tumblr: @rxin3srandomthoughts

Meme tumblr: @rxin3smemes

Aesthetic tumblr (kinda defunct now): @rxin3saesthetics

Stim tumblr (the one I use most often besides my main): @rxin3stims

I have a large DNI list on my stim tumblr, but I’ll put a general one here too. It’s also in my bio:

DNI if:

A nsfw/k!nk blog

Racist

Homophobic

Transphobic

Ablelist

And a personal one, if you romanticize serial k!ll3rs or sh00t3rs. Big on the latter because of personal trauma and because that monster has been romanticized here before and on other platforms on the internet and I find it not only disturbing and horrifying but also disrespectful to the victims, their families, and the survivors.

If you fit under any of this criteria, you will immediately be blocked.

A lot of my content is OC related, so here is a list of ‘em!!

Self Inserts (1)

Self Inserts (2)

Self Inserts (3)

Moodboards: 1, 2, 3

Self Insertmas 2023: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23

Self Insert Birthday Countdown 2024: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24

I also have a lot of special interests and fixations! Here’s a “small” list of a majority of them to get to know me:

Non film/tv:

Tennessee (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge specifically!) Literally my comfort place. I love when I get to visit sm!!)

OneRepublic (My favorite band!)

Littlest Pet Shop

Bunnies!

Film:

Wreck-It Ralph (only the first film)

Frozen (mainly only the first film)

Big Hero 6 (also the manga and the tv series)

Encanto

Finding Nemo/Finding Dory

Cars (1-3)

Onward

Guardians of the Galaxy (and the tv series and the 2021 game)

Jurassic Park/Jurassic World

The Florida Project

Madagascar (1-3)

Rise of the Guardians

Ice Age (1-4)

Rio (mainly the first film)

Sing (mainly Sing 2 only)

The Mario Movie (2023)

Vivo

The Muppets (specifically modern, 2011-2015)

TV:

The Fairly Oddparents (Seasons 1-5)

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and Chaos Theory

The Powerpuff Girls (1998 only)

The Office (US only)

My Little Pony (I haven’t finished it Friendship is Magic, I mainly fixate on the 2017 movie and the 2021 film from Gen 5)

Bluey

Fish Hooks

Green Eggs & Ham (Netflix)

Smiling Friends

Thomas and Friends (before CGI era)

The Peanuts (I didn’t know where to put it so it’s here lmao)

Video Games:

Animal Crossing (Mainly New Leaf and New Horizons)

Mario Kart (Mainly 7 and 8)

Mario Party (Mainly Superstars and Island Tour)

Animal Jam

Detroit: Become Human (My favorite!)

Cuphead (I never finished the show but I should)

BlazBlue (Mainly Chronophantasma and Crosstag Battle. And the anime Alter Memory)

Arcana Heart (Mainly 3 Love Max!!!)

Five Nights at Freddy’s (I don’t think it counts because I never played the actual games but I’ve watched so many play throughs)

Anime:

Studio Ghibli in general (I’ve not seen every film though)

Cardcaptor Sakura

Tokyo Mew Mew (I need to watch the reboot!)

Lucky Star

Toradora (my favorite!)

Madoka Magica (I need to finish Record! And I can’t wait for the next movie!)

Smile Precure (watched it because Glitter Force sucked)

Himouto! Umaru-Chan

The Quintessential Quintuplets

Rent-A Girlfriend

BNA: Brand New Animal

Fruits Basket

My Love Story

Ouran Highschool Hostclub

Love Chunibyo and Other Delusions

True Tears

Wotakoi: Love is hard for Otaku

Maid Sama

(There’s more but this is all I got in in my head rn)

Ask Answers!!

★

Well that’s pretty much it!

I hope you like my account where I occasionally post actual stuff and mainly reblog things from my interests lol

[mysticonsheadcanons]

Would Tazma Make A Good Main Villain?

I was thinking about how Tazma wasn't that active in the last season, despite her working with both Necrafa and Dreadbane. This made me think about whether or not I believe Tazma would be a fine main villain.

One reason she may not be a good main villain is her age. In my opinion, main villains should be quite a bit older than the protagonists in children's shows , with the villains ideally being adults. And while Tazma is likely older than the Mysticons (Malvaron is around Arkayna and Zarya's age, and Tazma is older than him), I don't feel that she's old enough for me to normally want her to be a main villain.

However, there is something interesting about Tazma's family history that may make her more interesting as a main villain. Her aunt is a demi-goddess, so there is strong magical power in her bloodline. Also, both her and Malvaron were students at the Astromancer Academy, which seems pretty elite. Tazma coming from a powerful background may mean she develops extrarodinary powers, making her intimidating as a villain even though she's younger than I expect villains.

There is also precedent for a young main villain. When Proxima was under the mask's influence, she was the main villain. Also, Mallory was briefly a main villain, and as the Vexicons are counterparts to the Mysticons, it is safe to assume they'd be similar in age. So, a main villain only slightly older than the Mysticons wouldn't be unheard of in the show.

This would also be good for Malvaron's character. Just like Arkayna struggled when Proxima was a villain, fighting Tazma may start to wear Malvaron down emotionally, especially as Tazma isn't serving anyone, so there is no one to blame. This would be nice, as Malvaron doesn't have many internal struggles.

In short, while Tazma may not be the perfect main antagonist for the show, she'd be a pretty good one.

[luckthebard]

18 and 36?

18. Share one unpopular opinion but it must specifically only pertain to Sam's ads.

The Nordverse got way less interesting after they defeated the ultra-codex and Sam was clearly running out of ideas. I'd be fine if the oneshot was the last hurrah of the idea and they didn't revisit it.

36. Every cast member must create a main campaign character loosely based off a character they played in a one-shot not set in Exandria, a la Chetney from Chutney (as a result, Travis is excused from this exercise). Who should they choose? (Please note that Bar Room Blitz is set in Exandria. You cannot pick Jayne and you're boring for thinking it.)

I would make Taliesin play a PC who is basically Mallory from the Elder Scrolls online 3-shot. He would still have to be an angry cook who is weirdly passionate about his job. Class tbd but maybe a Paladin?

[justmybookthots]

My Top 30 Books of 2023

30. An Ember in the Ashes (#1) by Sabaa Tahir

Such a terrific debut!!!! I loved it. From the moment Laia signed on to spy on the military academy, I was hooked. Premise was intriguing as heck, and Elias' mother was fascinating to me. Some small things I didn't love, however—I wished Laia had been more involved in the trials. Elias, the MMC, felt a bit weak of a character to me, and I wasn't a fan of Helene (I like her so much more in the sequel, though). The ending left the story at such an exciting place, and I was hankering for the next book. 

29. Red Winter (#1) by Annette Marie

We're at the midway point of my ranking, and from here on out it's books I mostly really enjoyed. Red Winter!! The first book!! When I read it, my mind was kinda blown because it felt like I was reading a very well-written novel spinoff of Kamisama Kiss/Inuyasha, and I loved both series as a child. Also, the illustrations in the novel are soooo good, and Shiro the MMC/fox is cute. ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡) It was a solid book, and I had a blast, BUT— this is not the best Annette Marie has to offer. Nope. I will get to her magnum opus (for me)... eventually. 

28. Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

I shouldn't have spoken so soon about the midway point. This book… was very hard to rank. The beginning had me deliciously invested (and is what establishes such a high rank) but my interest languished the more the book progressed. I actually think people who like SJM may like this one because it's pretty much a power fantasy, but make it contemporary. Regardless, I did have a good time if I ignored the power fantasy elements. Sawyer was a great hero, and Mallory was nicely tortured, which is just how I like my heroines. :)

27. The Housemaid's Secret (The Housemaid #2) by Freida McFadden

Ah, the sequel to the Housemaid! Not as good as the prequel, but still pretty good!!! I think the themes it covered didn't hit me as hard as the Housemaid did, but the story stayed with me longer than some of Freida's other works. Overall a solid sequel, but I don't think it could have really lived up to what the Housemaid did for me.

26. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

I'm not a huge fan of Jackson's writing style or the characterisation of Ravi and his brother, but the mystery was so good! I loved the themes it covered and the psyche of the victim. 

This mystery is quite fleshed out and goes in depth about abuse, sexism, etc. I disliked the main leads, but enjoyed the case and the reveal. I was much more invested in the victim than I was in the person who was wrongly accused of murdering her, even though I think we were supposed to care for both? 

Anyway, it's definitely a much more memorable thriller than the ones below the ranking of this list so far. 

25. A Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager

Another book that's kind of hard to rank for me. The romance was reaaaally good at the start, and then somewhere it kind of lost me?? But the story was interesting and I LOVED the plot twist (!!!!!) at the end, and the smut was one of my favourites. Also, the hero did something so sweet in the second half of the book. ♡ That aside, while this may be a fae book, I just don't think this is anything like how fae should be in my head. It doesn't feel like I'm reading fae at all.

24. If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang

AH, Henry, my beloved!!!!!! My first book of Ann Liang's, and it was so cute and Henry was just!!! Almost!!! Everything!! The Chinese rep also made me so happy!!! It depresses me that I couldn't love it as much as I wanted to because the story was riddled with issues towards the end but I loved the rest of it. This book walked so that the other book of Ann's could run! (We will see that other book along the list soon.)

23. Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1) by Leigh Bardugo

If my friend saw this list, she'd go: "SoC, in 23rd place? DISOWNED". To that, I say…

Sowwieee.  

I LOVE the Crows, but it's not this book that definitively sealed the deal about them to me. This is 100% my personal gripe because my brain hates setting-centric books and it was so hard for me to figure out the logistics behind the heist. But I loved the banter in this book, Kaz's brains, Inej’s badassery, and the revelation about Jesper being Grisha. Also Wylan, my baby. My love. 

Ahhhhh, can't talk about the Crows or I'll start to melt. Make a TV show that ADAPTS THE ICE HEIST ALREADY.

22. City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

OMG, it just occurred to me that if the same friend saw this being ranked above SoC, she's really going to have an aneurysm. 🤣 

I'm not going to elaborate other than the fact that I had a fun and easy time with this book, even if it was far from perfect. It actually exceeded my (admittedly) very low expectations, lol. In any case, I've already written a more in-depth review of it. 

21. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

A really, really solid book. I loved the concept of magical cards in the worldbuilding. While it doesn't do anything groundbreaking, nor was I extremely invested in the leads, I consider this very well-done. I loved Elm, lol. However, I've yet to read the second book and I hope to get on it soon.

20. The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden

I loved this thriller!!! But this is mostly because I am VERY partial to psychopathic boys written in the way Liam was—and at the same time, you realise: are real psychopaths that easy to spot? Is he really a psychopath, or is it someone else? This is probably one of my favourites from Freida, and the ending… made me so nervous, lol. 

19. How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black 

A short novella written by Holly Black, with vignettes set in Cardan's POV as he grew up over the years. I fucking loved it to pieces, but that's just because I love Cardan 😛 I loved how the stories the hag told Cardan kept changing to fit his narrative, I loved seeing his perspective when Nicasa cheated on him with Locke, I loved hearing about how he felt towards Jude. Also: the last chapter, set after Queen of Nothing!! Him and Jude!!!!!! My heart!!!!!!! I will not elaborate except that it was fucking amazing. The only downside was that it was too short, and I could have done with MORE scenes. 

18. Last of the Talons by Sophie Kim

It's a novel that does very little wrong. Its only sin is that it's predictable and formulaic, but it was such a wholesome and at times swoony story because Rui (the goblin emperor) was lovely. While I didn't love Lina, the heroine, I thought the book was still fun, and THAT scene by the river was ( ◡‿◡ *). I'll be reading the sequel once it's out.

17. The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent

I have so many conflicting feelings about this book. See, this is the book that got me into reading fantasy this year. For so long, I'd avoided fantasy, but after I finished this, I decided I'd give the rest of the genre a try. It literally rearranged my entire brain and opened something in me—it was sooooo good. The slow burn, the trials, the eventual consummation, the ending… I can't fault it. Almost every other fantasy book I've read has this one to thank (and Kingdom of the Wicked to blame because it almost made me boycott the genre, lol). However—the problem is that I've read it so long ago (at the start of the year) that I can't remember much, and also that the sequel bored me to tears and I still haven't finished that. If I ranked this earlier in the year, it might be much higher in the ranks.

16. Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

This book!!!!!! It was so unexpected how much I enjoyed it. A lot of reviews were complaining about the verbiage and how nothing was really happening and I… went into it thinking I wouldn't like it, if I'm being honest. But I did!!!!!!!!!!! It portrayed fae similarly to the Folk of the Air series (The Cruel Prince), and instead of boring me like the Enchantment of Ravens did, I was HOOKED. I loved how it kept me on my toes, I loved how creepy some things were… and I thought Wendell was insane and so much fun (insane he might be, but you cannot deny his untouchable EQ). Also, Emily is such a dear. I must add that Reverse grumpy/sunshine is my FAVOURITE.  I could go on and on about this book. It's marvellous and I'm so desperate for the sequel. In fact, I think I'm going to do a reread of this book before the sequel comes out. 🙂

15. Delivering Evil for Experts (Guild Codex: Demonized #4) by Annette Marie

OMG, OMG… We have finally reached the Guild Codex: Demonized series. 

(*ﾉдﾉ)

Now THIS series is, as far as I'm concerned, Annette's magnum opus. Not Red Winter. THIS. Don't mock the goofy-ass cover—it's a GEM UNDERNEATH! IT'S AMONG MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME. It's one of the holy trinity series (yes, that's what I'm dubbing those three series) that broke my brain this year. This action series is about a girl (Robin) who makes a contract with a demon, Zylas, where he has to protect her in exchange for... her baking cookies for him. 🤣 It sounds ridiculous, but I promise it all makes sense when you read it. Unfortunately, this is the last book, which was my least favourite of the series because the tension had started to ebb for me. BUT. It's still so, so good. The ending was initially gearing up to be a tragedy but ahhh!! I am content with how it ended. 

14. City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare

Never would I have thought this book would be higher than one of the books from Guild Codex: Demonized but I really, unexpectedly enjoyed City of Ashes. It was better than the first; I thought it was a solid and frankly speaking great book. I did hear, however, that the first 3 books in this series are actually decent before the rest nose-dives in quality, which explains why I enjoyed the first 2 so much. (I've already written a full review on this book.) 

13. The Queen of Nothing (Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black

We have finally reached the Cruel Prince series. *hyperventilates* 

Okay. Okay. 

So. 

The last book is my least favourite of the trilogy, but… it is also the culmination of Jude and Cardan's relationship. We have "By you, I am forever undone" here. (There's even more quotes, technically, but I'm trying to keep this succinct.) It is legendary. It is magnificent. It is immaculate. Overall, the plot in this book may be my least favourite, but the payoff after two books of scheming and constant push and pull? Fucking chef's kiss. 

12. The Only One Left by Riley Sager

One of the best thrillers of 2023 for me. It is so, so, so good. I don't think I can stress how brilliant this book is. Story revolves around a mute, sick old lady wheelchair-bound inside a gothic manor on a cliff. The main character is sent to be her caretaker. And the old lady has a story to tell—she was accused of murdering her entire family in her youth. Very atmospheric and chilling read.

See, I expected the first plot twist but the SECOND? Wowza. Magnifique. Also such a sad, tragic tale. It felt me reeling for a good bit after I was done. It deserved to win the 2023 GR awards and NOT Housemaid's Secret. It's not even close to me. 

11. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

This book. This fucking book. 

It broke me out of a reading slump at the start of the year but that's not why it's left such an indelible mark on my brain. The way this story covers infidelity and abuse… Wow. Exquisite. And the way the tables turn at the end is so good it's ILLEGAL. 

In fact, I think the theme here just hit closer to home for me than The Only One Left, even though the writing of the latter is definitely superior. This is my first book of Freida's and is, to me, her best work. 

10. The Maid's Diary by Loreth Anne White

[Takes deep breath] This story was so unexpected for me. I wasn't expecting to like it. At all. It was supposed to be a palate cleanser.

A palate cleanser, I thought! HA! 

This wasn't perfect. There were plot holes. Some things weren't wrapped up. BUT. BUT. BUT. It is the best thriller I read this year and I stand by that. I have never, ever felt more vindicated by a book than I did this one. It is a work of art. 

One line to sum this story up? I SUPPORT WOMEN'S WRONGS. That’s it. That's all you need to know. (That said: Full review has been written)

9. Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped (Guild Codex: Demonized #3) by Annette Marie

We are in the top ten now. Gird your loins! 

This book!!!!!! Ahhhh. I can't even write this coherently, and I'm only at the ninth. But this was the book where the relationship between Zylas and Robin finally began to change!!!!!!! It was so divine, it was near perfect, it made me scream and want to tear my hair out—I can't. This was a slow-burn done right. It was just a little hint of what was to come, and yet… yet it short-circuited my brain. Also, I do not APPRECIATE the emotional turmoil Annette put me through with this one.

8. This Time It's Real by Ann Liang

🥺 At this point, my writing is going to be incoherent. Because these are my absolute favourites. I'm crying. I'm seriously crying. This book was everything to me (even though a friend read it and she said the guy was too perfect for her liking and I get it. I really do. I agree. But... I loved it). 

(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)

I have nothing coherent to say except I loved it. And that, much as I didn't want to admit it, this stupid book put me in a reading slump for 2 months. I found myself constantly trying to find books with similar tropes as this: celebrity/non-celebrity, Asian rep, cute swoony contemporary romance. I couldn't find anything that hit the same way.

7. The Cruel Prince (Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black

Do I need to say more? DO I????????? 

I took a gamble buying the whole boxset before reading it and I thought I was fucked because usually that means I'm going to hate it. Fate isn't normally this kind to me. But my gamble paid off. It fucking paid off!

The prose, the political intrigue, my first venture into fae… Also, Jude's spite is low-key TOO relatable: “If I cannot be better than them, I will become so much worse.”

Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it—

6. Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

This, above Cruel Prince? Yes, it feels illegal, but here's why: Cruel Prince is only the first book. We don't get the payoff yet. In Love Theoretically, you get everything from start to finish. It's like a whole ass trilogy in one book. 

And the slow-burn in the first half of this book is LEGENDARY. I was actually kicking my feet like a teenager. That in itself is monumental, because I'd stopped enjoying/reading contemporary romance for at least a year before this book came. I'd actually given up on the genre/demographic at some point… until this.

Jack is one of my favourite male leads to ever exist. And the themes the book covers with Elsie hits so close to home for me. It's not perfect, but belong to my top ten it does. 

5. Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (Guild Codex: Demonized #2) by Annette Marie

The top five books are really, really cutting it close, because this book is, in my opinion, near perfection. It's INSANE how Annette could carry the momentum from a perfect first book and make it just as exciting as the predecessor. The action scenes were phenomenal, and I loved the makeshift family between the three leads and the cat. Also Zylas' characterisation and the exploration of his psychopathy was so INCREDIBLE. I can go and on about this book forever. I still remember reading this on the toilet and going: "HOW IS THIS SO GOOD?"

IT'S A WORK OF ART. 

4. The Wicked King (The Folk of the Air #2) by Holly Black

The best book in the Cruel Prince series to me. The mind games, the scheming, Jude's machinations, the twists, the ENDING, I could scream. Jude is a force to be reckoned with. And the tension between her and Cardan? Sublime. Throughout the whole book, Jude has him under her control, but she knows time is ticking and he'll break free of the magic soon. The suspense and the push and pull is… 

ლಠ益ಠლ)

Another work of fucking art. I only have so many adjectives to praise this bona fide masterpiece. But wait! I still have three more books. 

3. The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

So many people would stare me down for this. The Stolen Heir (the spin-off sequel) above Cruel Prince? YES. OKAY? YES. 

I prefer Jude to Wren (who is arguably a bigger force to be reckoned with in her own right), but. OAK. Almost nobody liked him, but I did. I DID. It's fine; I will be his only fan. No biggie.

Oak was everything that I felt Cardan—whom I already loved—lacked in. Oak… Ah, Oak. I just have a soft spot for sweet sunshine characters who are also secret badasses. It's like Holly plucked out the archetype I like in men and created Oak (okay, I don't love the hooves but that's beside the point). I adored this book with my beating heart and I just don't think the sequel can live up to it.

 (I just read the first chapter of the sequel and I'm already shaking. Please don't let me down. I've been burned by too many sequels at this point.)

2. Taming Demons for Beginners (Guild Codex: Demonized #1) by Annette Marie

A masterpiece. That's what this first book is. Even the Stolen Heir and Wicked King had parts I didn't love, but this? It's *chef's kiss* from start to finish.

Every scene and exchange built towards a fantastic crescendo near the end when THAT contract was made. Gah. The delicate balance of comedy, tension and suspense was immaculate. And the magic in those scenes when Robin first stumbles upon Zylas inside the summoning circle is…

( ˘ ³˘)♥

I'm not going to pretend this book is a literary tour de force that's going to be analysed like Hunger Games is, or anywhere close to that. All I will say is that this was the first book that blew my socks off after my Cruel Prince-induced slump, and that says enough about it. 

1. Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo 

Remember when I said the last book was easy to place? The first book was also easy to place. This took almost NO contemplation at all. 

Here we have the final one of my holy trinity series, alongside Folk of the Air and Demonized.

Since it wasn't so setting-centric like the first book, this sequel shone for me. I don't… I can't… There are no words. Kaz is a male Jude, but even smarter and more traumatised. Every Crow is majorly fleshed out, and they all get some kind of closure at the end. (One also… ends, but never mind that one.) It's so cathartic I could fucking cry; I nearly did. Kaz and Inej are forever etched in a special corner of my heart. This is not a book that I can give justice to by writing one or two paragraphs about, so I won't. I've already written all my thoughts in my review. All I will say is that it deserves all the hype it gets. 

In fact, it deserves more.

SoC #3? 👉👈