#so every classic fairytale gets a different spin

[blood-orange-juice]

I am still not over the "I hope you won't be tainted by fate" line.

It's just...

The way in most stories I know fate is something that proves the existence of a higher power and gives life meaning. Even if it's tragic. That very human paradox of wanting to fight against the very same thing that gives life meaning.

And in genshin it's all upside down. Fate as something fake, devoid of any real meaning, a cage made by a false god.

[martianbugsbunny]

Maybe Disney needs to try taking on a fairytale they haven't done yet. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy more original stories like Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto that as far as I'm aware don't originate from any particular legend (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong tho). Those are fun. Exploring different magical concepts like dragons and the miracle is awesome.

But that being said, I think Disney needs to go back to its roots and do a fairytale. Something with a princess and a big bad that comes from an existing legend. That's (generally) where Disney excels. That's why people love Disney. Little Mermaid? Classic. Beauty and the Beast? Classic. Princess and the Frog? Classic. Cinderella? Classic. Snow White? Classic. Really, I just think Disney does what Disney does best when they're taking a story that already exists and turning it into a beautiful piece of animation with a gentle, kind soul at the center of it, maybe with a different little spin like setting the Frog Prince story in 1920s New Orleans or having Beauty's father be an inventor. Little touches like that to make the story uniquely Disney, but with a solid basis in a folk narrative that touches something deep and instinctual inside most people.

Give me a girl who's cursed. A girl who either falls prey to evil or makes a deal with it, and whose sweetheart fights for her like Aurora or who does the brave thing and sacrifices to fix it like Ariel.

Give me a girl who's trapped. A girl whose family keeps her down or who just hasn't found where she fits yet, who stays kind despite her troubles like Cinderella or who finds her own alternative way out like Belle.

Heck, even a weird-ass thing like Shakespeare But Lions would be welcome. That's such a Disney thing to do, taking a story like Hamlet and filling it with whimsy and giving it a happy ending. Plus, Simba is one of the strongest protagonists and learns one of the best lessons in all of Disney fight me.

(I'm not going to count Frozen in the folk story group because the departure from the original was so wild I don't think it deserves to count. I love Elsa with my entire soul but I would also die to see Disney do a proper version of the Snow Queen fairytale.)

Look, my point is that I'd like to see something that really makes Disney dig a little deeper and recapture the spark of its classics. Because as much as I enjoy stuff like Tangled and Frozen and Moana (I've watched all of them loads of times and I cry about them consistently) they don't come to mind as Disney classics for me. Maybe that's just me. Maybe it simply hasn't been enough time. Maybe it's the difference in the animation. Speaking of that, however, I would actually love to see a Disney movie done in a 2D style again; I don't think 3D has any inherent superiority and I'd love to see what Disney could do with a 2D movie now. And there are so many folk stories in the world, surely there must be one that Disney can bring to life the way it used to. They haven't retold every story that's been told already.

Am I being a little picky? Probably. But I'd love to see something that reminds me of the Disney classics where a gentle person with a courageous core has their life touched by magic, faces an obstacle, and has a happy ending. Something that's not a variation on "X needs to be saved" but a specific character longing for a specific thing and either doing what they think is necessary to get it (like Tiana and Ariel) or giving it up for the sake of someone else, but getting a happy ending nonetheless (like Belle and Simba). Also a clear-cut badguy who gets to be absolutely cunty and evil about it with no peculiar twist.

I'd like to see something Classic Disney again.

[distantkairi]

Switch Zelda (BotW/TotK) does quite suck though, only Twilight Zelda is possibly worse

That is quite subjective, anon.

Twilight Princess is beloved for a reason. It is the perfect game for people who prefer the linear, "classic" or "traditional" gameplay of older Zelda titles and something a bit grittier in terms of story. If you didn't enjoy it yourself, that's fine. I don't particularly enjoy playing it myself due to how it controls, but "sucks" is a matter of taste.

As for BotW/TotK, perhaps it's simply a matter of needing to be a certain kind of gamer. For all of the game's flaws (which I do acknowledge it has and I can yap for a while about the things I hate about it), I still genuinely enjoy playing this game. So much that I have 2000+ hours across the platforms I use to play it.

Maybe it is just how my brain is, or that I grew up watching Ghibli films and playing a wide variety of consoles and games during the 2000's, open world titles like The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, but Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom is basically the kind of game I always wanted as a child. I don't have to play as some, muscular american kyle insert or make "me" who is a non-character (which I suppose makes me unlike many people on Tumblr, the fact that I have zero interest in playing as "myself"). I get to play as an adorable, loyal elf knight searching for his cute, smart, funny and strong now-a-massive-dragon wife in a whimsical fairytale open world with innovative gameplay mechanics. Do you know how many mods I'd have to install for Skyrim to get even close to what TotK provides me? I don't have to touch Todd's game ever again. That snowy boring place can collect dust.

I suspect many Zelda fans are unable to adapt to the changes Botw/TotK made because they don't really play other video games or consoles. Many fans are unwilling to even play the warriors spin-offs due to it being a different gameplay genre. They strictly stick with Nintendo and one genre of video game. When I bring up other iconic video game series, they've never touched them. But, I've never been a Nintendo-only gamer who can only play one genre of video game. One day I'll be playing a rhythm game, and the next a first-person shooter, and the next an MMO, so the changes to gameplay BotW & TotK made are something I care very little about. I enjoy both the older, very linear Zelda titles, the wild era games and their action spin-offs.

This isn't to say I don't understand at all how it feels when a series you love changes. Trust me, as an old Halo and Assassin's Creed fan (among others), I know that feeling well. But at some point you have to accept that change is inevitable and normal, let go and be willing to try something else. There's an entire world of video games out there. If Zelda isn't doing it for you anymore, or doesn't cater to your specific tastes, there's almost guaranteed to be something out there for you, you just have to be actually willing to try it. You guys are banking on a single game series, that also has to take into account families and young children, to give you everything you want, then getting upset when it, naturally, can't. A single franchise can't do everything. There's so many games that give people exactly what they complain about TOTK not giving them (for example, you hate Princess Zelda and wish a game actually let you chose who the protagonist is and have them fully represent you in every single way and who they end up with and how the ending goes? Bioware games! Baldur's Gate 3! Fire Emblem! Many others!), but instead of playing those games, they complain till the heat death of the universe as though it will magically change what Nintendo chose to do.

I'm sorry that people couldn't enjoy Tears of the Kingdom in the way I do, but branch out from Nintendo and you will surely find the game for you. Calling it a bad game forever won't suddenly change how the game is, nor stop people such as I from continuing to enjoy it for what it is.

[justfinishedreading]

Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn

WARNING: ALL THE SPOILERS RIGHT OFF THE BAT

I have between 20 to 30 books to review, some of which I read two or even three years ago, but I just finished Bitterthorn and felt the need to get my thoughts down while they were still fresh. Bitterthorn is about a young woman, named Mina, daughter of a Duke, unloved by her father, stepmother and stepsisters, sacrificed to a witch who takes a ‘companion’ back to her castle every 50 or so years, companions who are never seen again. The witch has been cursed to spin the threads of time, a person’s life (the companion’s) is sacrificed to be the material the witch spins. If she does not spin, time, and the world as we know it, unravels. 

THE GOOD:

Gothic Fairytale told in a 19th-century style - Imagery and Voice Bitterthorn is a cross between Beauty and the Beast and Sleeping Beauty, the magical side of the story is fairly simple like a classic fairytale with familiar elements: a witch, a teenager being cursed, a young woman sacrificed, a ‘princess’, multiple stepmothers, neglectful fathers, dead mother, a spinning wheel, an abandoned castle, secrets and bones and so on.

The novel is rich with imagery and symbolism:  -A dank and neglect ancient castle mirrors the witch’s true age and emotional and physical self-neglect.

-The witch’s dirty, neglected feet are a sign of self-inflicted pain, and Mina washing them is an act of kindness, love and obvious reference to Jesus washing his disciples’ feet.

-Bitterthorns, the prickly bushes that produces very bitter berries, at one time stop Mina from entering the castle but later the berries are harvested and made into jams symbolising taking a person or a relationship that is bitter and difficult and working to make it desirable / useful. 

-Mina’s vegetable and herb garden unknowingly being grown on top of graves reflect the circle of life as things grow off the back of death but also the danger and ugly secret history lurking in Mina’s perceived paradise as the castle has literal skeletons. 

-Links between time, threads, tapestries and spinning wheels, as well as descriptions of the witch’s changing fashion from different periods in history as an indication of the distortion of time.

And more.

As for how the novel has been written, apart from two or three moments, the voice feels authentic to 19th century novels, throughout the novel it is hinted that the characters are reading Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Women in White, Camilia (and others I might have missed), both the language and style the author has used as well as classic gothic moments feel true to that time: the castle being set on fire, a secret being locked away up above, the isolation of the protagonist all eco Jane Eyre. The neglectful, harmful family life and obsession with the outdoors and weather are very Withering Heights, and the bewitching female villain is Camilla (although I haven’t read Camilia yet, it’s currently in my To Read Bookcase). 

The theme of Loneliness and emotional neglect Loneliness is the main theme of Bitterthorn, the impact of loneliness, inflicted by others and also self-inflicted, and what one must actively do to banish it. It explored the harm from an emotionally neglectful family as well as others, and what steps we can take to break down the walls people put up, to reach them, to be there for them. But also to understand which people have the ability to reciprocate, and which can never give us what we desire/need. 

THE DEBATABLE:

The Mysteries I’m not someone who likes to guess the plot, I like to be surprised, I want a novel to give me more that I imagined, and that’s my main problem with Bitterthorn. The witch’s secrets are only revealed towards the end and by that time I had already vaguely guessed what the secrets could be: the witch does something in her tower that is related to time, and she must do it against her will because she seems very unhappy with her life, her ‘companions’ are somehow sacrificed. The nature of the secrets themselves aren’t the problem as they feel very true to fairytales, but it takes too long for them to be revealed, and when they are there isn’t much more to them. We find out the witch was cursed when she was a teenager by her stepmother. We discover she’s 400 years old, has never been able to find out much about the spinning wheel, has no idea how it came to be or who her stepmother was. She only discovered accidentally that a life must be sacrificed to create the material for the thread, and that’s it. 

Is Mina smart or dumb? Mina comes from a noble family and is fairly well educated, she has a personal interest in geology, reads scientific books and collects samples from nature. Now there is a difference between being academically smart and street smart, but, the witch’s secrets are fairly simple so how does she not discover them sooner? Especially when they directly affect her fate? The author’s solution was to create a bargain, Mina becomes so desperate for companionship that she and the witch make a deal: the witch will have her meals with Mina everyday as long as Mina promises not to pry into the witch’s business, this includes not snooping around certain parts of the castle or asking questions. What this creates is a character who is constantly asking questions in her head, constantly worried about the strange occurrences happening in the castle, worried for her life, and choosing, to an extent, ignorance and denial. It’s frustrating.

The romantic love story There are some issues with the love story between Mina and the witch, the first has to do with how isolated the author has made Mina. If we compare Mina to Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Belle has a loving father, she is desired by Gaston, the town’s people don’t understand her but aren’t unkind to her and recognise her beauty, the bookseller is fond of her, at the castle all the servants are nice to her and make her feel welcome. Mina’s father is distant (and sacrifices her to the witch to die, he’s well aware of this), her stepmother and sisters dislike her, the town’s people have no opinion of her at first, at the castle apart from one servant who actively dislikes her, the other servants are so insignificant most of them are barely named and do not interact with Mina. The town’s people near the castle avoid Mina because of her association with the witch, when she returns home the town’s people there also avoid her for the same reason. Twice she escapes the witch’s castle and returns home and both times her family rejects her presence, essentially forcing her to choose to return to the witch because she has no where else to go. She doesn’t even have any pen pals, with her interest in geology she could have reached out to other scientists or amateur geology enthusiasts when she mail ordered her samples or read articles written by these people, after all this is the age of writing letters and sharing ideas. 

The romance feels inevitable in a bad way because it feels like Mina has no other choice, and the book does acknowledge this. It’s a let’s-make-the-best-of-what-we-can situation, there’s some good in that, but it makes the romance less joyful to read about and root for. But what about physical attraction? Initially the witch is described as scary, imposing and powerful, I imagined a woman older than Mina, with an attitude that commands respect and obedience but is alluring and I hoped seductive (wasn’t). As the novel progresses she becomes more vulnerable, feels younger, at times seems like a teenager, moody and shy. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s essential for the discovering of the villain’s soft side, but there’s nothing of dark villain seduction between them, she’s more like a pitiful prisoner, if anything it’s Mina who romantically pursues the witch since the witch is trying not to get emotional attracted because she will have to sacrifice Mina to the wheel of time. 

The development of physical attraction feels lacklustre, especially since the novel is told in the first person from Mina’s perspective, so we have no idea of any internal struggles with desire the witch may be going through. Bitterthorn seems to fall under YA so there’s a limit to how sexually explicit it can be, that’s not necessarily a problem, but what scenes there are feel like they aren’t doing much -perhaps by this time I’d grown a little disinterested as I guessed the plot but the characters were still dragging their feet. One moment in particular took me out of the book, it was one of the few moments that didn’t feel authentic to a 19th century novel style of writing, I can’t find the exact quote but it was one sentence that said Mina was in her bed, was so turned on she masturbated, and “came immediately”. First off to read a 19th century character say they “came” seems too modern a term, but also before this we don’t know what Mina knows of sex, or sexual desire, or self pleasure, there’s longing sure, and longing glances, and talk of softness of skin and the heat of someone being near, all fine, but has Mina masturbated before? She must have, I mean she came “immediately” she says. Why am I making a big deal of this? Because she’s a 19th century character, a woman at a time when talk of sexuality was repressed, the scene can still be in the novel but as it stands that one, singular sentence gave me whiplash. 

POSSIBLE FIXES:

Make it shorter To keep the story as it is it should be shorter, Mina spends way too long in the castle questioning everything in her head but finding out nothing. Do we need her to escape, be rejected by her family, and return to the witch twice? No. Fairytales are simple and short, this needs to be shorter. 

Make it longer Make it longer with more complex storytelling, I was really sad that there was a time travel / time distortion element that wasn’t used in any clever way. There’s a door in the castle that leads to the witch’s study but the study as it was a week ago, it’s used significantly only once when Mina accidentally finds out that the witch received some bad news via a letter -not very exciting. There’s also a room to a perpetual winter, another to spring or summer, which are never used for anything. Also add the witch’s perspective, let’s hear her agony as she struggles between falling in love with Mina and her eternal duty to the wheel, let’s experience first hand the anguish of living with her past companions, shared experiences and guilt, teased in little flashbacks throughout the book, perhaps given the castle’s weirdness with time she stubbles into the past and meets a past companion. 

IN CONCLUSION:

Bitterthorn is a good period-style novel about loneliness, with good fairytale and gothic elements and symbolism. It isn’t a seductive, sexy story with intriguing mystery. 

Review by Book Hamster

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 98: Reading, Nervous, Unabashedly, and Shy

Harry was unabashedly obsessed with Draco Malfoy.

He'd decided that he was Harry fucking Potter and he could like whomever he wanted to like and to hell with what everyone else thought.

Draco Malfoy was sitting in the corner of the library, reading a book that looked like it was older than time, and Harry couldn't stop staring at him. The sun was streaming in and catching in his blonde hair and turning it gold and with the dust motes drifting around him, he looked ethereal.

"Are you listening to a word that I am saying?" Hermione asked him.

"No," he said honestly.

Ron snorted and Harry glanced at the two of them in time to see them both rolling their eyes.

"It's not my fault," Harry protested. "He's just so..." he trailed off, looking back over at the other boy who was lost in his book, "pretty," he said helplessly.

"So you've mentioned," Hermione said.

"About a hundred times," Ron added.

He groaned, "But it's not just that, is it? He's also all," he shrugged, "Soft." He paused, "Different than he used to be, you know. And he's running that group to help muggleborns acclimate to the Wizarding world-"

"We know," Hermione interrupted.

Ron nodded, "You've told us a hundred times. Just go ask him out."

(Read more below the cut)

Nervous energy filled up every inch of Harry's body at the thought. "I can't."

Ron rolled his eyes, "Walked up bold as brass to Voldemort, though."

"I had to," Harry replied. "Besides it was either confront him or die anyway." He looked back over at Malfoy and sighed.

"Nope," Hermione said, slamming her book shut. "I'm done. I'm not watching this for another moment."

"I had to watch the two of you for years!"

She shook her head and shoved her parchments in her school bag, "Not my problem. Lunch, Ronald?"

He gave Harry an apologetic look but quickly packed up and followed Hermione out, leaving Harry sitting alone at their table.

Unfortunately he could never be alone for long. After a few minutes he could sense that a handful of people were starting to creep closer and he was not about to do that. He picked up his things and moved across the room as quickly as possible, before he could lose what little nerve he'd seemed to muster and stopped in front of Draco's table. "Err," he started, then immediately wanted to kick himself because he sounded like and idiot. "Can I sit here?"

Draco didn't move an inch and he waited a beat before trying again.

"Err, Draco?"

The other boy's head snapped up from his book as though Harry had awoken him from a dream. "Sorry," the boy said, looking around in confusion, "Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah," Harry said, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck and dropping the papers he'd been holding. "Bugger," he grumbled, bending down to pick them up and promptly banging his head on the table that Draco was sitting at. "Ow fuck!" he hissed, dropping the rest of his books, rubbing at the spot on his forehead, and contemplating just bashing his head against the table again out of sheer frustrated embarrassment.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked, and when Harry looked up he saw that the other boy was hovering anxiously by his side.

"Fine," Harry grunted, "Just my pride."

Draco laughed, "Well, if that's all."

Harry mock glared at him and carefully bent down to pick up his things. Pale fingers brushed over his as Draco bent down to help him.

"Sorry," Draco said, snatching his hand away from Harry's quickly and Harry's stomach sank.

"It's fine," he said once he'd managed to gather up his things. "Sorry to have bothered you."

"It's no bother," Draco said quickly before Harry could fully turn away. "Was there something you wanted?"

He turned and took a deep breath, "I was asking if I could sit at your table?"

The other boy's brow furrowed, "You want to sit with me?"

"Right," Harry said, "It's stupid. Ron and Hermione just left-" he started before shaking his head, "People don't-" he rubbed a hand over his mouth, "I thought it might be nice," he finally settled on. "But you're right. It's stupid. I'll just-"

"You're welcome to sit with me," Draco said. "If you wanted to?" he added. "Like not because you felt like you needed to save me from being alone or-"

"What?" Harry said. "No. You looked totally fine being alone," he said. "No, it's me that's not fine being alone. Not that I can't-"

"Harry," Draco said, the corner of his mouth turned up in amusement. "I would very much like it if you joined me."

His heart beat a little quicker, "I would like that."

With a little nod, Draco returned to his seat and Harry slid into the seat across from him. "What are you reading?" Harry asked.

"Don't laugh," Draco murmured, looking up at him.

Harry crossed his heart and put on his most serious face.

"It's an old book of muggle fairytales. They're ghastly and fascinating," he said. "Like this one," he said, gesturing to the page he was on, "The Little Mermaid."

"Oh, I know that story," Harry said, eager to find some common ground, "A mermaid gets her voice taken away by an evil sea witch in exchange for legs," Draco nodded with a pleased little smile. "And then she tried to get the prince to fall in love with her but the sea witch enchants him, then her father has to come and save the day."

Draco frowns, "No. The Prince marries another girl and she's told she can keep her legs if she kills him. She doesn't and ends up being turned into sea foam."

"What?"

"I know!" Draco said, "I told you they're ghastly."

"What else?" Harry asked.

"There's a story about a Princess who sleeps on a pile of mattresses with a single pea underneath that turns her black and blue."

"The Princess and the Pea," Harry nods.

"There's one about a girl who has to serve her step mother and step sisters," Draco said.

"Cinderella."

Draco nods, "You've heard it?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "It's a classic. Basically all muggle children know it."

"They tell you a story about girls cutting off their heels and getting their eyes pecked out by birds?"

"What? No!" Harry laughed. "They tell you a story about a commoner becoming a princess because the prince matches her slipper to her foot."

"But what about the step sisters cutting off pieces of their feet-"

"Ew! No!" Harry protested. "That's disgusting."

He nudged the book across the table, "You don't know your muggle stories as well as you think."

"Alright," Harry said, "What's the next one?"

Draco looked down at the book and flipped a few pages, "Sleeping Beauty," he replied. "Do you know this one?"

He nodded, "Long story short a girl is cursed, pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls into a deep sleep, and is then awoken by true love's kiss. Maleficent gets killed in the end."

"Well, let's see if you're right."

Draco started to read aloud and Harry listened becoming more and more horrified as the story went on.

When he finally reached the ending Harry couldn't help but say, "Wait," he shook his head, "The author called it a happy ending for her to end up with the guy who was married to someone else and impregnated her while she was asleep?" he asked incredulously.

"I told you!" Draco said, "These stories are ghastly."

"Disgusting," Harry said.

"Quite." Draco closed the book and stretched a bit.

Harry asked, "How long have you been here?"

He shrugged, "I came here after breakfast."

"It's nearly 5:00," Harry said.

Draco nodded.

"Would you," he started, then swallowed, "Maybe like to get dinner with me?"

A shy smile crept onto Draco's face but he nodded.

"I feel it's only fair for me to tell you that I like you."

He laughed softly, "I like you, too."

"No, like I like-like you." Harry clarified.

"I feel the same," Draco replied with a grin.

"Oh," Harry said.

"Yes, oh."

"Good. That's..." he trailed off, too giddy to find words, "good."

Draco laughed again and they started packing up their things.

"I think I know what our first official date should be," Harry said as they started off toward the Great Hall.

"Oh?" the other boy asked, his shoulder bumping casually against Harry's as they walked.

"I'm taking you to watch all of the Disney versions of those stories. You deserve to see happy endings for those."

Draco hummed in agreement, "Yes. Happy endings would be lovely all around."

And a few years down the road, when Harry proposed he was sure to tell Draco (for the first of many times) that he was his happy ending.

------------

Day 97: Mine and Dark | Day 99: Risk

[the-writer-muse]

Writing a Unique Fairy Tale Retelling

Credit: https://lindsay-elizabeth.com/how-to-write-a-unique-fairy-tale-retelling/

Intro

Fairy tale retellings are one of my absolute favorite genres to read, so I had to make a post on it! Retelling a story is addressing the original one with your own love letter and homage. A retelling is also a deeply personal experience, because whatever you want to retell is something that you find worth returning to, over and over again.

This post is primarily for fairy tale retellings, but any of these elements can be applied to folklore, mythology and other literary retellings as well!

1. Get to know the original story

We all know the most popular fairy tales well because we’ve been told them so many times in a variety of ways. However, the original stories were penned centuries and even thousands of years ago, so there are a lot of things you’ll probably want to leave behind, like misogyny, racism, and underage/toxic/inappropriate relationships. There are many other interesting story details, though, that you can pick up from the original text that can make your retelling richer and more layered.

Every writer interprets things differently. You never know what detail could spark your imagination and turn out to be something few others have used, so definitely take the time to read the original works. You can find pretty much all of the classic fairy tales for free online since they’re in the public domain (meaning the original copyright has expired).

2. Pay attention to themes

What makes fairy tales timeless and so pervasive in every culture are the underlying themes that we all relate to. They’re the truths that we connect with and instantly recognize on a deeper level. They explore topics like transformation, self-discovery, justice, judgment, class, and love. We’re inspired by the main hero’s will, spirit, and perseverance as they face challenges and ultimately overcome them on their journey to finding true love and happiness.

These are deeply human feelings and experiences, which is why they resonate with people of all generations and backgrounds. Fairy tales (and the best stories in general) make us examine these truths and help us understand them more deeply.

When writing a fairy tale retelling, look for the core of the story that you’re putting a spin on. What human experience is at the heart of it? As long as you have this, you can get as creative as you want with the rest of it!

3. Take note of your favorite elements

Besides the themes, what else do you love about the fairy tale you want to retell? Take some time to examine the story and take notes on what draws you to it over and over again.

If it’s the love story, what is it specifically about the love story that captures your heart more than others? The dynamic between the characters or a particular trope?

Keep pulling back the layers. The more you understand what you’re drawn to about this particular fairy tale, the more creative license you’ll be able to take because you’ll know what needs to stay the same to maintain the core of the story and what you can play with to make it unique.

4. Look at existing retellings

Take some time to go through the books currently available in the fairytale retellings genre to see how other people are playing with these stories and what the common threads are. Some places to check are:

GoodReads Lists of Fairy Tale Retellings

BookBub’s lists like this one of 20 Magical Fairy Tale Retellings for Adults

Amazon’s Best Sellers List for Teen & Young Adult Fairy Tale and Folklore Adaptations

What is missing? What hasn’t been done that you would love to read? Just one twist on the story can be the starting point for something completely fresh and intriguing.

5. Take note of what you like and don’t like

In all of the fairy tale retellings you’ve read and watched, what were your favorite things about them? What did you love about the characters, the scenes, the plots, the dialogue? What inspired you and pulled you into the story? And what didn’t you like? What did you think could’ve been done better? What did you feel was missing? All of these answers could be the first spark and building blocks to your own unique retelling.

6. Read reviews from other readers

Take a peek at the reviews for some of the most popular fairy tale retellings. What did other readers like and dislike about them? You’ll learn a lot about genre expectations here, as well as expectations for each individual fairy tale, and pick up a lot of valuable information you can use when crafting your own.

You never know what could spark your imagination; something someone says they “wishes” had been different in the story or that they never see in fairy tale retellings could be the impetus for a whole new story idea!

Keep in mind, writing is completely subjective, so just because someone else likes or doesn’t like something doesn’t mean you can’t tell the story you want to tell! This is just a way to get different perspectives on the genre and individual fairy tales to get your own creative juices flowing.

7. Take liberties with the plot

Following the original plot (or the most popular adaptation of it) too closely can get boring and predictable because your readers will know what’s coming. This offers a great opportunity to subvert expectations with unexpected twists on them.

8. Ideas for twists

Besides playing with the plot, there are a lot of other ways to put a twist on a fairy tale. To make it really unique, combine multiple twists.

New genre

Different time period and/or location

Gender-swap, role swap, combine roles, change roles

Switch to a different POV

Crossover/mix stories

Prequel or sequel to the original story

[bittybattybunny]

Oh gosh, there’s so many that I love, I’m not sure I can name them all! TMGatLP + TLC are both incredible long fics and the instigators of all these AUs so how could I not love them? Darkrai’s Wish has Pokémon, which is always a bonus, and an enticing mystery behind Ru’s history. JBM combines fluff with body horror monster designs. And then there’s your various mermaid AUs where we get to see your beautiful mermaid designs! Not to mention your numerous takes on classic fairytales that you always add your own unique spin to that makes the outcomes unpredictable and exciting! Mostly I just gush over seeing how your characters react in different scenarios, seeing what stays the same and what changes because they’re all so amazing even if they don’t end happily ever after. Every AU has its own endearing perks that make me so excited to learn more about them!

kfksdf omgosh

yeah they are instigators. MGatLP specifically is the biggest instigator but TLC was what opened the door of writing for me versus just comics---

hehehe yeah his history is fun >:3c next chapter has more questions in it and no answers (and soon parenthood)

I’m glad you think the takes I put on fairytale AUs are unique and unpredictable!! Whenever I adapt a fairytale that’s my hope because we’ve all heard the base stories for the most part so spinning it is the best part to using them!!!

hahah yeah JBM is fluff and body horror huh? I never thought about it like that but it is. (I guess that means chimera au is what JBM could be if it didn't have fluff lol)

Ahhh I’m glad the mermaid designs are liked considering I just love making them

I just love trying to think how little moments that change about a character changes and then I wind up with all these aus i cant fit into my closet and my google docs hates me

but Im glad you like learning about them like ;v; <3

[drkcnry67]

Sleeping beauty: a twisted supernatural fairytale

A/n: this is for 4 different bingo challenges... hope people like this one! Show it some love if you loved it.

Title: sleeping beauty: a twisted supernatural fairytale

Pairing: dean x reader

Spn Dark sq: free space (shadow/fear demon)

Share the love bingo sq: sleeping beauty

Fluff sq: soulmate AU

H&H sq: Gabriel

Rating: pg-13

summery: not telling

created for @spnfluffbingo​  @spndarkbingo​  @heavenandhellbingo​  @thisismysecrethappyplace​

Once upon a time in a kingdom oh so far away lived a king & his fair queen. for many years they had longed for a child & finally their wish was granted.

a daughter born to them whom they called YN. for they named her after the dawn for she filled their hearts with sunshine. a great holiday planned to honor the princess for the entire kingdom rejoiced at her birth.

as more people graced the party, the party got stronger. amongst those to arrive were King John & his son Prince Dean. fondly had these monarchs dreamed that one day their kingdoms unite.

thus that day they announced Dean, John’s son and Heir to Castiel’s daughter be betrothed. so to her his gift he brought as he looked unkowing on his future bride.

Page: their most honored and exalted excellencies, the 3 good fairies. Mistress Claire, Mistress Jo & mistress Alex...

the 3 fairies approached, now addressing Castiel and his queen.

Fairies: your majesties!

in courtly fashion they all curtsied.

Claire: each of us the child may bless with a single gift, no more no less.

claire approached the craddle, with a wave of her wand she spoke these words.

Claire: little princess, my gift shall be the gift of beauty...

~one gift, beauty rare. full of sunshine in her hair. lips that shame the red red rose. she’ll wake with springtime wherever she goes.~

Jo was next to approach the craddle, with a wave of her wand she spoke these words.

Jo: tiny princess, my gift shall be the gift of song.

~one gift, the gift of song. melody her whole life long. the nightingale’s her troubadour. bringing her sweet serenade to her door.~

Alex stepped up to the craddle, she walked and raised her want tostart her speech but something soon would disrupt her wish.

Alex: “sweet princess, my gift shall be...

a gust of wind blows blazing through the castle doors, they swing wide open. with wind and thunder crashing through, in a blaze of fire in the middle of the crowd appeared Rowena.

Claire, jo and Alex all in states of shock at the sight of Rowena who speaks now.

Rowena: well quite the glittering assemblage King Castiel. Royalty, nobility, the gentry and how quaint even the rebel.

alex tries to fly towards Rowena but is held back by Claire.

Rowena: i really felt quite distressed at not recieving an invitation

Alex now more than a little peaved speaks.

Alex: you weren’t wanted.

Rowena: not wa...? oh dear, what an awkward situation. i had hoped it was merely due to some oversight. well in that event i’d best be on my way. 

queen: and your not offended your excellency?

Rowena: why no your majesty. and to show i bear no ill will i too shall bestwo a gift on the child. 

the fairies back up to protect the craddle. 

rowena: listen well all of you! the princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her. but, before the sun sets on her 16th birthday, she shall prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel & die.

queen: oh no!

queen takes her child in her arms as rowena maniacly laughing...

castiel: seize that creature!

rowena: stand back you fools!

in a flash of fire and lightning as well as laughter rowena disappeared!

Claire: dont despair your majesties, Alex still has her gift to give.

Castiel: then she can undo this fearful curse?

Alex: oh no sire.

Jo: Rowena’s powers are far too great.

Claire: but she can help.

Alex: but...

Jo: just do your best dear!

Claire: yes...

Alex rolls up her sleeves and proceeds to speak her part.

Alex: sweet princess, if through this wicked witches trick a spindle should your finger prick, a ray of hope there still maybe in this, the gift i give to thee. not in death, but just in sleep the fateful prophecy shall keep, and from thy slumber thee shall wake when true loves kiss the spell shall break.

~for true love conquers all~

but castiel still fearful of his daughter’s life, did then and there decre that every spinning wheel on that very day be burnt. so it was done!

~this is the first jump out of fairytale reality and into our own reality where dean is picking up watching this classic fairytale & trying to get some shudeye.~

dean: if i have one more flippin’ dream about this movie im gonna kill someone.

sam: dont worry about it Dean, its not gonna get better with you yelling & screamin’... now try to get some sleep! we have a long drive ahead of us tomorrow!

Dean: yeah your right.

Dean throws his headphones on again trying to coax himself into a relaxing sleep. which Gabriel  had set so Dean would not wake from his sleep till the story would finish, then his destined quest would begin.

Gabriel: sweet dreams Dean. you have a really rude awakening ahead of you... everything you know is about to change...

gabriel casts his curse & leaves dean to his tormented slumber that which awaits him.

~jump back into the story, where we find the 3 fairies talking with Castiel and the queen~

Claire: your majesty please consider this a kind of protection detail, this will allow your sweet YN to grow up in peace without the worry of her pricking her finger when her 16th birthday hath fully passed your sweet YN will be returned to you. to ensure the curse does not come true.

queen: you 3 have always been here even when we havent always honored it, we do so appreciate your loyalty and protection. this has surely been a trying day for us and we are honored to have you 3 commited to helping us protect our daughter.

Castiel:  and it is on our honor that, you 3 shall go with our blessing. please be careful & guard our child well...

many hours later after dark, the king and his queen watched with heavy hearts as thier most precious possesssion their only child disappeared into the night..

many sad and lonely years passed for King Castiel and his peopple. but as the time for the pincess’ 16th birthday drew near, the entire kingdom began to rejoice. for everyone knew that as long as rowena’s domain, the forbidden mountains, thundered with her wrath and frustration her evil prophecy had not yet been fullfilled. 

rowena yells at her incompetant servents, they encur her wrath. rowena sends out her own raven to search for the princess. 

and so for 16 long years, dean had been learning how to live life as a prince. while the wereabouts of the princess remained a secret, the faires carried out their long laid planes living like mortals.

the fairies send Yn to collect some berries while they argue about the kind of last birrthday party they wish to give her, the dress color the cake and the cleaning something extra special for their last night as her guardians.

YN decides to stop in the glen... she feels like something is wrong thats when your real self breaks through... 

YN: omg what am i doing in here? 

as you keep singing you try to remember wht happened to put you in here. sure was your fave movie but it was not how you wanted to live.

Dean was riding Chuck the horse, the scene still happens the singing in the glade, dean hearing your singing following the animals that are stealing his cape, boots and hat. 

your still singing by yourself but now kinda talking to the animals. after that kind of normal conversation you notice that some of your animal friends have come back dressed as a prince. you started singing and continued to dance with your animal friends, but thats when Dean had snuck up and hid in the bush, he waited for his oportune moment.

YN: but if i know you, i know what you’ll do, you’ll love me at once... the way you did...

thats when your vocals were interrupted by another voice to complete your song.

Dean: once upon a dream.

though it wasnt exactly ideal, your hands interacting, it felt more real than you had this entire time. waltzing through the glade by the lake, made your real self shine through. Dean could feel his real self shine through as well.

Dean: are you real?

that question made you look at him instantly. another person whose not really the character he is pretending to be.

YN: you’re real... your an actual person, not just a fairytale character?

Dean: yes, i’m real, what’s your name?

YN: YN, outside this ever turning story book fairytale movie thing im a hunter.... this story just keeps repeating itself everytime someone watches this movie. i have no idea what the hell put me into this neverending storybook. im annoyed greatly but strange thing is i can’t feel any connection right now to my actual body...

Dean: im a hunter as well. my name is Dean. i hunt everything that goes bump in the night from ghosts to demons and everything in between. i am also not sure how i got in here.

YN: your a hunter as well... i thought i was the only one.

Dean: whats the last thing you can remember before waking up here in the story?

YN: i was on a strange case, one thing made me think it was a werewolf. one thing made me think it was a ghost. one thing made me think it was a poltergeist. i remember walking out of my hotel room and that is it. nothing else after that. it sends shivers down my spine when i think of what may be going on with my actual body. how did you end up in here?

Dean: last thing i rememebr is turning on the movie to watch/listen too while i try to sleep. thats it... i have no fucking idea how i ended up in here. as to you saying that you can feel no connection to your physical body, something magical must be blocking the connection, but non-the-less i want to help you. i will finish the story so i can get out of here and find you. i will slay whatever i have to in order to free you, in the story and in reality. i will not rest till i rescue you.

you both continued on in the story, as they say it must continue or the end will not come. but it was nice for both of you to know that neither of you were alone. 

the 3 fairies gave you your birthday surprise and told you of your true heritage then whisked you away to the castle where they hid you; dean showed up at the cottage where Rowena prince-napped him; you are led away by rowena’s curse to prick your finger in a hidden tower room the 3 fairies find you laying you down in “your” room; then they put the kingdom to sleep till someone can wake their sweet YN. 

~meanwhile outside the story Sam is working with other people to figure out what happened to dean. Ellen, Jo and Bobby all were doing everything they could to help Sam figure out what happened to Dean.~

 Back in the story: many sleeping people but the fairies were trying to find out who the handsome stranger was that their sweet Yn had been talking about. they figured he might be their key to saving her. 

but soon it was claire who had been doing a round to make sure all of her section was asleep but it was John’s voice that caught her ear for he started talking about how he had spoken to Dean who had been raving about some pesent girl and how Dean had said he was gonna marry her and such. 

claire managed to suss out that it was Dean that Yn had met in the forest. the words she had heard from John that had firmed her suspicions were Peasent girl & once upon a dream...

claire flies back to Jo and Alex and speaks in raced tones of panic.

Claire: the young man that YN was talking about is Prince Dean. come on girls we have to get back to the cottage.

as fast as their wings could carry them, they rushed back to the cotage but alas were too late for all they found was Dean’s hat no Dean. they conclude that it must have been Rowena who has dean trapped in her forbiiden palace. their minds made up immediately, they had to go there.

Dean, the only one true person who is able to awaken their Sweet YN... they had to find him to save her. off they went no plan in hand just ‘winging’ it as they went, weaving their way through the grounds passed the guards... 

Rowena was in her throne room watching her lackys celebrate. to her raven she speaks.

Rowena: what a pitty prince Dean cant be here to enjoy the celebration. come my pet let us go to the dungeon and cheer him up...

the raven she was just talking too cawed at her as she got up and started walking towards the dungeon where she had been keeping dean.

~*reality jump!!! Dean is still unconcious while Sam is runnning around like a chicken with his head cut off trying to figure out what the hell happened to his brother*~

Sam: i don’t want lecutures. i want to know what happened to Dean.

Bobby: dont worry boy, dean is strong, he will pull through whatever is happening to him. do you have any theories?

Sam: im thinking maybe some sort of curse or something but no signs of any hex bags or nothing surrounding dean. there has to be something we are overlooking. some angle that we have missed.

~*back in the story, dean is stuck in the dungeon not even phased when rowena walks in the door.*~

Rowena: oh come now prince dean why so mellon colly. a wondrous future awaits you. you the destined hero of a charming fairytale come true.

the fairies arrive in the window hiding from the raven and rowena but witness what rowena depicts to Dean through her Staff.

Rowena: behold, king castiel’s castle &and in yonder top most tower, dreaming of her true love, the princess YN. but see the gracious whim of fate. why tis the same said peasent maid who won the heart of our noble prince the other day. she is indeed most wondrous fair. gold of sunshine in her hair, lips that shame the red red rose. in ageless sleep she finds repose. the years roll by, but a hundred years to a stead fast hear are ‘bout a day. and now, the gates of the dungeon part and our prince is free to go his way. off he rides on his noble steed. a valiant figure, straight & tall to wake his love with love’s first kiss & prove that true love conquers all...

Dean struggles against his chains, alex starts towards rowena but is held back by Claire as rowena brings her raven back onto her shoulder as they prepare to exit the dungeon she says one final thing in Deans presense.

Rowena: ah my pet let us leave our noble prince with these happy thoughts.

she exits the dungeon leaving Dean struggling against his bonds. the 3 fairies enter the cell using their magic to release dean from the chains and unlock the door. Dean starts towards the door but is stopped by Claire who proceeds to speak.

Claire: wait prince Dean, the road to true love may yet still be barred by much more dangers, which you alone shall have to face. so arm thyself with this enchanted shield of virtue, and this mighty sword of truth. for these weapons of righteousness shall triumph over evil. now come we must hurry.

out of the dungeon they went but rowena’s raven had stayed behind after rowena and the raven exited the dungeon. he started cawing at them, Dean was thinking this would be easy escape. but he was wrong. the raven was bringing an army of lackies downt he stairs to them. dean begins to fight them off.

Claire: quick Dean jump out the window.

Dean jumps out the same window as the fairies, but some rocks start falling towards Dean. Claire notices and speaks quickly.

Claire: Dean watch out!

Claire turns the rocks into bubbles. then a wall of arrows quickly turned into a wall of flying flowers, alex went down to free chuck. dean rides off on chuck towards the gate where hot oil is thrown, claire turns it into a rainbow.

the chase of a lifetime made alex proud as she chased that raven to the top of rowena’s tower & turned it to stone. this made rowena emerge, freshly woken from her sleep she goes to yell at her raven but discovers that her pet has been turned into stone. 

she watches from her balcony as the drawbridge is being raised, dean and the fairies are heading straight for it, the fairies help him make the jump. chuck keeps running, carrying Dean as quick possible, dodging rowena’s two spells that she has cast causing them to fail. 

in straight eye sight for Dean and the fairies is the castle, but before they can reach it Rowena makes her second last attempt to stop them.

Rowena: a forest of thorns shall be his tomb. born from the skies in a fog of doom. now go with a curse and serve me well. round Castiel’s castle cast my spell.

a black cloud appears over the castle, lightning striking the grounds around, thus causes icky thicky black thorns to grow in large bushes between Dean and the castle. 

Dean stops before them, drawing his sword he fights his way through the thorns this let him out just before the bridge to the castle. rowena seeing this appears before Dean in a firey blaze for her final attempt to stop them.

Rowena: now shall ye deal with me oh prince & all the powers of hell!

Dean and the fairies watch as Rowena using every ounce of power she had left to transform herself into a huge fire spying dragon. Dean begins what turns into a short-ish fight but retreats hastly reaching a wall he climbs high. 

our prince is now trapped on a cliff, another blaze of fire this causes Dean to loose his shield off the side of the cliff. Claire jo & alex bring their collective magic together near the prince they cast this on the sword.

Claire: now sword of truth fly swift and sure, that evil die & good endure.

dean throws the sword at the dragon piercing its heart. rowena lunges one final time but falls off a cliff to her downfall. dean is then lead down the cliff and to the castle, up to the tower where you lay in slumber waiting for this moment. Dean kneeling by your sleeping form placed a light kiss to your lips. 

you wake up just as time freezes. Dean helps you stand up. both of you looking around. yes the entire movie was frozen. puzzled you both stand in front of eachother. 

Dean: now whats happening.

you went to open your hand to grab Dean’s but something fell to the floor. Dean reached down to pick it up. he unfolded it and proceeded to read what was upon it.

Dean (reading note): congratulations! Defeating that witch takes care of one of my issues, that was of course the easy part. your next task Dean is to find your destiny, yes your destiny lies within the form of this girl. you must go back to reality and find her body and wake her up once you do everything and i do mean EVERYTHING will become clear. want a clue? here it is: “in a place of myth & legend where the balance of nature is true, this place you know it all too well. what you believe isnt real is, everything you know shall change forever. the ways of old shall guide you by, this far side of _________ in the final resting place of _________...” i look forward to seeing you very very soon. try to hurry i hear there is trouble on your horizons. 

now you both were very very very confused. this is what caused you to pop up and say..

YN: what the hell kind of clue was that? any idea what he is talking about? wait does that mean im not in my hotel room anymore. that someone or something moved my body?

Dean: that is exactly what it means and i will do everything in my capable power to find you. hopefully when i get back to reality this paper goes with me... 

just as he finished speaking a portal opens, visions of dean’s unconcious body appear along with Sam and others going frantic over what happened to Dean.

Dean: Yn, i give you my solem oath that i will not rest till you are safe by my side, i will fight whoever, go wherever, do whatever i have to in order to save you. dont give up hope and pray that this loop does not repeat for you. pray this time freeze does not disappear when i walk through that portal. 

YN: i have faith in you Dean please hurry. i look forward to never leaving your side.

Dean placed a chaste kiss to your forehead before he walked through the portal. you sat on the bed and watched as Time remained frozen but you were once again alone.

Dean arrived back in his own body, he sat straight up and scared the living daylights out of his brother, bobby and several others all of whom embraced Dean. 

Dean then went to where Sam’s laptop was and began searching the lore, the myths and legends specifically. when Sam approached him about what he was doing, Dean presented sam with that note. suddenly it made mroe sense to Sam, who left Dean in the charge of Jo while he, bobby and ellen all went to grab food and booze. 

Jo: what happened to you?

Dean: one minute i was in that bed trying to fall asleep using a disney movie & the next thing i know im inside the movie. im telling you i would have preferred Hell. but i wasnt the only person from reality stuck in the movie. there was a girl, she said she is a hunter too she was on a strange case when she found herself in the movie. she has no idea of how long she has been in there. she also thinks her body has been moved. this piece of paper proves that someone or something is holding her body somewhere and its up to me to find this girl. at this point nothing else matters. i made her a promise now i have to keep it. 

Jo: let me see the paper again...

Dean hands Jo the paper and after a few moments of staring at it she takes a pen and fills in the blanks... thats when the paper glowed... and revealed a magical map... 

Dean: how did you do that?

Jo just smiled and laughed...

Jo: im really good at fill in the blanks. its a natural talent i get it from mom... your clue should have finished like this:   “in a place of myth & legend where the balance of nature is true, this place you know it all too well. what you believe isnt real is, everything you know shall change forever. the ways of old shall guide you by, this far side of Romania in the final resting place of Dracula...”

Dean hugged her, he knew where he had to go now but how the hell was he gonna get there. it was then that Dean went to load several of his handhelds and load onto his back a machete load up some ammo clips. 

he didnt know what to expect but he was certain that being cautious was better than being stupid. he was not gonna walk in there half assed. he needed to be as prepared as could be. however thats when bobby, sam and ellen walked back into the room. 

Sam: Dean what are you doing?

Dean: im getting ready before i call cas for transport. this will allow me to not get dinged by airport security and not to become sea sick either. but i hope honestly that this mission im about to embark on is gonna be beneficial. 

Bobby: what the hell do you think your doing? never mind that where are you going?

Dean: romania, Jo has the knowledge on why i am going to romania, she will fill you guys in... ill take my burger to go. put my pie in the fridge. 

once Dean is ready to go, he stands in the center of the room and smiles back at the others but then Jo pipes up and goes to stand beside Dean with a backpack on her back... 

Dean: Jo what...

Jo: im not letting you walk into your destiny alone. do not for one second think im not gonna jump at this opportunity to hunt with you, to help you to find your destiny. you helped me once to know what my destiny was, now its my turn to repay the favor.

Dean takes Jo by the hand as he in a stern voice he speaks the following words. 

Dean: Castiel get your oh holy feathery ass down here i need a lift and your my ticket to my next destination.

cas comes to the hotel room and approaches Dean & Jo.

Castiel: where am i taking you and your friend here...

Dean: transylvania and dude once we land you cant be there... it will not be helpful for you to be there. this is a mission i have to do alone. me and my friend here go through the rest of the process alone. 

Cas only nods completely understanding on what his friend has asked of him. he takes Dean and Jo to Transylvania. then once they are safe on the ground again cas leaves. 

Dean: okay now to look at this magic map and figure out where we are and where the resting place of Dracula is... 

Jo: well lets first of all make sure we are prepared before we go into town. i did a bit of research apparently they dont trust strangers here. we need to show them that we mean no harm. or just keep our noses down and pass through without being detected. 

Dean: well lets see what the map says. 

Jo leads Dean to a rock as she lays out the map... 

Jo: these 2 dots over here are us... but what is that red dot over yoner on this map... look there is a multicolored one too.... 

Dean: the multicolored one is my destiny, the red one has to be what is holding her captive. 

jo notices some writing appearing on the map after a few moments. 

Jo: whats that say...

Dean: it says, “inside the castle you face your fears, beat them out till you cant no more. fears and demons go hand in hand but if you beat them in order to save your destiny. this is to be your greatest reward.” what the hell does that mean... 

Jo: it means no matter what we need to get to that castle. 

hand in hand they get their tracks moving towards the path...

Jo: i really hope the story of transylvania is fake... 

Dean: you mean the fact that as soon as the sun goes down werewolves and vampires come out to play... you and me both but hey if they do we are fully prepared. this place is on top of a supernatural time  bomb. everything that goes bump in the night comes out after sunset. 

both dean and jo look up into the sky the last bit of light leaves the tree line. 

Dean: have your silver bullets and machete ready just in case... we are not taking any chances. we have to get to that castle. 

Jo: dont worry we will... 

Dean smiles as both of them continue making their way through the forst, a little quicker than normal pace. the sun had now fully set, the light that had been guiding them was gone. 

Jo: just follow the path the map says this will lead us to the castle where your destiny awaits you. Dean are you sure we...

thats when she stopped speaking... her words cut out... Dean pulled out his machete and quickly brought it to face the enemy that now held his best friend back. 

Shadow entity: ah so the prodigal has come for his prize.. well i think ill take a  constitution to ensure that you follow the rules, to ensure the balance is complete, to ensure that we are all in clarity to our debts. to this i have something to say this to you: you are part of the same card, the girl i have sleeping right now is not going to wake up without her other half. you have not done anything to earn her freedom, so i take your friend as kind of a wake up call to the horrors that which wait you inside. this castle has its own story but to unlock its secrets you must face your fears. face them down Dean, only then will you have earned her freedom. see you real soon.

the shadow figure disappears with Jo... Dean picks up her bag and keeps his machete on hand as he continues walking. following the map as he heard the soft crunching of his boots under the snow. winter sure is warmish in whats supposed to be the coldest part of romania. 

Dean (to self): i have no idea what the hell is going on but i now have 2 bright lights to save i am just hoping i can conquer whatever appears before me... Jo for your courage please be my light. guide me to where you are... my dear sister. 

meanwhile Jo has been placed in a room, where you lay in wait for your destiny. Jo takes one look at you and she smiles. she knows that you are definately dean’s destiny and then she speaks the following words. 

Jo: in all my years i had never thought Dean would find his destiny, never after he helped me find mine i swore i would help him find his, now Dear Brother please follow my light...

Dean stops a quick moment to catch his breath and look at the map... he then sees Jo’s dot on the map glow brighter... it acts as a flashlight lighting up the path he must walk. 

after several more steps and following his light he arrives at the castle.

 Dean: here i com ladies... dont loose hope.

Dean holding his machete walked inside the castle.. the first thing he saw was the vision of himself as a demon tellig hm that he was gonna die alone and that he would become that... he told that vision that he would always have a family beside him even if they werent around that cared for him that would never abandon him.

that he went on his way still fllowing the light o the ground he comes accross the first blade which tells him that he fears being back in hell torturing souls and how good it made him feel. dean tells it that he will never and shall never go back to hell and never will he torutue those who dont deserve it again.

a few more fears tried to get dean to turn away from this quest, tried to get him to fail but nothing worked. the last area on the map was a long corridor it looked as thought there was a figure about mid way down. 

the map let off a warning flash meaning there was danger approaching. Dean speaks once more to whatever is trying to face him down.

Dean: i address the entity in front of me. who are you? why have you brought me to this awful place?

Shadow: i am the demonic shadow of Count Dracula and I have brought you here so you can face me in the ultimate battle. Either I will be finally put to rest or I will be made whole again. do you accept my challenge?

Dean drops the bags and keeps both his guns and his machete as he speaks.

Dean: look dumn ass, i dont know who your the spirit or entitiy of but this is not how things are run in my world. in my world the good guys win and the bad guys loose. now if you stand aside and let me wake my destiny and save my sister then you might just get to be put back to sleep again. or ill succeed and kill you right now. your choice, i’m good either way. 

Shadow: you dare to think you stand a chance against me, how cute. very well, if its death you choose then allow me to help you with that.

Dean moved out of the way as the shadow lunged toward him, missed and just landed again.. Dean then shot out 6 rounds of dead mans blood rounds all aimed at shadow-Dracula, he dodged those. 

shadow: tell you what, ill make you a deal if you surrender now ill give you ten long years to spend with your so called “destiny” in exchange for you letting me out of here with my life. 

Dean: how bout not a prayer. eat bullets instead.

Dean unloads the rest of the bullets in a circular form at the ground around shadow-dracula. completing the devils trap... 

Dean: oh wait you dont need to eat the bullets cause your history pal... 

Shadow-dracula looked down and around himself, the look that he now sported was one of fear. he was the one that now was terrified. 

Shadow: this is impossible no one imprisons the great Dracula. 

Dean: oh buddy im gonna do alot more than that, time for you to go back to where you came from. 

Dean stands up tall as he then speaks the same words he had spoken previously hundreds upon hundreds of times. 

Dean:  Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolica, ergo draco maledicte, ut ecclesiam tuam secura, tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audios bitch!

that was all Dean had to say the shadow of Dracula was no more. he went back to grab the bags and continued forward... he shot the lock on the doors and kicked them open. 

Jo: Dean you found us... i believe you know what to do romeo... put everything down ill prepare to treat any wounds and such that show themselves once you wake her. 

Dean: Jo it was dracula, the shadow outside the door was dracula’s shadow. i cant believe his shadow was so hostile. i mean if i hadnt wasted 2 clips of amo drawing out a devils trap i would have lost the fight. 

Jo: ya ya ya okay dude, you have an overdue appointment with destiny over on that bed, now drop the bags and go. 

Dean knew jo would have kicked his ass if he didnt listen. he did as told, he dropped the bags and walked over to kneel beside you. he brushed some hair from your forehead..

Dean: together now and always i have always been your once upon a dream.

his lips met yours in a gentle kiss. he pulled back after a few seconds and waited to see if it workd. a while later you open your eyes and touch Dean’s cheek. 

YN: you found me?

Dean: did you doubt i would? i said i would and i keep my promises. this girl over here is my sister Jo.  she is gonna give you the once over and then ill call for our ride out of here once she has you in a clean set of clothes. im gonna make sure we are still safe... i will call cas once we are all ready.

Dean leaves you in the hands of Jo who hands you some clothes and assesses you making sure you are not hurt. Dean comes back a few moments later and calls cas to come bring you all home. 

Cas came brought you, dean and Jo back to the hotel. you and dean were gonna take some time to figure out what everything meant. this was when a bright light came upon the entire room. 

Dean: whats going on?

thats when Gabriel appeared in the room. everyone had hand guns on him immediately. but he speaks not with hostility but with normality.

Gabriel: ah winchesters and friends. do not be alarmed for YN and Dean have been written in the stars since the beginning of time. Dean and Yn im sorry for trapping you both in that sleeeping curse it was the only way to get you both to listen to reason. to listen to your hearts. i was only trying to get you both to follow the rules that destiny had for you. 

Dean: then why show up and tell us about it now...

Gabriel: cause i knew if i didnt it would have been alot worse later on. 

Dean: what happens now?

Gabriel: well with your permission i could marry you and Yn right here right now... if you both agree. 

you and Dean exchange looks before smiling.

Dean: when do we begin?

Gabriel snapped his fingers and the room transformed into a garden glade type thing. before you and Dean could say anything else you were taken from grungy hotel room to garden glade. 

Gabriel: we are gathered here today to join Dean and YN in the ever holy bonds of Matrimony. this holy bond is a sacred gift, that deserves to be protected cherish it now and always. now i am assuming that there are no objections to this holy union.

the room was silent as Gabriel held his hand out and 2 silver bands appeared clearly made for you and Dean. 

Gabriel: vows or no vows.

Dean: what more needs to be said, we already said everything we needed to... we know what we are. we have our feelings, we need no words for them.

Gabriel: very well, Dean take the band and tell Yn what you think should go with this ring!

Dean takes the ring and slowly slides it on your finger as he reveals whats in his heart. 

Dean: YN after the movie and what i had to do to rescue you. i have to say that im 100% positive about you being the single most best thing that has ever stepped into my path of life. i promise now and always to honor, love cherish and whatever else goes with that... i love you Yn your the best part of me now.

you take the ring and you do the same thing.

YN: Dean, when i met you in the movie i was unsure of your intentions. then it was your beautiful green eyes that made me swoon. now i stand here to say i too now and forever more will honor, love, cherish and everything else that goes with it for the rest of my life. you are an amazing man Dean Winchester i love you so much and i cant wait to be your wife and have your last name. 

Gabriel: by the powers and laws bestowed on me by Heaven, i now am honored to pronounce you husband and wife. Dean you may now kiss your beautiful wife. 

Dean kisses you with so much passion. there was nothing to do for everyone else except cheer and clap. 

everyone lived happily ever after. well at least once upon a dream!

[theflowersgalore]

16 Unique Wedding Bouquets For Your Special Day

Every blushing bride knows that what makes a wedding stand out is in all the little details - the personal finishes that celebrate you and your partner's one-of-a-kind style. And your bouquet is no exception!

Finding the perfect bouquet that mirrors the beauty and uniqueness of the love you've found with your partner can make your wedding day truly memorable. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with a bouquet of standard roses, clutching a hand-picked, carefully crafted bouquet that's exclusively and wonderfully yours makes a great and meaningful difference!

We know it's hard to drum up new ideas, especially with the endless to-dos on your wedding checklist. So to help you get inspired, we've rounded up 16 bouquet ideas with their own spin on this timeless tradition.

These unconventional selections combine classic appeal with out-of-the-box imagination, perfect for the modern bride. Check out this lineup to find faves for your special bridal bouquet!

If you are eager to learn more about flowers from a formal course or want to get certified as an expert on florals, we recommend exploring professional bodies and colleges in gardening and floristry such as the American Institute of Floral Designers of the AIFD (www.aifd.org), the National Gardening Organization (www.garden.org), the American Floral Endowment (www.endowment.org), the American Horticultural Society (www.ahsgardening.org) and other similar organizations offering programs focusing on floristry and horticulture.

Unique Flowers

Filler flowers

While often relegated to supporting roles in flashy bouquets, filler flowers possess a delicate, almost dainty beauty that enchants you with their simplicity and understated elegance. We recommend soft and warm blooms like baby's breath, lily of the valley, Queen Anne's lace, delphiniums, and bouvardias.

Dried flowers

Brides all around the world have been embracing this trend's wonderfully rustic look. With warm hues and distinctive textures, dried flowers inspire a nostalgic mood to your stunning bouquet while also evoking a message of eternal love. Their versatility also blends flawlessly with any wedding theme. For your flower choices, wildflowers, lavenders, hydrangeas, proteas, and roses make beautiful dried flowers.

Big blooms

Make a statement with big, bold blossoms! A bouquet with oversized flowers adds an elegant and dramatic effect to your wedding look to match your fearless and confident persona. Among the most striking large blooms are peonies, water lilies, calla lilies, and gardenias.

Succulents

Boho chic is in, and so are succulents. For a more natural, textured appearance, go for these stylish eye-catchers! Whether you match them up with choice blooms or pull off an all-succulent arrangement, these stunners are a pragmatic and gorgeous choice for an one-of-a-kind bouquet.

Sunflowers

Love brings joy and lightness to the heart, so add a bright burst of cheer to your wedding look with sunflowers! If their summery look weren't enough, these blossoms also bear a heartwarming meaning: they represent adoration, fidelity, and lifelong joy. What better way to start a life filled with joyful love than with a bundle of the happiest flowers?

Themed Bouquets

Monochromatic

Sleek, chic, and fabulous-- all qualities of a monochrome bouquet that elevates your wedding to modern elegance. One color with varied flowers or in different shades adds texture to your bouquet while retaining a clean look. Go for standards like pinks and whites, which are always in fashion. If you want more of an edge or have a liking for the gothic, don't hesitate to go with an all-black bloom ensemble.

Tropical

Celebrate your destination wedding with a bouquet that matches its sunny vibe! Parrot tulips, anthuriums, oriental lilies, bird of paradise, and monstera are standard go-tos for an exotic, zesty look. For color choices, you can't go wrong with brilliant oranges, intense magentas, and popping yellows. Palm leaves or banana leaves also add warmth and volume to your arrangement.

Seasonal

Your wedding is all about new beginnings, much like the first breath of spring or chill of winter. Seasonal flowers enrich this lovely sentiment. Even better, there's also the practical advantage of having them readily available for your wedding date. Seasonal bouquets come in a wide selection of colors and florals, giving you the free rein to pick the ideal bouquet.

Signature Styles

Cascade

Finally, a flowy, enchanting bouquet to complement your fairytale wedding! Cascades pull the eyes down a trail full of flourishing blooms, fine foliage, and rich greens, creating an ethereal look and a waterfall-like illusion that will make your wedding truly a dream come true.

Horizontal

A harmonious drape of florals and foliage that joins a relaxed feel with a softly lavish look, the horizontal bouquet is luxury personified. It sweeps sideways, establishing clean and aesthetically appealing lines. Known for its versatility, it can be suited to a wild style with vines and stems or a more traditional bouquet with bountiful blossoms.

Hand-tied

Simplicity is sophistication with the hand-tied bouquet, eliciting a truly personalized touch with its free, loose, and laid-back style. All it requires is a cluster of flowers and greenery tied together using a ribbon or a silk wrap, which makes it very easy to create and set even on your own.

Hoop

This buzzworthy fad is making waves among brides nowadays! Evoking the romantic style of wreaths from days of yore, this bouquet has florals, greens, and ribbons attached to a wood or metal hoop. With a dreamy look and a laid-back aura, you'll surely fall for this gorgeous garland.

Special Touches

Berries

Fruit might not be the first thing that enters your mind when it comes to bridal bouquets, but berries create complex accents for a wild and natural look. Large, bright berries like hypericum berries, blackberries, raspberries, and snowberries make a bouquet burst with color and fullness. For more understated but stylish accents, go for tallow, berzelia, and pepper berries.

Greens

Lush greens and lovely foliage add allure to your bouquet with breathtaking color palettes, interesting textures, and even appealing aromas for a fresh, forest-inspired arrangement. Whether you go for a delicate trail or a full, overgrown look, these beauts add whimsy and playfulness to suit your delightful blooms.

Feathers

Combining classic glamor with a sense of lightness and softness, feathers inspire a vintage vibe, while creating a modern look with their delightfully unique style. These unusual accessories also come in varied types with their own unique textures and colors, making them surprisingly versatile and easily suited to different wedding themes.

Paper

Get creative with hand-crafted paper flowers! Your special creations can be just as stunning as fresh flowers, while carrying more special sentimentality. Plus, you can cherish it as a long-lasting keepsake after your wedding! Whether it's florals made from the sheet music of your special song or maps of where you first met, this bouquet is sure to be one for the books.

Click her for our  Handy Guide To Keeping Flowers Fresh For Longer.

[awheckery]

Will you tell us some of your many Thoughts™ about the live action Cinderella?

so something to keep in mind is that I went back to work monday night, my sleep schedule is heckedddddd and I am so tired right now I’m basically drunk

I am literally eating cereal in bed and it’s a real concern that I’m gonna fall asleep and drown in this bowl so this is gonna have to be the. oh christ whatsit called. the shit with the twitter memes, oversimplified takes on classic literature, cheat guide version, I am so tired

but ok here we go:

cinderella is my favorite fairytale, basically. ever after was a MAJOR formative influence on me, and it came on the heels of the ‘97 abc cinderella with brandy AND ella enchanted, which were also major formative influences, probably because they came into my life at a time when I really, really needed escapist media

I’ve read a ton of different spins and adaptations, I wrote a frickin’ cinderella novel that thankfully didn’t get anywhere with literary agents, and I watched every movie version I could get my hands on, so my expectations were not high ok

if you like the 2015 cinderella you need to scroll away right now because I’mma ruin it with petty. in kinda-sorta order, (not having seen this movie in a longish while) this is the petty shit that bothers me:

ella wants her father to bring home the first branch that hits his hat on the way home or whatev, and he does, which’d be a decent homage to perrault’s fairytale but they don’t fucking revisit it, no magic tree mother gifts here so why bring up chekhov’s tree branch, ugh

none of the characters are from the same genre, you expect me to believe chilly regal cate blanchett raised those dipshits, my disbelief is unsuspended

actually also any of the side characters with their one-off lines are more interesting and entertaining than any of the mains

richard madden looks like sebastian stans’s much older, significantly less attractive brother and he also looks a solid decade older than lily james, which is unfortch for him b/c I’m p sure he’s closer to her age than sebstan’s

I hate the cgi stag, having horrible flashbacks to kstew’s snow white movie, and the multiple jarring genre shifts therein, can we find a different shorthand for goodness of character rather than brief spiritual connection with cgi wildlife pls I’m begging you

I don’t like the big fairytale dress, I know this is a movie for children but I dislike the cheap-ass-looking butterflies and I miss the color from the animated original, and all this completely ignoring how the production treated lily james re: said dress

while we’re here what is upppp with the stepsisters’ ballroom gowns, they don’t match the mcfrickin aesthetic of the rest of the movie, it’s like they pulled those gaudy ridic costumes out of storage from the ‘97 cinderella, I demand visual continuity but nope, we can’t have that can we

I know you’re trying to pad the plot without too obviously cribbing from the slipper and the rose but evil-because-politics duke stellan skarsgard really doesn’t do it for me 'cause they drop that thread entirely. yaaaaaaay you married for love, too bad you offended your neighbors rejecting all their princesses, they’re ready to invade now

this entire relationship is built on lyinggggg. kit misleads the “good honest country girl” presumably so as not to intimidate her and she shows up at the ball and she’s fine letting him think she’s a princess, he makes that assumption and there’s a perfectly fine opportunity to correct it AND SHE DOESN’T. “NO MORE SURPRISES” ELLA? ARE YA SURE ABOUT THAT? how did either of them think that course of action was going to work out, honestly, the screenwriters dropped the ball, there could have been slightly more narrative complexity for very little effort, yes this is a movie for children but THEY ARE BEING NEITHER COURAGEOUS NOR KIND WITH THIS, ABC DID A WAAAAAAAY BETTER JOB 20+ YEARS AGO

and okay, here’s the big problem for me, here is what I loathe most, because THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A MOVIE FOR CHILDREN:

because of the dialogue, the sound mixing and the probably-directorial-decision to make lily james as breathy-sounding-as-possible, an uncomfortable chunk of the dialogue sounds like it came from a porno

I’m not fucking kidding

she walks into the ball and I was already perturbed because you can hear her gasping and the actual goddamn dress swishing while they’re dancing

but that entire bit in the garden? put that shit on and close your eyes and it is uncomfortable as hell to listen to

I was writhing in discomfort in the theater with friends, and multiple people in the audience were awkward-laughing because it was a later evening showing so most everyone there was an adult and I feel like a lot of us were on the same page

it might be a minor thing to some people but it completely counters anything good about the movie for me I HATE IT

[sunlit-pages]

My Favourite Books

Hello, Internet!

As this is my first post, I figured I should introduce you to some of my all time favourite books.

1. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

I know that this may be a controversial choice as many people hate this book, but I love it. I think I read it at just the right age, during my mid-teens when everything Min was going through was painfully relatable. This story is told as a breakup letter addressed to the main love interest, each chapter based around a seemingly random object. The illustrations were adorable and the writing is, as always with Daniel Handler, beautiful.

2. Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Honestly, I can’t even put into words how heartbreaking this story is. I went into it knowing nothing about the story and I think that was part of the reason it affected me so much. It hit everything I love in a book: strong female characters, wintery settings, communities coming together. It was amazing and that scene at the end had me thinking about it for days afterwards.

3. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynn Jones

Okay, time for a more light-hearted book now. Howl’s moving castle is easily one of the most heartwarming books I’ve ever read. If you think you know what this book is about because you watched the Ghibli movie, prepare to be shocked because the book is completely different. For one thing, Howl is an entirely self-absorbed Welsh rugby lad and Sophie is 100% done with him the whole time. She’s not the bland pushover she is in the movie. Book Sophie has personality and she’s a total grump. It’s hilarious and has one of the most connected plots of all time. Please read this book.

4. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Okay, technically this is a series, but it totally deserves a place on this list. My favourite one of the four books is Cress, though whether that’s because it’s actually the best book or whether I just love Tangled is up for debate. You can’t help but hope every couple ends up with each other and it’s got romance without love triangles?! Is it possible?! Even beyond the couples, the plot is compelling and takes a new spin on the familiar fairytales that they’re based on.

5. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Honestly, I love nearly every book Terry Pratchett has ever written, but Going Postal is an absolute gem and I feel like it is hideously underrated in the book community. Every line had me in stitches. I can’t count the number of times I’ve read this book, and yet I still find myself laughing out loud every time I read it. It follows the story of Moist Von Lipwig (I know, stay with me), an ex-conman, who must restore the city post office to it’s former glory while contending against the modern Clacks.

6. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Anyone who knows me probably already knows about my undying obsession with Jane Austen’s books. My favourite changes on a daily basis. But I have to pick Pride and Prejudice as my favourite for being the first of Austen’s works that I read. It’s way funnier than it has any right to me, while also managing to be adorable and critical of the society it was written for. While Elizabeth herself is amazing, it’s really her sisters that make me put this as my favourite. Please, please read this, even if you don’t usually read classics give this one a try.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

THIS BOOK. THIS GORGEOUS BOOK. Ugh. Please go out and read this book because you will not be disappointed. Told from the perspective of a death fascinated with life, this book follows Liesel, a young girl, through her experiences in Germany during the Second World War. The writing? Beautiful. The characters? Love them. Feelings? Crushed. Years later I still love this book.

8. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Okay. So. Confession time. I don’t actually like Harry Potter. I know, please don’t scream at me. I just couldn’t get past the fourth book. That being said, I adored Carry On. Carry On is kind of a Drarry fanfic if it was completely not that at all. Look, read it and it makes sense. The magic system was so interesting and different to anything else I’ve read. The characters all have their flaws and you can’t help but love them all the more for it. Also, there are goats. I seriously love this book.

9. Paper Towns by John Green

Paper towns is my favourite John Green book, if only for the wild cross-country car trip. After a night of adventure, Q’s mysterious neighbour, Margot, goes missing. Q’s determined to track her down, resulting in him forming a ragtag Mystery Gang of his and Margot’s friends. It’s cute and touching and I highly recommend it.

Well, that’s it. Some of my favourite books. What would you like to hear about next?

Happy Reading :)

[fabulizemag]

10 Horror Manga To Read For Your Halloween Weekend

New Post has been published on https://fabulizemag.com/horror-manga-for-halloween/

10 Horror Manga To Read For Your Halloween Weekend

Horror manga is a different kind of scary. I mean sure, we’ve seen vampires and ghosts, but if you’ve never seen a horror anime, you won’t be prepared for the detailed gore new horror manga has. I rarely watch horror movies, but I love horror anime and manga. I can’t fully explain why it’s much easier for me to consume, but it is. The only thing that stops me from reading a lot more manga are titles with a lot of violence towards women and fan service. I know that those are common in manga and I try not to recommend many of those because that’s not what I would normally read.

I think overall, horror manga is more sadistic and provocative than western horror as it not only illustrates monsters, but there is also a hidden philosophy in a lot of horror manga that insinuates that humans are the real monsters. A lot of the manga I recommend below aren’t exactly new; however, they are new to paperback. That means you have an opportunity to start a new series from the beginning and not have to worry about missing manga chapters. I’ve also included a manga that is a standalone title, which is a rare find with these types of books. I personally prefer reading in volumes and if you like having a good chunk of content in one book, you will enjoy these selections.

PET SHOP OF HORRORS: TOKYO, VOL. 1 BY MATSURI AKINO This serialized manga takes a different approach to classic fairytale stories and uses pets. However, some of the pets look similar to humans and buyers must adhere to a contract if they decided to buy. The horror begins when the buyers ignore the warnings of the pet shop owner.

REMINA BY JUNJI ITO

If you are looking for some outer space sci-fi horror, this manga is for you. This story starts off with a wormhole that births a mysterious planet. A doctor discovers the planet and names it Remina, which is also his daughter’s name. As this planet evolves, it destroys anything it wants in its path. And guess what planet is up next? You guessed it: Earth. You can preorder this book now, as it’s set to be available in paperback this December.

RASETU VOL. 1 BY CHIKA SHIOMI More paranormal than straight horror, this spin-off of Yuraracenters a heroine named Rasetu who is a witty and sassy exorcist working at an exorcism agency. She loves cakes, capturing ghosts, and doesn’t turn down a good fight. Things get complicated when Yako, who has powers himself, needs her and her agency’s help with a possessed book.

THE WITCH AND THE BEAST 1 BY KOUSUKE SATAKE If you like horror but you want a more of a fairytale setting, then you should give this manga a try. Set in a steampunk world, you meet a shy guy who has a mysterious coffin strapped to his back. His unlikely companion is a bloodthirsty girl with long fangs and a mean violent streak. They are determined to work together to overthrow a witch who suddenly has their town’s people under her control.

UROTSUKIDOJI: LEGEND OF THE OVERFIEND, VOLUME 1 BY TOSHIO MAEDA Ready for some erotica horror? Well, if you are into monster and tentacle sex, here it is. Yes, it is hentai and a disturbing piece of manga, but that’s what makes it horrifying. Every 3,000 years the Chojin emerges in human form to try to bring man, demon, and beast together. This manga also has a lot of sexual descriptions in it. The paperback will be available in November.

ALICE IN MURDERLAND, VOL. 1 BY KAORI YUKI Stella is part of a wealthy and elite family in Japan, and once a month she has to leave school early to have a tea party with them. However, the tea party is different this time around because her mother (the queen) tells her and her siblings only one of them will be the next leader of the family. In order for her parents to determine who is next in line as a successor, they challenge her and her siblings to kill one another for the throne. I rarely turn down a retelling of classic tales, especially ones that are filled with blood, guts, and gore, and you’ll find this is a doozy.

MANGA YOKAI STORIES: GHOSTLY TALES FROM JAPAN (SEVEN MANGA GHOST STORIES) BY SEAN MICHAEL WILSON, LAFCADIO HEARN, INKO AI TAKITA If you prefer an anthology type read, this manga is just for you. Most manga is serialized and some readers might not want to invest time reading a number of volumes. This manga is a collection of seven horror stories. Unlike the previous manga listed here, the humans in these stories are given a range of emotions besides being scared—believe it or not, some are even happy in these stories.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: THE MANGA, VOL. 1 BY DARREN SHAN AND TAKAHIRO ARAI When you combine evil creatures of the night, vampires, and the circus, you get a scary tale of friendship and gore. Darren (not to be confused with the author) comes across a vampire who is a circus performer, and that’s when things get bloody. In an effort to save his friend, Darren has to make a deathly decision that will change his entire life. This manga is, again, bloody, and it has a killer cliffhanger.

BLUE EXORCIST, VOL. 1 BY KAZUE KATO Rin has spent most of his life living with a famous exorcist named Father Fujimoto. When the two have a falling out, Father confesses that Rin has the blood of Satan in his veins. Rin decides that he wants to defeat Satan and in doing so he must become an exorcist himself. He enrolls in a school to hone his craft but soon discovers that a lot of spells he needs to do involves drawing his own blood. If Rin draws his own blood, he turns into a demon and will reveal his true identity to others.

D. GRAY-MAN, VOL. 1 BY KATSURA HOSHINO Allen Walker is an exorcist with a special arm that can be used as a weapon to fight off demons. He was picked by a divine group called the Innocence to fight the demon Akuma. However, the real villain is Millennium Earl who is turning people’s souls in these demons. If you have cyberpunk and goth needs alongside horror this is the manga for you. You’ll love the talking umbrella and the Victorian vibe.

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8

[neoculturetechxgot7]

Gardenia on the crown - J.J.H

4; dreams of sunshine eyes

pairing: Jung Jaehyun × Reader

genre: angst and the shy touches of fluff

length: around 2,5k words

warnings: mild swearing

// masterlist //

``

Starry flames flicker on the hundreds of candles saturating the ballroom with golden hues, reflecting on expensive pearls and tangling through lace trim and floral paterns. Nobility swirls around the soft notes of violin and piano, men in tailored suits kindly asking for the pale hand of shy princesses, inviting them to a dance that will stain the night with their scent.

You’re standing in middle of it all, fitted flawlessly in the embrace of a young prince's arms and slowly losing your sanity to the sight of his stunning features, iridescent shadows from the crystal chandeliers casting a sparkling galaxy on his skin. His eyes, those that captured your thoughts from the very moment their Egyptian caramel shade dipped into your soul, still have you mesmerized and utterly lost in their enigmatic depths.

He spins you around so gently, cremé gown blooming around your ankles in the heated rhythm and a moment later, you feel his fingertips sear a temptingly slow path around your waist when you step forward.

"You haven't told me your name yet..." A breathless whisper falls from your lips, accompanied by the over-accelerated pound of your heart. The charming stranger who managed to gather all of your attention to the excellence of his dance and the alluring electricity beaming from his entire presence is still hiding behind anonymity. The ache to discover something as simple as his name is swallowing you alive.

"My name is Jung Jaehyun, my lady...”

You wake up suffocated in the cradle of cloud coloured sheets, nightgown clinging low on your decolté and a rushed pulse racing through your veins. Midday sun refracts from the window, brushing peachy shimmer on your skin and a sweet heat around the endless void of the room.

Yet, somehow, your body feels absolutely numb. That night... Your brain is playing the filthiest game by reminding you of it.

Your glance swivels around the intricately decorated wooden furniture in protest to your mind trying to shove more images of that dying dream before your eyes. Sweaty fingers reach up to rub them a little too harsh, leaving you with a shadowed vision of a vortex of colours and a low sigh dips past your lips.

If you only knew that magical night would be your very first meeting with the devil personified, you would've locked yourself in the cozy escape of the underground library, or your room or maybe the kitchens...Hell, even the moldy, freezing dungeons your father caged criminals in would seem like a better option than being in that ballroom, at that time, with him...

Two sharp knocks on the door slice through your self-pity thoughts just as you're about to hop off of the comforting warmth of the bed, naked feet hitting hardwood floor.

"Come in!“ You shout, hands instinctively tugging on the white silk of your tiny sleeping dress to conceal the exposed expanse of your chest.

But the relieving sight of your maid has your limbs going slack as she walks in, a smile on her face that makes some type of jubilation sizzle under your skin.

"My Lady, you're finally awake!" The girl chirps with the lightness of her kind heart and then quickly trods towards your still seated form. "Will you be attending the morning assembly in the dinner hall or would you prefer breakfast in bed?"

At her mention of any kind of...well...social interaction with the arrogant existence of the royals, your body goes limp and fluffy pillows hug your backside as you fall back. The sole idea of seeing Jaehyun again exhausts you. It's barely been a day since you first arrived and his face is plastered everywhere. Even your damn dreams...

The maid presses her lips in an empathetic line before sparing you the most understanding of all glances. Oh, she knows better than anyone how you'd hate to see that man after having spent the entirety of last night listening to a nice, long monologue of unspeakable and profane adjectives to describe your soon-to-be husband.

Sometimes you wonder what level of patience one must hold to be able to withstand your -borderlone hysterical- hate speeches.

"I'll inform his wonderful grace of your absence, my Lady." With that sarcasm dipped remark, the girl pivots on her heels and strides towards the door, blush skirt flowing behind her. "And bring you some breakfast."

"Thank you."

♤

You finish the very rich meal within minutes -the cooks around this place are priceless, a blessing for your tastebuds- and after a little bit of sinking in a puddle of self loath and cursing your failure of a fate, you decide to distract your mind by simply getting lost in the magic of a book. Literature is a hidden paradise for you, poetry, a little heaven.

Back home, you'd always have a book resting by the wooden extend of your nightstand, every night fading between yellowed pages and inked words that took you on a trip to fantasia. Maybe reading something can help now too...right?

No.

Because you're running a dainty finger over the red and black book spines lining every shelf of the grand bookcase only to skim the leather binding of old catalogues and dictionaries. Your eyes frantically scan each and every title in search of the slightest trace of good, classic literature, those pieces that leave you gasping after the very last sentence, but to no avail. Annoyed at the obvious lack of quality writings, you pull one of the many useless books out, trying to check if the one behind it, on the inner lining, is any different.

An hour later there's a sea of stacked books expanding on the floor of your bedroom, over the oak bureau by the window and some even sprawled across your unmade bed, yet nothing seems close to your taste. You found a couple of fairytales, the ones mothers escort their kids with to the sweetness of sleep. Even dug out a little notebook full of scraped poetry, written in midnight ink and infinite pages of dreamy calligraphy. But it didn't really pick at your interest either, so it now lays untouched on your nightstand, keeping company to ruby necklaces and a porcelain vase filled with roses.

Your knees bend over the plush mattress as you take a good seat in the boredom that has already started to define this day. With nothing else to do but stay in your room and stare at the elegant carvings on the walls, your pinky is twitching; sign of the bottled up energy that's currently restricted due to your absolute refusal of meeting eyes with the royals.

If only you weren't this stubborn and lowered that ego, maybe today wouldn't completely go to waste...

Then, something tickles at the back of your head; an idea?

A library. They must have one here, right?

Maybe visiting the palace library will be a convenient option. You can still spent time alone, buried in the wrinkled edges of lettered paper, while also keeping that well needed distance from Jaehyun and his awful family.

But then again, you don't even know how to get there and the so unpleasant possibility of bumping into too familiar faces has your skin coated in a drizzle of coldness.

Even so, your feet subconsciously plant onto polished floor and lead you to the door, expensive golden silk with embroidered morning stars blossoming around your ankles. It takes you no time to step delicately into those pointed heels that clank an air of intimidation with every step, as you -for the umpteenth time- curse every forsaken force in this damned universe for binding you with such a fate.

Having to sneak out of your own royal chamber like a common fugitive simply to enjoy the smallest comfort of reading a book. Pathetic, to say the least.

♤

You find yourself striding down the seemingly endless stretch of a hallway, peach tinted light bouncing of off smooth stone that arches into a high ceiling. Large, curved openings formed the one side and thick marble columns separate them.

It took a lot of wandering around wide halls and visiting two of the many towers of this palace for you to reach this point, the faintest wave of spring heat kissing your neck and cheeks as a reward. Surprisingly enough, you were met with no person you knew, only kindy greeted by maids dressed in creamy beige, a humble smile on their faces. Once, you actually happened to spot -what you thought would be- one of the ladies of the court and her small escort following shortly behind, heavy gowns of cotton and purple satin flowing with her every delicate step. She bore an almost blank expression, lips pressed together in a manner that made you wonder if she disliked this place as much as you did.

Taking a peak outside the enormous windows, you realise you're walking the perimeter of a circular yard, the expanse of its area covered in emerald, neatly cut lawn. A whole lot of people are gathered, small kids playing around with leather balls, servants scurrying to get some random task done and a big group of men standing on the very middle, some carrying weapons of all sorts.

With feet inching closer to the stone edge, your stare rakes their sun bathed faces and thankfully you recognize none. They are all of noble ascent, from what you can tell at that distance, golden threaded crests decorating the corners of their uniforms.

While your eyes fight to grab onto the stitched details, they happen to -so tragically- fall straight onto another pair of breathtaking brown orbs and within a fracture of a heartbeat you're pulling back and hiding behind the column.

Fuck.

Momentarily, the edges of your vision blacken as you suck in hungry inhales, a nice bunch of profanities roaring in your head to mix with the thumping in your ears.

You just can't avoid him, can you?

Shaking your head to get rid of the slight panic possessing it, you slowly slide to the side again, solely to catch another glimpse of Jaehyun. He’s surrounded by a small crowd of men, holding a steady grip on a steel forged sword that's so well polished it seems almost like platinum.

What a sight.

His glove clad fingers tighten as he ducks to an attack stance, raising the light reflective metal in the air as if it's the lightest feather. You notice the absolute perfection in his technique, balanced from the very handle all the way to the sharp tip and can't help but admire how, the next second, it comes down to slice morning breeze and barely scratch Jaehyun's opponent. He's incredibly skilled, every move laced with such precision, and you notice the subtle flames his eyes emit when seizing each chance.

The other is quick to deflect any incoming hits, but still overwhelmed by their lighting speed and strength that eventually goes in for an attack himself. He bringing his own blade up and aims for the prince's chest, leaving you watching with complete devotion to the scene, as he takes a hasty step forward.

Something inside your chest clenches in such an unexplainable manner and time itself dramatically unfolds, each second slower than the previous.

But then, Jaehyun ends the match with a swift and simple dodge to the side, sword simultaneously flying to crash against the side of his opponent's armor with a loud, echoing bang.

He should’ve watched the ribs. Always watch the ribs, you think while gazing the loser gasp in slight pain.

The nobles all around the young prince cheer -much like you do on the inside without realising-, yelling out praises along with a well-deserved applause as he drops his heavy weapon, that sunshine blessed smile making another appearance. His cheekbones literally shimmer with the milky glow of victory, all of that aristocracy putting even the highest of angels to shame. He stands proud and tall, fingers carelessly ruffling auburn strands of auburn hair, their tips dripping sweat but still giving him the look of effortless beauty.

You're about to retreat back to the shadows and run away before your body gets completely enchanted by the spell of his irresistible attractiveness...but that ice in the pit of his gaze cuts straight through your unprotected soul once his head turns.

You're suddenly frozen in place, prematurely surrendered to the way his eyebrows furrow and your expectation is yet another cocky grin and probably another stupid comment meant to irritate you the moment you face him. If it weren't for the starstruck expression plastered on your face, mouth slightly agape, maybe it wouldn't have been this bad but no, that's not the case today.

It's pretty damn obvious you've been watching, pretty damn obvious you've been lurking like a creep and gawking over the impressive ability of fighting he has conquered.

And he's well aware of that fact because those pearly, white teeth get covered by a way too smug and way too annoying smirk, it's curvy edge cutting through your dignity harder than any knife ever could. You note the way his chest heaves from the lightness of a chuckle.

Oh the embarrassment, oh the pain of your intimidating facade being all wrecked down in a split second.

If only never seeing him again was an option...lf only you could stay away from his stupid beauty and bluntly cold demeanor...

"Greetings, my Lady." A honeyed voice suddenly disrupts your desperation, causing your reflexes to stick your back falt against the smooth stone in horror.

Yet when your gaze snaps to the source of those words, you find a curious and somewhat charming a pair of sunshine filled eyes trained on your form. A toothy grin, white and beaming with luxury, is spread across the young man's face, a perfect contrast to his autumn skin.

Taking in a short breath of relief, your royal instincts kick in and you bow respectively at the gentleman, while he moves forward, hands folded behind his back in a kind manner. "Good morning my Lord."

"I'm afraid I do not recognise your face, darling. Are you new around here, perhaps?" He asks and it seems as if heaven lost one of its angels; his whole being radiating a unique kind of divinity as he stands so confidently.

"Oh yes." Your knees bend once more as you quickly introduce yourself, trying to sound as formal as possible, getting over the previous scare. "My name is (Y/N) of the (Y/L/N) dynasty and I'm present here as the rightful betrothed of prince Jaehyun."

His eyelids momentarily shot open after hearing your title, almost in shock, and that smile flashes impossibly brighter before he bends in respect. You feel warm fingers snake behind your own and with an airy pull he places a fragile peck on the back of your palm, as soft as freshly picked petals, to make you shudder.

"I'm so delighted to finally meet your grace. I am prince Heachan, cousin of your beloved."

You internally cringe at that last comment...As if Jaehyun and his wholesome stupidity could ever be loved...

"Nice to meet you too, prince Heachan." Your reply comes with a slight tilt of your head, pleasantly surprised at how well behaved and gentle he looks and acts, despite being a member of that horrible family.

Heachan takes a short look around, as if searching for something, and then aims his friendly glare back at you, this time baring a questioning expression. "And you're here without your escort?"

Your shoulders quickly stiffen, realising you have to explain yourself for carelessly wandering around the palace without a single maid accompanying you, something highly unusual for someone of your importance.

He notices that and chuckles and your heart softens at the way the apples of his cheeks shine with such a dull pink.

"Well, I'm looking for the library and..." Your eyes trail a regretful path down the hem of your dress, feeling a little embarrassed at the words you're about to speak. "I think i got lost..."

The boy laughs again, this time a little louder and more genuinely, one hand propping on his waist, sinking into the bejeweled red velvet of his shirt while the other makes an airy gesture. "This definitely isn't the library, or anywhere close to it, dear."

He extends an inviting palm, eyes glimmering with traces of a blazing summer and the tint of pure gold as he continues. "But I can take you there, if you please."

//

previous || next

[gasp-iwrotesomething]

Can we get a songfic with Xenia x MC based on Alexander Rybak "Fairytale"? Sorry for my english

Don’t even worry about your English, you did just fine! Also, I had to look up to the lyrics to the song because I’ve never heard of the song before now, but the message is super cool and I’d be down to write this for you, anon! Thank you for your request and I hope you enjoy!

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Xenia was distracted.

She had been busy all day, taking part in her duties as Mistress of the Spies, but her mind was a tangle of thoughts. A tumbleweed scurrying across a barren desert. Why was she so caught up in a world where she was with someone she had fallen out with? Someone who’d never return despite how many dreams Xenia shared of the freckled redhead? The spymaster frowns, one of her many spiders in a dance of his own around her finger, spinning a web around her cloudy skin. The design was a direct mirror of her thoughts and she sighs. “How am I this torn over MC?” Just pronouncing her name aloud is enough to send Xenia’s heart into a thumping marathon, her cheeks darkening with color. 

Years ago, when I was younger,

I kinda like this girl I knew

She was mine and we were sweethearts,

Xenia taps a finger against her desk. How exactly had they fallen out again? The meticulous story she remembers in her head is lacking a few details and memories that would fill in blanks Xenia had. 

That was then, but then it’s true

What Xenia could piece together was a case of manipulation. Classic lying that stretched too far and wore MC’s trust thin. She was a daydream with a strong heart, her actions always measured before acted. Or so Xenia thought. She believed that MC would catch on to her intentions and the unfruitful promises Xenia gave, but she didn’t. MC lingered long enough for Xenia to understand her depth, appreciate her personality, understand her fears and sympathize her difficulties. It had deeply pained Xenia to leave MC then, to ditch the one person she had cared for most... as a young woman.

I’m in love with a fairytale even though it hurts,

Now her chest was a cavern of longing, a capsule with a numb heart that pumped only for her survival. Nothing more than her body working to keep her alive. But despite the sorrow and the surface level frustration, Xenia felt no shame in her feelings. She knew that their differences had drove them apart in the end but their similarities had pulled them closer. If Xenia had the chance to rewind time and fix only one choice in her life, it’d be to revoke the decision to use MC for her profession. 

‘Cause I don’t care if I lose my mind, I’m already cursed

Xenia shudders as she recalls the moment their relationship fell into tatters, a ruin beyond reinvigoration. A statue broken beyond sculpting. MC had discovered Xenia’s manipulation through a friend, who had no ill-feelings for the spymaster at all, mind you. She had been doing her part in protecting her friend; Xenia could not stay angered with her for long after realizing this. MC confronted Xenia head-on, her courage and will to be strong against the Mistress of Spies something so startling that Xenia still preens her bravery to this day.

Every day we started fighting,

The redhead had been inconsolable, a wrath Xenia couldn’t properly counter even if she tried earnestly to. But MC didn’t leave after the argument. She had stayed for the sake of the terms back then; Xenia had come to her, after all. After such a strong argument, the two shared a very intimate night, full of explanation and self-discovery beyond what Xenia could’ve imagined. Truth be told, the spymaster had felt they had grown closer in spite of the circumstances. They had fallen in love.

Every night we fell in love

No one else could make me sadder,

No. Xenia had fallen in love. The Mistress of Spies sighs again, her finger gently setting down her spider so he can scurry off to other business. At the time of discovery, Xenia had been elated. Gleeful that she no longer had to wonder what the chemistry between them truly was. Saddened that she’d never get to properly explain her true feelings to the woman at the center of them.

But no one else could lift me high enough above

Without knowing it, Xenia had fallen in love with a woman as intangible as a fairytale whispered in her ear. A beautiful paradise unable to be explored. A fruitful story with no happy ending, a tale never meant to exist in Xenia’s world.

A reality too blithesome for such a backwards woman.

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Thank you for your request, I loved writing this Xenia songfic for you!

If you want to request something, here’s the Prompt List, here are the Guidelines, here’s Who I Write For, and here is where you can Request me.

[smutfornerds]

A Rock & A Hard Place // Ray x Oliver x Reader (Pt 1)

A/N: ahhh! Part one of three(?) is here! Fair warning there’s no real smutty smut to this part, I just really had too much story to fit in this plot and felt it needed broken up in bits and given backstory. The wonderful and ever thirsty @defyinggrxvity gave inspiration for this with her Headcannon request for rivaling sugar daddies, so thank her for this lil mini series! Part two is partially written already and should be finished by tomorrow (but don’t hold me to it, my mom brain can only do so much lol) ENOUGH RAMBLING OMG enjoy!! 💕💕

—

It all started with a bouquet of flowers. So simple, such a small gesture from Ray in attempt to make your day brighter. The only con to this was that the same moment the flowers arrived so did Oliver, with your classic and favorite iced coffee in his hand. The sandy blonde made his way to your desk just as you slipped open the envelope attached to the stems. Over your shoulder he eyed the handwritten note with a scowl.

You look beautiful today. I don’t even have to see you to know that, but I’ll see you tonight. -RP

Placing the flowers gently on your desk you turned to Oliver and graced him with a warm smile. “Thank you, I need this today.” He handed you the drink and you immediately took a large sip before setting it down. His eyes darted to the flowers every few seconds, and he tapped his foot impatiently. Silently lifting the cup and taking another sip of the drink he’d given you, your eyes fell with a twinge of guilt. As if on cue, Oliver stepped forward to lean against your desk beside you. “Come have dinner with me tonight.” The tone of his voice was smoother now, and he slipped his hand around your lower back to place a kiss on your forehead. “Please?” With raised brows he searched your eyes for an answer before you spoke.

Ray flashed in the back of your mind, but Oliver’s strong hand on your back felt so warm and inviting and somehow convincing that you couldn’t resist. “I— Uh, yeah, sure..” That weight in your stomach grew as the guilt settled in. However Oliver didn’t let it live long, capturing your lips in a short but breathtaking kiss. His hand cupped your cheek and he took a deep breath in as he kissed you, as if to breathe you in and steal the air from your lungs. When he pulled away your eyes stayed closed for a moment and you simply licked your lips to linger in the feeling a second more.

The chuckle that left him snapped you back to the real world, and a cocky grin met you when you opened your eyes. “I’ll pick you up at 5?” He punctuated the rhetorical question with another quick peck before sliding his arm out from behind you. You simply nodded as he backed away, flashing that ever charming grin at you before turning fully. You felt your cheeks radiate pink before settling into your desk. Looking down you stared at the bouquet before you. You could tell Ray had hand picked what to put in, each being a different color of your favorite flowers. Before you let the guilt consume you, you pulled your phone out, texting Ray a cancellation as nicely and vaguely as you could.

Sent: The flowers are absolutely lovely, you’re the sweetest. Thank you. Could we reschedule though? Something came up.. I’m sorry.

Within minutes he’d responded, cordially accepting the apology.

Ray: Don’t apologize I’m just so glad you like the flowers. :) They are your favorites, right? tulips and dahlias? And of course, don’t worry about it. Any night. I’m always free if it’s for you. ;)

You smiled fondly at the screen before turning to finally get to work.

The day ticked by relentlessly slowly, finally releasing you from the clutches of the cubicle as you clocked out. Pulling into your apartment complex you hastily made your way to your door, mentally planning what to wear this evening. Little did you know it wouldn’t be an issue. Turning the key to the lock you noticed it already open, and for a split second your heart sunk thinking you’d left it unlocked in the morning in a rush to get to work. Once you stepped in however you realized it hadn’t been you. Sprawled across your apartment were what had to be thousands of rose petals, in all shades of reds and pinks. You stood in your door way absolutely stunned trying to wrap your mind around what you were seeing. From your right you hear a small cough, a clearing of the throat from your kitchen. Slowly you peek around the corner and gasp softly.

Before you stands Oliver, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit and tie, a garment bag slung over his shoulder. You’re speechless, so he takes the opportunity to speak. “First, welcome home.” He makes his way over to you and kisses your cheek gently. Without pulling away he lowers his voice as he speaks close to your ear. “Secondly, get naked.” Your heart skips a beat at his words and you feel a chill run up your spine. Oliver laughs softly before stepping back, holding the mysterious bag out to you. “And get changed into this. We’ve got to be there by 6.” Feeling the blood rush back to your brain you tilted your head as you took the rather heavy garment bag from his hands. “Where is there exactly?” You step forward further to lean into him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before he responds. “You’ll know when we get there.” He states while placing his hand on your back to usher you towards your bedroom to get dressed. “Now get naked.” He teases again, knowing he’s riling you up.

Stepping into your room you hang the bag on the back of your door, carefully pulling the zipper down. Your eyes widen at the sight of a beautiful red sequin dress, exactly your size, and practically made for your body. It was almost like a fairytale moment. However, until you couldn’t get the zipper up completely and had to ask for help. You cracked your door open and Oliver hopped up from the edge of the couch to finally set his sights on you. Instantly his eyes glazed over and he ran his tongue along his bottom lip as he took in every inch of you before meeting your eyes finally. “Care to help me?” You asked as you turned to show him the half-zipped back. A small noise between a groan and a whine left him and you giggled softly. “And zip it up, mister Queen.” Half turned you playfully glared at him and he shook his head as his hands briefly found your bare back.

Bringing himself close to you he planted a gentle kiss to your neck. “No promises..” he murmured against your skin as he played with the zipper, trailing it up and down teasingly before pulling it to the top. You huffed out a sigh. “As much as I’d love to,” you paused to turn around and place your hands on the collar of his suit jacket. “According to your time table, we’re about to be late.” Oliver sighed wistfully, taking a step back with your hands in his. “Just.. do a little spin for me..” His voice was raspy and lowered, and his eyes stayed locked on your body as you did as you were told. He hummed his appreciation for your figure before pulling you into his arms. His lips met yours almost instantly and you let out a sigh at how good he was, at all of this. Once he pulled away he took your hand to lead you down to the chauffeured SUV waiting for you outside.

The entire drive he kept his hand on your thigh, the slit of the dress just high enough for his hand to fit perfectly, almost like he’d measured it himself - he had. “Any hints about this dinner?” You asked after a few miles, and Oliver smiled with a pinch of mischief hiding in there somewhere. “It might be a bit more than just dinner..” He chuckled when your brows raised at the response, clearly not what you were expecting it to be. Before you had the opportunity to respond the car driver opened the partition to speak to Oliver. “Mr. Queen, we’re arriving to the gala now.” His words rang through your ears and you eyed Oliver with your mouth open. “Oliver Jonas Queen, you did not—“ you were interrupted by his lips quickly as his fingers laced with yours. “Aren’t you glad I brought you a dress?” He spoke against your lips, kissing you again once as the car pulled to a stop. Outside was a grand building, carpeted stairs and cameras catching your view. “Oliver I’m not.. I’ve never-“ Interrupted again by him opening the car door, he hopped out before helping you, walking past the paparazzi in a hustle before ascending the stairs and entering the gala.

The ballroom was packed full of people; government officials and diplomats, company CEOs and stock holders. The highest of high from the surrounding Tri-State area. If didn’t know better you’d think you were in a Bond movie. Oliver flaunted you around to a few tables full of people he had to chat up before finding yourselves a table of your own. A waiter brought around flutes of white wine and you accepted with a smile. “I’m more of a rosé girl..” you teased at Oliver, who to your disappointment was far from smiling. Seconds later a familiar voice sounded just behind you and you understood why. “I thought I remembered correctly, so I brought over this.” Turning, Ray stood maybe a foot away with a glass of pink wine just for you. He beamed his bright smile down at you as you glanced between the two men, Oliver’s hands tightly folded in front of him and his lips in an equally tight line. “Th-Thank you, thats..” you cleared your throat taking the drink that now matched your face hesitantly, gauging the way Oliver reacted to it. Ray only grinned wider, never once letting his eyes wander to Oliver.

Taking a rather large sip you looked back to your date of the night. “Uhm, Oliver I don’t know if you’ve met—“ He stuck his hand out in front of him, lips still tight together before he spoke. “Ray, right? Ray Plumber?” With a huffed laugh in response, Ray clapped his hand rather firmly to Oliver’s, before wincing at how strong the other man’s grip was. “Palmer, actually.” For a moment the two men just eyed each other. Before things got too heated you placed hands on both of their arms, forcing as sweet of a smile as you could. “As nice as this is, we should get back to the party..” Gesturing to Oliver to release his gaze he looked down at you and smiled brightly, letting his arm leave Ray’s grip and snake tightly around your waist, making sure to let his hand fall a bit too low on your hip to the side of you facing Ray. The raven haired male nodded and gave a half-assed wave to Oliver, eyes falling back to you. “Be sure to call me later, so we can set up that rain check.” He winked at you before turning and walking off, without acknowledging Oliver any further.

Looking to Oliver you caught him glaring daggers at Ray. You placed a gentle hand on his chest to acquire his attention. When he looked at you, your expression was already accusing. “You knew he’d be here didn’t you?” The question was left unanswered as Oliver dragged you out of the building. “Oliver—“ He stopped you on the top of the outdoor stairs, the paparazzi immediately zoning in on the two of you when they saw Oliver. With his lips beginning to curl into a smirk he grabbed you and kissed you, passionately and lustfully. The cameras snapped wildly around you, and seconds later you pulled back and ran for the car. Oliver was close behind after warding off the relentless photographers. Once in the car you slid far from him, arms crossed so your body language spoke for you. Oliver broke the silence by turning to you with a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry.” He started, and your eyes moved to him but you didn’t turn. “Did I know he’d be there? No.” You turned now, only to give him a look of disapproval. He sighed again, this time in defeat. “Okay, okay, yes.. I had a small suspicion he’d attend.”

You rolled your eyes and turned away from him again, but he placed a hand on your shoulder and regained your attention. “I just wanted to show you off.” Reluctantly your expression softened. Something about the way he looked at you had a way of doing that. Lips still pursed, you narrowed your eyes at him again. “You can do that without making me look like a tramp.” He noticed the hint of hurt behind your eyes and looked directly into them when he spoke up. “You, are far from a tramp.” Bringing one of your hands to his lips he kissed your knuckles gently. “Clearly you’re the lady, and I’m the tramp. And an idiot.” Slowly his lips tilted into a smile and you couldn’t resist the matching one that graced your lips. “You’re so lucky you’re a hot idiot.” You said as you squished his face in your hand, bringing him close to leave a soft kiss to his lips. A couple more kisses and miles later the SUV lulled to a stop outside your building.

Oliver happily walked you up to your door, but you stopped him with a hand to his chest when he tried to follow you in. He pouted slightly, trying to convince you by snaking his arms around your waist, but you resisted shaking your head. “No no no, nuh-uh, you don’t get to be rewarded for the stunt you pulled tonight.” By the time the last words left your lips his were ghosting them. He whined, capturing your lips in a slow kiss. His tongue curled around yours, and for a split second you’d forgotten he was in trouble. Reluctantly you broke away, pushing a few inches back from him with a pointed but playful look. “Goodnight, Oliver.” You smiled softly up at him and he sighed in defeat, nodding as he placed a gentle kiss to your forehead. “Sweet dreams, my lady.” His grin melted your heart like butter. You watched as his broad shoulders entered the elevator and waved to him as the doors closed.

Miraculously you managed to wake up in time for work the next morning. Brushing your teeth you heard your phone buzzing in your bedroom before it clattered to the floor. Rinsing your mouth out before checking it, your heart swelled seeing four missed calls from Ray. Dialing his number he immediately picked up. “Aha! There you are. You’re still home right?” A small laugh left your lips at his forwardness. “Good morning to you too. Yes, but I’m about to leave for work.” You could hear the smile in his tone. “Well lucky for you, you have a ride today. Come on down.” Before you could respond he hung up, leaving you filled to the brim with curiosity. Finishing up your makeup you hurried out the door, mind racing with what he could’ve meant. The moment you stepped outside your mouth gaped open. A few feet away at the curb stood Ray, hands in his shorts pockets leaning against a ridiculously shiny and expensive looking sports car. “I figured bring the cheap one.” He shrugged, the smile on his face forcing a giggle from your lips as you walked to him. The tall brunette slipped an arm around your shoulders, the other hand tilting your chin so he could easily place a gentle and sweet kiss to your lips. The lingering feeling had the butterflies in your stomach fluttering wildly. Once he’d pulled back you took a deep breath before opening your eyes, his cologne filled your senses and intoxicated you, or that might’ve just been the look he gave.

“Hop in, gorgeous.” Ray lowered his hand to your back and clicked a button on his key fob, letting the suicide doors of the vehicle float up effortlessly. He watched your expression as your brows lifted, and he chuckled a bit. “It doesn’t bite I promise.” He prompted as he helped you get settled into your seat. He climbed into the driver’s side and let the doors close on either sides of you. The interior of the car was immaculate. Black leather seating with red stitching, shiny black detailing across the dash. You’d never even touched anything this nice let alone rode in one. Ray caught your gaze and smiled fondly at you, before putting his eyes back on the road. He started the car with a roar of the engine, the sound sending a bit of a rush of adrenaline through you. Pulling onto the road the male sped off, but in the opposite direction of your offices. Throwing a look in his direction he spoke before you even asked any questions. “So, I may or may not have pulled a few strings..” he glanced at you with a playful smile tugging his lips. “And.. we’ll just say, you’re out sick today. Nasty head cold.” After he spoke he winked at you, the same way he’d done at the gala the night before that made your stomach do flips. “Ray Palmer I never pegged you as the kid that skips.” You arched a brow at him and he beamed. “You aren’t skipping.. you’ve got a doctors note.” Punctuating the last sentence with his foot pressing on the gas the engine roared again, shooting the two of you down the road and out of Star City.

Around you the industrial landscape slowly turned to trees and forrest, the road winding and curving and the air around you crisper the further Ray drove. Once away from the city he rolled the windows down a bit letting the wind rustle your hair. You giggled, looking towards him skeptically. “So, where are you kidnapping me to today?” The question made the man laugh, motioning with a head nod to the view in front of you. “I was thinking somewhere out there.” You turned, seeing the gorgeous lakefront come into your view. Ray grinned fondly at the way your eyes lit up and rounded a few more curves in the road before pulling off at a nearby pier. “I had a feeling you wouldn’t have packed swimming gear.” Pausing he reached to the small backseat and pulled out an incredibly small white bag. “So I took the liberty of picking out a suit for you. Don’t worry I got your sizes.” He beamed proudly handing it over to you. Peeking inside you saw a royal blue bikini, the top and bottoms both being held together by ties on the sides. “Do you like it? I know you love blue..” His words came out soft and you noticed a bit of a blush on his cheeks and you returned his smile quickly. “I love it, thank you Ray.” Closing the gap between you, you pecked a kiss to his lips, but he held you there for a moment longer. His warm hand cupped your face and neck as he took in every second of the kiss that he could.

Ray audibly groaned pulling away, his hand still resting in the crook of your neck. “C’mon, you can change inside.” The twinkle behind his eyes shot through you and almost made you miss his words. The doors to the car floated open and you stepped out, eyeing him questioningly. “Inside?” With a bit a head tilt you repeated him. Simply taking your hand he lead you down the shore of the lake to end of the dock. Coming into view was a crisp white houseboat, a man with a captain’s hat standing waiting near where the vessel was tied off. Ray glanced to you with a side smile. “Inside.” He points, causing you to laugh softly and his smile to spread fully across his face at the sound. Leading you to the boat, you give a courteous wave to the captain and Ray claps a hand to his shoulder with a nod. He brings you down to the bedroom below the main deck, hand motioning for you to change in the bathroom. “I’ll be out here.” He smiles and takes a seat on the edge of the mattress, bouncing a bit as you close the door behind you.

Thankfully this you can get on yourself, the stretchy fabric forming to your hips nicely and the top accentuating your chest. You were almost positive that’s why he’d picked it; the color was just a bonus. Stepping back to the room Ray brought his eyes to you and huffed out a sigh as he trailed his gaze around your body. “Wow.. you look better than I expected. And lemme tell you I expected you to look absolutely stunning like always, so this is just..” he stood and lightly placed his hands on your exposed waist. “Wow.” He repeated, this time much softer and while leaning down to follow it with a kiss. Pulling you to him, your skin felt hot against the fabric of his shirt. It was so easy for you to melt into his arms, the way he cradled you made you feel like the most delicate of flowers. Inching up on your tiptoes you nuzzled closer still, deepening the kiss with the added closeness. Ray hummed happily against your lips and fully wrapped his arms behind you. While his tongue played tag with yours his hand dipped to give your ass a small squeeze, causing you to squeal and abruptly break the kiss, Ray’s eyebrows shooting up but a silly and wide smile on his face. “I couldn’t help myself, I’m sorry..” he leaned back down to peck your lips before squeezing again. “But not for that one.”

Delivering the last line he grabbed your hand and you followed him back up to the main deck, to see that in the time you’d been below the captain had released the boat from it’s tether and was gearing up the engine to start taking it out on the lake. Ray brought you to the edge of the deck, leaning over to stare into the water beside you. “You ever jet ski?” He blurted as his eyes found their way back to your smiling face. Shaking your head you eyed him carefully. “No, but something tells me you’re gonna change that.” The words brought a playful smile to the man’s face and he shrugged. “If we get around to it, maybe.” His look softened and he turned fully to you now, leaning on his elbow against the rail. “Right now I kinda just wanna look at you.” He grinned, eyes darting back to your body and the bikini he’d chosen. “Knew that’d be a great choice..” he mumbled, and you wondered if it was mostly to himself, but that made it all the more adorable. A small huff of a laugh left you and you ran a hand through your hair, bringing his warm eyes back to meet yours again.

Seconds passed as he simply stared down at you. There was a glint to his eyes that you couldn’t quite place, but it made your stomach flip with anticipation as to his next move. Suddenly he took your hand and nodded the direction he pulled you, without a word. Hurriedly he brought you to the hill of the ship, the deck lowering to a seating area, which included a slide to the left of the vessel. Ray glanced at it, the look in his eye finally finding its source. You giggled again, tugging at his shirt. “If you wanna get me on that slide, I gotta see some more skin.” You teased, but were fully serious despite your wink. Ray grinned, immediately opting to pull the blue button up over his head rather than take the time to undo them all. He flexed a bit, waggling his eyebrows at you. “Better?” Your eyes roamed his upper body, the chiseled muscles stirring your thoughts to a less than innocent place. Nodding you stepped forward to place a hand in his chest, tilting your head up at him and batting your lashes sweetly. “Much, much better.” As you spoke you trailed your hand over the defined muscles of his torso, finally leaning in to place a gentle but tantalizing kiss to his jawline. An audible and deep sigh escaped his lips and you felt your lips curl at the edges.

One major thing that separated both the men in your life were their demeanors. Oliver had always been so powerful over you, in ways you didn’t even understand but had come to know were absolutely earth shattering. As for Ray, he was so easily had it was like a game to you how flustered and riled up you could get him before he finally breaks and gives in to the urges he has for you. And when he finally did, god did he know what he was doing. This exactly was your problem; two amazing men, but for such different reasons and such different effects on your heart and your senses. It was impossible to have just one.

[theflowercode]

Hey, sorry for interrupting you. First of all I really like your blog, it's really awesome. Thanks for running it and keep going ❤️ Second I have a questions. You seem to read quite a lot and probably know some good books/books you have to read in your life? I am currently rereading the Harry Potter series (for the 10 thousand time), but after that I have no idea what to read. I used to read quite a lot and it's a habit I want to pick up again. Thanks for your time and help❤️

hi! i definitely don’t mind helping with that, haha. i put a list of 6 books down here that might be interesting to check out! underneath those, i’ll also put a list of names of book series and trilogies that i loved and you should definitely get into if you have the time!

the historian by elizabeth kostova : i definitely consider this one a must-read. i read it in high school, after a teacher borrowed it to me (she noticed i liked to read a lot, and was a pretty fun person). It’s a history / fiction type of novel and has some romance and thriller portions.

mort by terry pratchett* : this is pretty fun one. death plays a big role in it, but it becomes a source of laughter and light-hearted humour. pratchett is good at writing vivid and imaginative worlds, there are a lot of fantasy elements in this one (wizards, princesses, etc) and the fact that there’s so much absurdity and their universe works entirely differently from our own, keeps it refreshing. 

quick summarization: a boy named mort needs an apprenticeship and the most unlikely person (?) offers it to him. he becomes the apprentice to death, which seems fine enough at the start: free board and lodging, death isn’t mandatory- but as always, things are more complicated than they seem. mort falls in love, and problems ensue. 

the lies of locke lamora : this is the first of the gentleman bastard books, and it’s definitely a good start! the story is non-linear and there’s a lot of profanity and dark madcap humor in it. it’s bursting with detail and there’s a lot of interesting complex character development. seriously, this book is very fun. the author puts a lot of obstacles in the characters’ path and the main character will never bore you.

quick summarization: about locke lamora, he’s cunning, a thief, and he steals from the rich to give to himself. it traces back to the past in the first part and begins with how he came to be a thief; and then, quickly shoots over to the present day. locke and his merry band of thieves and con-artists are in the middle of their latest con of the nobility of the land of camorr.  

stardust by neil gaiman : gaiman is another author who is wonderful at writing absurdities. also a master storyteller. this tale is an adventurous one! the summary reads like a children’s tale, but it’s definitely not. there’s some violence and gore, and it isn’t a light, fluffy fantasy read. 

quick summarization: takes place in a tiny town aptly named “wall” where everything is leasurely and peaceful. it kicks off with tristran thorn attempting to win the hand of his love by crossing the wall into the land of faerie. he vows to retrieve a fallen star for her, but the world beyond the way is much more dangerous than he could have imagined it to be. 

mythos by stephen fry : i just finished reading this one! it’s basically a collection of the myths of ancient greece- there isn’t a lot of time for depth, but the book has amazing stories and they all contain humor and charm. he’s a natural story-teller apparently!

uprooted by naomi novik : rooted in folklore / mythology of eastern europe. it’s, again, one of those stories with a lot of classical fantasy elements- sorcery and monsters, and wizards and the like. it has strong characters and it’s a nice spin on what sounds like a fairytale plot. there’s some dark elements in there which i very much appreciated!

quick summarization: young agnieska lives in a place where nothing much happens- sadly for her, it’s located near an evil wood where very much happens.(villagers are driven mad, monsters destroy neighboring villages, and trespassers are occasionally swallowed.) there’s a wizard who protects this valley- he takes one girl every ten years from the valley to serve him. after these girls are released, they are never the same again.

book series!

the old kingdomy by garth nix [fantasy, young adult, 5 books]

gormenghast by mervyne peake [gothic fantasy, 3 books]

the first law by joe abercrombie [grimdark fantasy, 3 books]

earthsea by ursula k. le guin [high fantasy, 6 books]

the sword of truth by terry goodkind [epic fantasy, 21 books]

mistborn by brandon sanderson [epic fantasy, 7 books]