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austennerdita2533 · 3 years

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Hey! Hope all is well!! First of all, thank you for all the links to save money on books. I checked them out and plan to use some with buying books!! And don’t worry I have other self-restraint issues-mine come more from the fact that I get bored easily so I have about 4-5 books going at the same time. That way I can switch up genres when I need it (for instance I always have a fantasy, a romance, and a dark romance all available to me at the same time because those are my favorites) but sometimes more than one of the genres too. I also am terrible at following a tbr for instance I have been wanting to read Ugly Love for months now but then as I get closer to finishing a book a different book grabs my attention and must be read asap. But to prevent money spending I just browse through kindle and download a free sample of books I want to try instead of buying them right away. Plus I have a rule with myself that I have to read the first 10% of the book that the free sample gives me before I buy anything because at that point I can tell if I like the writing style, the potential story, etc. Just because I don’t want to buy a book and not finish it so I don’t want to waste my money and time. It has worked well so far! I mean there really has only been one book (well series) that I did not buy because I could not even get through a chapter (unfortunately that was the from blood and ash series which I know is a big hit but personally the writing style just was not for me)but it still saved me money!!

I heard about the Book of Night by Holly Black I am really looking forward to it!! I have other friends who adore Jurdan so we are all pumped to see her take on an adult romance and the summary sounded really cool!!

I will have to check out Anxious People for sure!!

But anyway I finally finished The Atlas Six!! Honestly I would have finished it sooner but I got into a romance mood so I went and read both Birthday Girl, Punk 57, and Credence by Penelope Douglas. Definitely recommend Birthday Girl if you like age gap relationships-it is a big one though so if those are not for you I do not recommend it. Punk 57 was okay, I was expecting a little more out of it than I got and I only read it since they were pen pals and I love letter writing but there was not a whole lot of that. And Credence well Credence is what it is LOL it is SUPER taboo and not for everyone and I feel slightly ashamed to say I enjoyed it, but I do not know you well enough on a personal basis to say read it or not read it because well it is wild and it is really a book that I think you love or you epically hate and think people are insane for liking. So look up at your own risk.

But did you end up finishing atlas six?? I do not want to talk about it unless you finished it!! What were your thoughts on the characters/plot/ships?? I am super excited about the future of it!! Olivie confirmed it will be a trilogy recently. I think the next book comes out next year. I also want to start some of her other books like Alone With You in the Ether. I just really enjoyed her writing style and the way she develops characters.

Can’t wait to talk about it with you once you get through it!!

-ACOTAR anon

Hello, hello! I'm embarrassed it's taken me so long to get back to you, I apologize! I haven't had access to WiFi the last week and a half so I haven't been on here much. I went away with two of my closest girlfriends and we were busy laughing, chatting, and goofing the time away--pretty standard with us, tbh. We're a bunch of Chatty Kathy's whenever we're around each other. 😄

But yayyy! I'm so happy you might be able to use some of those money saving book sites. They've been a godsend for me, truly. I mean, I still spend double what I ought on books but at least I can rationalize it because I know I'm saving some money lol. That's smart of you to have established that rule where you read 10% of the sample first before you buy the book. I might have to try that. I hate when I buy a book only to find myself disappointed because I don't enjoy the writing style or the story. I do usually read excerpts, but they're not always long enough for me to tell if I might like something or not.

I'm sorry you didn't care for the From Blood and Ash series. That seems to be hit or miss for a lot people. I believe I have the first two books on my Kindle (which I scored cheaply from Kindle Daily Deals lol) so I will get into it at some point. I'm curious which way I will land.

I don't know how people only read one book at a time. (No hate, just amazed lol.) Like you, I usually have at least 2, sometimes 3 or 4, books in rotation because I want to slip into different genres depending on my mood. And also depending on the time of day. Sometimes I prefer to read fantasies or thrillers during the day because they're exciting. I don't want to stop reading. Now, romances and non-fiction I will read at night, before bed. They're good genres to lull me to sleep with their facts and/or fluffiness.

I'm gonna have to check out Penelope Douglas. I'm not that familiar with her writing, but I'm always looking for new romance authors. You seemed so shy/embarrassed about liking Credence that I HAD to go and look up the summary lolol. You can't say "taboo" and then have me not investigate. My interest is piqued! The polyamory angle sounds fun. I've only read it in fic for the most part so this one's going on the tbr. As is Birthday Girl with the age gap. They both sound deliciously promising!

Something to know about me when it comes to books, to reading: I'm a daredevil. There's literally nothing I won't try at least once. There are times I balk AT MYSELF for the things I pick up knowingly, willingly, but I never regret it. Not even when I read something disturbing enough to give me nightmares. Which has definitely happened. 😂

And yes, I have finished The Atlas Six. I tore through that book so fast! I kept sneaking reading it when I was supposed to be doing other things. I loved that it was a character-driven fantasy because those are my favorite. And the magical system is so cool! It's such a creative blend of science and magic--like, the way she embedded particle physics and the multiverse into everything set my nerd flag flying like you wouldn't believe haha. The characters all have that morally gray Six of Crows vibe to them, too. They're enigmatic. Hard to pin down. They're all thrown together out of necessity not because they like each other, and it was fun to see how attachments did or did not form. I liked Callum the least. However, he's also one of the characters who intrigues me the most because I have no idea wtf he wants. There's no way to parse what his endgame is right now besides self-preservation. Nico is a conceited wise ass, so naturally I love him. Parisa and Reina both terrify me for different reasons. Parisa screams I AM A SIREN so I don't want to tread too close to her. Reina, I think, is going to just, like, detonate the whole planet at some point. She has so much untapped power. Tristan grew on me the most. I didn't care for him much in the beginning because he was an asshole, but then little by little, his layers start to peel back and you see how much he cares. How much he feels. Libby I related to a lot because I've spent most of my life feeling like an outcast like her. And the fact that she's constantly battling inadequacy--oof! That hit me.

As far as ships go, sheesh, I gotta say I'm conflicted! I feel like there are so many different directions the author could go??? It's rare for me not to know where the romance is headed, even this early on in the series, but I really don't.

Parisa and Dalton seem to be the most obvious ship right now. Even so, there's something dark, something dangerous and unknown lurking there so I don't know if that'll work out. Nico and Libby have the enemies-to-lovers type banter and dynamic that I love to gobble up. They're a lot of fun. I enjoy their scenes a lot. It's interesting that they're bound/connected in their powers, too. I can't wait to learn more about that. I'd be totally fine if they went romantic...but then I'm also picking up a vibe between him and his roommate. So I don't know what to think? I could get behind Libby and Tristan as well. Their unresolved tension leaps - literally LEAPS - off the page and I like how their dynamic progressed from dislike (on his end) to respect to something more...well, undefinable as of yet. There's palpable sexual/emotional energy between them, though, for sure. Callum seems to genuinely care about Tristan but he's been so damn manipulative! He'd have to jump through some hoops for me to get on board.

As you can see I babble a LOT when I get excited haha.

Anyway, what about you? Do you have any favorite characters or ships so far? That twist at the end was pretty good, don't you think? It blew the whole story wide open. I'm so looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts! xx

#anonyous #darling acotar anon #replies #the loveliest of lovely people #ashlee bree talks books

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a-duck-with-a-book · 3 years

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REVIEW // Seven Blades in Black (The Grave of Empires #1) by Sam Sykes

★☆☆☆☆

Disclaimer: while I was reading this book, I found out that Sam Sykes has been accused by numerous women of sexual harassment. You can find more information about it below: - a post listing several accusations of misconduct - twitter post responding to the situation - one of the accusations against Sam Sykes - his quickly-deleted apology Suffice to say, I have no intention of continuing this series or reading any more of his books.

I have a lot to say about this novel, so I’ll begin by making a quick bullet point list outlining what I liked and disliked:

Liked:

Cavric <3

Lisette deserved better

Some interesting concepts in the world building

Disliked:

Sal as a narrator

Sal as an antihero

Sal as a person in general

Writing style

Constant interruptions

Meandering narrative

The “narrator knows something but the writer avoids revealing it until the end for the drama” trope

This is a Big Tough World and Nobody Gets To Be Happy

Lesbians written by a man who harasses women

Unnecessarily long

// image: official cover art Jeremy Wilson //

Let’s begin with the full review by starting with the (few) positives, shall we?

First and foremost, I genuinely enjoyed Cavric and Lisette. It is unfortunate that they had to deal with Sal for the entirety of the novel, but we’ll get to her later. If this book had been a buddy adventure with these two, in which Cavric slowly shows Lisette that she is in a toxic relationships and deserves to move on and find someone better for herself, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. Secondly (and finally), Sykes introduced some genuinely interesting world building. The background of the Empire and the Scar was fascinating to read, but unfortunately did not save the rest of this mess.

Alright now let’s rant.

I have 35 notes and 52 highlights from this book, so this might get block quote heavy. (Go check out my notes if you want to see me slowly lose my sanity)

Sal is awful. I know she’s meant to be awful, but she’s not flawed in the way that I think Sykes was trying to write her. I believe she was intended to be a scruffy, lovable antihero who fought her way through a dangerous landscape with her sharp blade and even sharper tongue. A girl who had wrongs committed against her in the past, who did terrible things but is now on the road to an epic redemption arc. She shoots bad guys, she says f*ck and a*s a lot, and she is morally complex. That’s the character that Sykes was trying to make. The one he created, however, is a genuinely terrible person who I had no desire to see come out on top. I have a myriad of issues with her, but let’s outline a couple below: (1) She is incredibly toxic for Lisette. Am I getting a bit too heated about a fictional relationship? Sure. Was I happy to read a toxic lesbian romance written by a man who sexually harasses women? Nope. It kind of grossed me out, actually. Anyway, let me give you a run down of their relationship. Sal arrives. Sal and Lisette sleep together. Sal asks Lisette to give her weapons and or fix things for her. Sal sneaks away, telling herself no good will come of this relationship and they will only cause each other pain. Sal needs something. Sal comes back. Repeat over and over. She constantly says, throughout the book, that it would be better if they just left each other, but then again Sal is the one who goes back to Lisette over and over, causing her renewed heartbreak. I don’t know if Sykes thought that simply making Sal aware of how terrible this behavior was was enough, but it just made me incredibly frustrated. At one point Sal says:

”Intellect like hers is a curse. The more you understand of the world, the less of it you trust.”

Yes, Sal, that’s what’s giving her trust issues. Her intelligence. Nice. By the end of the book, it seems that they are on the mend-I’m getting end-game vibes from these two. But honestly, I spent the entire time thinking that Lisette deserved so much better than Sal. Like literally a chicken would have provided healthier companionship. I’ll end with this quote, in which Lisette outlines perfectly why Sal does not deserve her:

“What am I doing wrong that you’d choose this over me?”

(2) Sal is annoying. Really, really annoying. I kid you not, half of this book is made up of Sal’s snarky comments. She is badass. She has a gun. She is an outlaw. And she will never, EVER shut up about it. Imagine a quirky line after an otherwise dark or action-packed sequence. Funny, right? Might break the tension, make the narrator more endearing, etc. Now imagine one such line after every. Single. Paragraph. Picture a violent battle scene where the protagonist is fighting for their lives against a ruthless opponent. Now insert a snarky comment after every other paragraph and watch the entire flow of the scene fall apart with constant interruptions. That’s what this book is-which brings me to my next point.

The writing isn’t great. There are constant interruptions, meandering narratives, and the trope that haunts me in nearly every dark fantasy novel I read-This is a Big Tough World and Nobody Gets To Be Happy-is shoved repeatedly in your face. Let’s start with the interruptions, returning to my previous point (ie. Sal never shuts up), by looking at this sequence:

I followed the shrieking wind. I had come here prepared for something bad. But I wasn’t prepared for just how bad it was. I rounded the corner of the hall, came out atop a battlement. The wind struck me with a screaming gale, forcing me to shield my face and cling to the stone for purchase. My eyes squinted against the harshness of the light, the kind of offensive pale you only see in your nightmares. And through them, I could see the bowed shapes of towers sagging, the flayed flesh of banners whipping in a wind that wouldn’t cease, the shadows of figures frozen in a death that had brought no peace. And I knew where I was. There was nothing that had ever made Fort Dogsjaw special. It had never been crucial for defense, never a hub for trade, it hadn’t even been named for anything special—the commander just liked the sound of it. It lived its whole life a regular, boring Imperial fort on the edge of the Husks. It only got important at the time of its death. Over three hundred mages and a few thousand regulars had assembled here in one day—some to receive assignments, some to man the garrison, some to head back to Cathama on leave. They had been laughing, cursing, drinking when the news came that the new Emperor of Cathama was a nul, born with no magic. And then there had been a moment of silence.

I’ve bolded for emphasis, but do you see what I’m talking about? The paragraph-line-paragraph-line format is so annoying to read, I had to put the book down at certain points because of how frustrated I got. It interrupted the forward movement of the story, making the novel drag on and on.

You know what else makes this feel like the nightmare version of the Never-ending Story? The page count. I don’t mind long books-The Priory of the Orange Tree is one of my favorite reads so far this year, and it’s longer than this one-but they have to have a reason for being so hefty. As I mentioned earlier, a considerable chunk of Seven Blades of Black is Sal making her awful, awful, AWFUL asides. I literally cannot express how much I despise those comments. Okay, let’s move on before I get hung up on THOSE STUPID COM-*cough*

This novel is marred by unnecessary lines and a meandering plot that drag out the story. One instance is the amount of times that Sal is a second away from killing someone and, for some reason (usually not a good one), fails in her goal. She places a gun at someone’s head and goes through a whole monologue in her head until the person miraculously escapes. This type of subversion of expectations is fine every once in a while, but if you are going to build up to a crucial moment and then take away the satisfaction of the defeat of some villain (or mini-boss, as many of the antagonists in this book feel like), then you need to have a good reason for doing it upwards of twenty times in ONE BOOK. Secondly, if you spend almost the entire novel setting up more and more villains and stressing how hard they are to kill and how dangerous their powers are (and presenting them separately and isolated), then when you have them all in one place at the end, at which point the protagonists starts going through them like a plate of french fries at a seagull convention, then you’re kind of taking away the satisfaction of the death. Somehow, this book manages to do both. We are constantly teased with almost-kills, then at the end Sal just blows through everyone in five seconds, easy-peasy.

I’m almost done, I swear-just two more gripes.

So much of the tension of this book rests on the fact that Sal, our narrator and our main viewpoint into the story, knows something that we don’t. I’ll be upfront with you-I hate this trope. If our POV character, the one whose mind we are in constantly, is entirely aware of something that happened before the beginning of the novel, and the author keeps from revealing that something for the entirety of the story solely to add drama, then I will not be a happy reader. Where is the logic. We are in this person’s mind. Just show us already and add tension ELSEWHERE.

And FINALLY (as painful as it was for you to read this, it was worse for me to write it), another issue I have with a lot of dark fantasy (see my review of Nevernight) is that the author really, really wants us to know that this is an incredibly dangerous and dark world by filling it to the brim with edge lord narrators, Big Guns, and, usually, women being harrased-because why not force all your female readers to constantly have to read about women getting assaulted? Apart from Sal’s 300,000 comments explaining to us that she is an asshole, that the Scar is Dangerous, and that she has Killed A Lot of People, we as readers must sit through hundreds of lines of dialogue and exposition that beat us over the head with the fact that this is DARK fantasy. This isn’t your nice little fairy adventure-no sir. Here we have Swear Words and Violence and Men writing Queer Women. To emphasize just how blatant Sykes is with the dark part of dark fantasy, let me tell you about an exchange Sal has with three old ladies who run a criminal empire. In the 2-3 pages that these women appear in, we are told, in some form or other, that they are grandmas who kill people, a grand total of, I kid you not, ELEVEN TIMES. Here are some excerpts from that whole situation:

”“Now, now.” Yoc, old and white haired and sweet as a grandmother—if that grandmother also had people killed on the regular—smiled at me. “I’m sure she has a good reason for being here.” She raised the hand that had signed the contracts that had killed a thousand men and women and took up her whiskey glass. “After all, I’m sure she knows how much we don’t like having our game interrupted.”” *I counted this as one since it’s in the same exchange but technically he mentions it TWICE

”…one didn’t waste the Three’s time if one didn’t want to end up with their teeth pried out.”

”How often do you meet the three old ladies who have people killed for money?”

”I said we should kill her on principle.”

”“But you know how many orphans I’ve made, don’t you, dear?””

”“He’s not so unlike us, is he? A murderer, yes. A monster to some. But, at his heart, a businessman.”

”Theirs were the hands that signed a thousand death contracts a year.”

”When they could be bothered to look up from their game, they decided who lived and died with a stroke of their pen.”

”At a word, they could have me stripped, tied, tortured, and cut up…”

”the Three don’t lie. Their assassins do. Their thieves do. But they don’t.”

”I had already wasted their time and I knew the Three were being generous just letting me fuck off instead of having me killed for the effort.”

TL;DR - Sal is annoying, Sykes is a bad writer, and Someone should have stopped me from reading this book

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trensu · 5 years

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Episode 4: or the One with that Many Minutes of Wangxian Screen Time

Not too many long wangxian scenes, my friends, but let’s hit the highlights

MOMENT 1: wwx catches lwj’s eye during class and gives him a cute little grin paired with an equally cute little wave and duck of the head.

But LWJ IS NOT CHARMED! Not our precious ice prince. No, this guy gives him a cold, immediate shutdown because LWJ is a Disaster Gay™ at this point in his life. Also bc the only reason he noticed wwx here was because wwx was whispering with nhs

He’s very annoyed. Because wwx is being rude in class. Not for any other reason.

Boring lecture happens, boring plot stuff happens, blah blah, wen chao exists suddenly and we all hate him blah blah

Okay, one non-wangxian note here because i just noticed this: LWJ WAS READY TO THROW DOWN WITH WEN CHAO. LIKE, HOW DARE YOU INSULT OUR LECTURES??

THAT'S WHAT GETS YOU RILED UP, LWJ?? REALLY?? INSULTING YOUR STUDY MATERIAL???

LWJ IS SUCH A NERD LOLOLOL

Okay, Moment 2: outside of class, wwx says hi to lwj loudly and with biggest most sunshiney grin to have ever existed, waving his arm all big and exaggerated to catch lwj’s attention because lwj is walking purposefully to somewhere, who knows/cares where

HE’S SO ENTHUSIASTICALLY SAYING HI TO LWJ?? LIKE SO EXCITED!! LIKE SOMETHING THAT’S NOT A PUPPY BC DOGS, AS WE KNOW, ARE HORRIBLE (according to wwx; i have no strong opinions on dogs. I’m a cat person)

I cannot emphasize enough how adorable wwx is here.

LWJ just Nopes right out of that greeting, tho

He was hit full force, point blank with that sunshine smile and storms off at a different direction than what he was originally walking towards (which happens to be opposite of where wwx is)

And he’s so angry about it too? Like, his expression doesn’t change but it definitely radiates annoyance

“I HATE THIS STUPID AWFUL PRETTY BOY WHO STOOD UP TO WEN CHAO, THE GUY I WAS GONNA SUCKER PUNCH FOR INSULTING MY FAMILY’S ANCIENT FANTASY CHINA SUMMER SCHOOL.”

“GOD WHAT A NUISANCE HE IS. IT’S DEFINITELY HATE THAT I’M FEELING. LOATHING, EVEN.” *insert Wicked the Musical reference here*

This all happens in like, the span of a minute, btw. That’s the entire length of the wangxian moment here. We’re getting table scraps and it hurts

Lol, WWX immediately decides that LWJ must have bad hearing bc who on earth would ignore him, the ever so charming and handsome wwx?

Also, can i just say that the blue sash wwx has to wear for their school uniform IS UNSeEMLy?

YOU CAN’T JUST DRAW MY ATTENTION TO WWX’S ITTY BITTY WAIST LIKE THAT

MY NERVES CAN'T TAKE IT.

I’M NOT AS REPRESSED AS LWJ. I CAN’T JUST IGNORE IT.

mOVIng ON

Moment 3: TURTLE TIME. WWX, that rapscallion, pins a hand-drawn cartoon turtle on lqr’s back. Which ofc mortally offends LWJ, who shoots him a glare that can level armies as he snatches the drawing and disintegrates it with the weight of his Disapproval

Almost immediately after this, we get...

Moment 4: OUR FIRST PAPERMAN (okay that's a lie bc we saw a type of a paperman in ep2 but this one is the first one in his chronological life time and DEFINITELY the first wangxian paperman)

Cute little red paperman that wwx sends to CLIMB ALL OVER LWJ

Like, NOTICE ME LWJ LOOK AT ME LWJ LWJ LWJ LOOK I’M HERE

Little Red Paperman makes it to LWJ’s shoulder before LWJ heartlessly grabs it and crumples it into a little ball of Repressed Gay Rage

Okay, so Moment 5 is actually a series of stolen glances .

Lqr calls on WWX to answer some questions in that way teachers do when they think you’re slacking off and not paying attention.

LWJ starts sneaking looks at the first correct answer WWX gives, like “oh, he’s clever??”

WWX ofc is preening at each question he gets right

LWJ sneaks another glance, Grudgingly Impressed.

LQR then calls on LWJ to answer a question that stumps WWX so ofc LWJ shows off his brain for a bit too. He’s all smug about it, like so what if wwx is clever, i’m smarter and therefore superior to him

BUT THEN WWX challenges LQR with a question of his own (it’s foreshadowing, but whatever we don’t care about that rn)

And SHOCKINGLY LWJ cuts off his uncle to righteously answer WWX’s question (I’ll SHOW HIM TO ASK WEIRD QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT MAKE ME QUESTION THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS)

LWJ then sneaks ANOTHER look at WWX because HE CAN’T KEEP HIS EYES OFF HIM FOR SOME MYSTERIOUS UNKNOWN REASON

The only reason he stops sneaking glances is bc his uncle kicks wwx out of class, thus ending Moment 5

But then lqr immediately gets the ball rolling for Moment 6 by sending LWJ after WWX to make sure WWX doesn’t skip out on his punishment (writing lines, no kinky sex stuff)

Moment 6, our last wangxian moment of the episode: Sword Fight by the Waterfall.

Okay, maybe fight is too strong of a word. It’s more like LWJ startles WWX, who is in deep thought for plot-related reasons, so WWX whips out his sword to attack before he really thinks about it

LWJ blocks it (gracefully) and pulls out his sword as well. There’s a couple of sword clashes (against A GORGEOUS BACKDROP IN THE FORM OF A WATERFALL, LIKE SERIOUSLY EPIC ROMANCE LEVELS OF BEAUTY)

And the episode is over.

Like, okay, there’s Six Moments of Wangxian content but they’re all, like, barely a minute long?? Except maybe for Moment 5, but that’s because i squished together several tiny moments of stolen glances

SHOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WHY ARE YOU NEGLECTING MY EMOTIONAL NEEDS. THIS IS A HATE CRIME, I’M CALLING THE COPS

Return to Masterpost

#WangXiantics #the untamed #wangxian

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telesthisia · 4 years

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(No reblogs! Make a new post please!)

|| The Basics ||

Name: Zelda of Hyrule Nickname(s): Zel, Zellie, Elle, Ellie Age: 19 Species: Human or well Hylian

|| Personal ||

Religious Belief: The three golden goddess + Hylia but... she’s known as the forgotten goddess in her timeline since certain legends faded away from the public’s knowledge but not at all the royal family’s. Sins: Lust / Greed / Gluttony / Sloth / Pride / Envy / Wrath Virtues: Chastity / Charity / Diligence / Humility / Kindness / Patience /Justice Primary Goals In Life: To create a brighter future for her people for generations on end, leading to the eventually famed Golden Age before the Hero of Time’s downfall... though Hyrule has recovered once she’s born there are still remnants of ruin from that era as such she wants to protect her people as well as make Hyrule safer, while she doesn’t do it within her lifetime because limited lifespan her dream does still come true years later aka LOZ and LOZ 2 don’t be fooled by the plot, Hyrule was in its prime during those games! Languages Known: Hylian Secrets: Well... it’s no secret among her staff but outside the castle, she keeps her poor health (heart condition and undiagnosed rare anemia problem) and near lack of magical stamina a secret since that can put her at a pretty bad disadvantage. She has plenty of enemies, namely those who align themselves with Ganon and the resurrection of him is still possible provided the person is a powerful mage with knowledge of doing that sort of stuff in the first place. And then there’s also court drama she has to worry about but that’s for another long lengthy headcanon post I should have out... soon... ish. Also while obvious with partners and in a meta sense and if you’re super observant but her guise Elle is, in fact, her, the princess of Hyrule so... ye... Quirks: Her birthmark of the Triforce is... certainly unique. But if we’re talking mannerism rather than physical then allow me to just ramble because hoo boy! When nervous or worked up, she often tucks her stray hairs behind her ears, even when she’s not feeling those emotions she’s always fiddling around with it (in her royal wear) often flipping it out of her face or trying to make it look a little neater. She has the Pendant of Courage, a gift from Link and often clutches on it when she feels the need to summon her courage if she’s feeling not that brave, often trying to recall Link’s courage during his many adventures. When using any of her PSI powers she tends to have a nose bleed, as such, she often carries around a handkerchief and tries to cover it up before going off somewhere to stop the bleeding. When laughing, she likes to hold her smile behind her hand... and when yawning she tries to cover her mouth. SHE IS THE WORST COOK TO EVER EXIST holy crap but can make mean cookies. When flirting (more like embarrassed flirting pft) she looks away to the side and twirls her hair around her finger trying to hide her red cheeks. Her romantic out view on life stems from the fact that she was constantly surrounded by death and history and art so there’s morbid beauty in the melancholy... this girl gets excited over Friday the 13th and samhain ok like... there’s a lot to unpack with that. THERE’S MORE BUT I’VE RAMBLED FAR ENOUGH!!! Savvies: Well... she bakes pretty good cookies BUT UH!!! YEAH she’s pretty proficient with her light magic! While she can’t do the amazing things other Zeldas can do because of limitations she’s not someone you would want to mess around with. She’s learned to work around those limitations and has great control over her powers. On top of that, she somehow knows how to use a crossbow so :’) while not the light arrows (she’s too weak to wield a bow) and it was a lucky shot she at least knows enough about how it works to fire it in the first place. She reads a lot, even as a kid she’d sneak off to the library to read the history about Hyrule or read maps and well she’s pretty knowledgable about her nation as a whole! And thanks to sneaking out she knows how to sneak past the guards and knows all of the secret passages in her castle like the back of her hand! Can’t forget her amazing political insight and ability to think outside the box! She has pretty innovative ideas for her times esp when concerning the common folk, but sometimes they don’t always go through because well... nobles.

|| Physical ||

Height: 5′0″ Weight: you never ask a lady her weight! >:0 Scars/Birthmarks: Has a cat scratch scar on her right palm which is also where the triforce is located! Abilities/Powers: Light magic, as the descendant of the mortal goddess she has been blessed with the Light Force. On top of that she’s come from a line of sages and has the Triforce of Wisdom so as you expect she has so much magic. She can heal, bless your weapons, smite away darkness, sense darkness (As a matter of fact she’s pretty sensitive to it and it makes her lowkey sick if it’s too much) and then there’s her PSI abilities which includes clairvoyance and telepathy! And then... her connection to the spirit realm. Restrictions: AHAHAHA SO MUCH, she’s a glass cannon which is why she’s so, so, so easy to kidnap in the first place. She may put up a fight but not for long, as such her tactics are always to make a distraction and then escape. But she has poor stamina and just a poor heart, she can’t really overexert herself without a) causing pain and b) passing the hell out which was common in her younger days. Using magic takes up a lot of stamina as shown in ALTTP esp with the more powerful spells, you need an amazing reserve to cast all of that and sadly while she has good control she doesn’t have good reserves. SOOOOOOO to fix this she always has to take medicine of magic. Mana blockage is a thing that can happen, more often than she’d like to admit which causes pain once again and makes using magic pretty hard. Now onto her telepathy and clairvoyance. While they sound useful there are restrictions on those as well, for one with telepathy while she can contact anyone so long as she finds their signature subconscious she doesn’t have to worry about distance too much so long as they are within her range which is... maybe more than 200 meters? I need to think about the range more because there are certain places where she can reach you and cannot but there’s def a range limit. She tends to get nosebleeds and headaches from using telepathy. Her clairvoyance is where she can see bits of the future, but they are very vague and hard to decipher and there’s always a chance of the future changing or not changing. As for her connection to the spirit realm, pretty much she can see dead people... in her dreams and there’s no way of shutting this power off she’s gotta deal with the horrors that is this realm. Now seeing spirits isn’t anything new in LOZ but contact to the spirit realm is something that’s implied that only royal family members can do... as implied by Zelda’s words in BOTW where she said her mom (or grandma??) could hear the voices of the spirit realm.

|| Favorites ||

Favourite Drink: Rose tea Favourite Pizza Topping: Basil... Favourite Color: Blue! Favourite Music Genre: She pretty much likes slow and relaxing music, piano comes to mind but *kayne shrug* Favourite Book Genre: Romance aHEM as a princess she doesn’t have time to read cheesy romance novels and fantasize about the day where someone riding on a white horse will sweep her off her feet and they ride off into the sunset never having to bear the burden of her heritage and responsibilities hahaha..... but history and folklore. She likes tragic stories that have bittersweet endings. Favourite Movie Genre: Fantasy, tragic tales, suspense, romance flicks Favourite Season: Spring Favourite Butt Type:

Favourite Swear Word: "Goodness me!” Favourite Scent: Forest scent, the fields, that ancient scent you smell when visiting old places, the smell of book pages Favourite Quote: “Time has stopped for me long ago.”

|| Fun Stuff ||

Bottom or Top:

Sings In The Shower: Yes!!! Well... rose soaked bathwater because she’s spoiled stupid by her castle staff and Impa but she’ll hum a tune here and there! Likes Bad Puns: Of course! She has the playfully innocent attitude so puns is right up her alley! Morality: Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic / Good / Gray / Evil Build: Slender / Scrawny / Bony / Fit / Athletic / Herculean / Babyfat / Pudgy / Obese / Other. Favourite Food: APPLES!!! Namely baked apples and more importantly apple strudel! Her nation is famous for having delicious apples that can help cure fatigue and even rise up stamina a bit! She’s very much a follower of “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” esp if that doctor keeps giving her bitter medicines. “Boss” Theme Music : Excuse me for using a sad track... but... sAD MUSIC HONESTLY SHE’S DEPRESSION PERSONIFIED!! It reflects her hidden melancholy for like everything. I feel like if you have to fight her as a boss it’ll be more of a beautifully sad moment than something epic like that boss fight with puppet zelda which slaps honestly. Their Opinion On The Mun: “Does she thrive on my pain?”

Was tagged by: no one

Tag 15 People: wHO EVER WANTS TO DO THIS

#OK THIS TOOK LONGER THAN IT SHOULD HAVE #because i ramble so much listen i have a lot of headcanons #dash games.#about.

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tastefullynefarious · 5 years

Text

Torment never looked so goddamn fine

Chapter 1 / 10 - Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger

So... this happened... Season 3 got me feeling all kinds of ways :))

Quick sneak peak into what you’re heading into if you do decide to read this little story of mine.

1) About the 'reader’, she’s one of the kids from the MKUltra project thing, though she’s not nearly as powerful as El. I decided to give her a name instead of the whole Y/N thing, thought...well, you’ll see :)) 10 points to your house if you guess where she picked the name from, hehehe

A little disclaimer about her powers: I actually took the idea from a book i love - Vicious by V.E. Schwabb, so not my idea at all, just borrowing.

2) Wanted to make this ANGST!!! All the angst, but keeps slipping into mushy romance, so I guess it’s somewhere in between :)))

3) Writing this for fun and to give Billy more time to shine. Gone, but never forgotten!

Words: 3,037

Warnings: Really? There’s gonna be a lot, just not in this chapter I think... Also, beware of the aesthetics/moodboards! I live for them.

That being said, hope you enjoy!

Risin' up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

Windows rolled down and sunglasses on, she made a sharp turn to exit the highway after checking the map for the hundredth time. It still seemed surreal that her mission was bringing her to Indiana of all places, but she got more and more excited as she approached her destination. Six missing persons reports, one confirmed death and another supposed resurrection, the latter being the last drop that made her come all the way across country. Something shady was going down in that otherwise uneventful town and if it was what she hoped, she would finally put an end to sleepless nights and anxiety ridden days. No more looking over her shoulder wherever she went and perhaps, one day, she'd finally be able to settle down somewhere, have an actual life.

She passed the town sign in a blur. Hawkins, Indiana, Population 30.000 - the last chapter of her epic quest, if fate was on her side, which it usually wasn't. Still, she was hopeful. She deserved a break and most of all, closure. She parked her Chevy in front of the motel just outside town and checked in for the whole week. Now that she was older it was easier to travel, less questions raised. The ID she had was entirely fake, not that she knew the truth to begin with. There were perhaps a few years added to her age if her calculation were remotely correct, but not too much that she'd get comments about it and just enough to go place freely. A smile always plastered on her face and replies like 'visiting family' and 'don't want to impose on them' always gave her a free pass. Motel 6 was no different and before she knew it, she was in her room - lucky number 13 - ready to set her base of operation.

She placed her duffel bag in the middle of the room and checked around. The room itself was nice, though nothing special. There was no option for a room with any kind of kitchenette or even a refrigerator which was a bummer. The bed was queen sized and the mattress comfy, not that she ever slept much. If she worked fast enough, that would hopefully change. The first floor offered enough privacy and opportunity to escape if needed. The bathroom also had a window large enough for her to squeeze through, but the bathtub was what caught her eye. Or the lack of one to be more precise. She was longing for a hot bubble bath, but she'd have to make due with a steaming shower instead. She thought that could be some kind of metaphor for life or something, make due with what life hands you, but didn't dwell on it too much as she went back to her bag and took out a smaller map and her notebook. It was time to get to work. The more time she wasted, the more opportunities 'papa' had to find her. Even in her own mind, the word dripped with venom.

She spent the next 20 minutes reanalyzing the map of Hawkins and reading the news reports on one Will Byers, the boy who came back to life. Her fist guess had been that the lab was taking people again for experiments, but there had been no obvious pattern in the missing people and the girl that died was in highschool, too old to take as a project on and too young to test on. Unless of course she was pregnant, which was still a possibility. The truly weird thing was the boy. Had he escaped? Was the initial 'death' a cover up, but the mother found a way to prove her son was taken? Every news outlet let the world know that the people responsible had been punished, but none mentioned Brenner. Was he still running the place? She circled the empty area on the map where the lab would be and decided she should scout the place out. As she got up from where she was laying on the bed and went to pick up her keys her stomach growled. She'd scout the place, right after she'd eat something.

The store came into view fast, the map of the town already burned in her mind. She parked the car fast and darted inside, the cool air pleasant on her heated skin. She had been wandering for a while from isle to isle, not entirely sure what she wanted to get, when she stumbled upon a girl trying to reach a box of cereal way out of her reach.

"Damn it!" She smiled at the girl, probably not older than 13 and moved towards her.

"Here, I can get that for you."

"Thank you." The girl smiled back kindly and put the box in a cart, barely managing to push it. She watched her for a moment, wincing when the small redhead almost crashed in another customer. Normally, she'd help without question, but she wanted to keep as low a profile as possible. But wasn't not helping even more suspicions? Besides, she was just a child; surely there was no harm in helping one kid.

"Hey, you alone here, kid?"

"I'm alone. Well, my shitty brother was supposed to help, but his lazy ass stayed in the car."

"I can help with the cart if you want."

"You don't have to…"

"Don't be silly, I want to." She moved to push the cart instead, letting the girl hold her basket instead.

"It's really nice of you, thanks. Name's Max, by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Max. I'm Sandy." There had a been split second when she thought not go give her name, but almost laughed at the concept: a fake name for her already make-belief one on her ID. They shook hands, the little girl smiling brightly. Sandy wondered if she was usually so open to strangers or was she really dreading to haul herself against the cart any longer. "So, do you still need to get stuff?"

"Just a few." The little girl got a piece of paper out of her back pocket and lead the way through the store. Sandy couldn't help but look at all the products in the cart. Vegetables, milk, flour, at least three types of meat, condiments, all things used to prepare some proper meals. She wondered when was the last time she ate anything besides fast food and chips. As if on cue, Max's voice brought her out of her daydreaming about a steaming plate of Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Skillet. Ah, with lots of garlic! Sandy's mouth was watering from the mere thought of it.

"Is this all you're getting?" She was brought out of her little food fantasy and eyed the items in her own basket: cheap beer and chocolate chi cookies.

"I guess." She smiled sheepishly, biting her lover lip as the little redhead watched her with a raised eyebrow. Sandy raised her shoulders in defeat and just a hint of embarrassment. "I decided I will go out to eat tonight. I think I saw a nice restaurant a little back down the road." The girl's face lit up with the genuine curiosity that came with youth.

"Oh, you're not from Hawkins either?"

"I guess I'm not. And here I was hoping you could tell me if there are any cool places around town." If anyone was going to know know anything about secret lab in the forest it was going to be the kids in town: reckless and not completely aware of the consequences. Maybe that was what happened to the Will boy.

"The Arcade is nice, but other than that I haven't explored much. Basically everything you'll need is downtown though, so you're in the place."

"Thanks, kid." They approached the register and she helped the girl bag her stuff and even carry them since there was no way she could on her own. She was lost in thought again, wondering if she should check the lab first or go eat, when Max spoke again.

"You said you're staying at a motel, right? What brought you to Hawkins if not relatives? You planning to move here"

"Nah, just passing through. I'm a bit of a wandered I suppose."

"That's so cool. You must have been in so many awesome places. And with no one to constantly pester you." Sandy smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. She always felt weird when someone complained about their parents or family in general, when she never had any of her own. But she also never could retort that being raised in a lab was worse than having your mother make you clean your room and finish your homework. Still, she tried to be nice to the kid.

"Ah, you'll see they mean well, your parents."

"It's… it's not my parents. I mean I love my mom, but my step dad and his son are awful." So she was coming from a broken home. Sandy would have given anything even for that distorted version of a family. No matter how annoying and mundane, it would have been 'normal', everything that she wasn't and probably never will be, even after she'd slayed her demon. But she wouldn't let her bitterness show. Max was just a kid, she would grow soon enough and see that family was a bound you found nowhere else. Bld was thicker than water and all that. "And now we moved all the way here. At least when we were in Cali I could still spend weekends with dad."

"I'm sorry, Max. I'm sure you'll see your father will visit when he can. And if not, you'll be old enough to go to him before you know it."

"Not sure Neil would like that very much." Sandy was about to ask if Neil was the step dad, but the girl continued almost immediately. "And then there's the devil himself." She followed her gaze to the blue Camaro and the boy standing on its hood, eyes glaring daggers at either Max or herself.

"That's your brother?"

"Yeah, it's Billy." They were still pretty far from him, but Sandy could see he was, like all devils, a handsome one. From the way his jeans wrapped tightly on his thighs and his opened button shirt, his whole attitude screamed confidence and there were few things sexier than that.

"Well hot damn."

"No, please, not you too. He's a complete tool."

"Hm, most pretty boys are, you'll see soon enough." They giggled as they approached the boy, Sandy sneaking a few looks at his car as well. A tool maybe, but he had good taste.

Billy had been bored out of his mind, despite having parked for only a few minutes. What was taking that little shithead so long to buy whatever Susan had put down on that stupid list? He knew, in the back of his mind, that there was no reason to be so angry, especially at Max, who hated their situation just as much, if not more. After all, her father was still back home and actually wanted to spend time with his kid. Somehow, that thought drove him even madder. His knuckles turned white around the steering wheel, jaw clenching so hard his teeth began to hurt but he didn't mind the pain, he hadn't for a long time. He eyed the store's door, hoping to see Max, but of course he wouldn't, she'd left just a few minutes prior. He just hated waiting, hated being alone with his thoughts in daylight where he knew he would eventually snap at someone, most of the times the little shithead herself. He hated he was so angry all the time, but that only got him angrier still. He was like a bull who fluttered the red flag in front of his own face. Hopeless and useless, he deserved the pain and he deserved being brought all the way to Nowhere, Indiana. They'd been there for only a few days and he was already going stir crazy. The people were idiots, the girls were boring and the whole place was just shit.

He got out of the car for air, closing the door with a little too much force and regretting it immediately. After the hell he went through to getting that Camaro… He let out a long sigh and pressed both hands on the hood, his head hanging in between. He had one year of highschool left and then he could go back to California. He didn't care he had no actual place to stay or plan to make a living for himself. All he needed was his car and some money for gas and food. Once there, he'd figure things out.

When his temper cooled down, he lifted his head and his eyes landed on a red 67 Chevy Impala. It didn't compare to his Camaro, but it was still a beautiful car, despite looking like it had seen better days. He noticed one of the back doors was dented in, the passenger window slightly cracked and the rust eating here and there, definitely in need of a paint job. But otherwise it was in pretty good condition for such an old car. The last thing he noticed was the registration plate - 007 DOL, Florida - and a small turtle sticker placed besides it. His fists clenched as his mind wandered to the beaches again. Why couldn't they have moved closer to any ocean? Florida would have been far away from Max's father to placate Neil and close to his only solace, the beach.

He turned to go after Max at the thought of getting home late and his fathers temper, but stopped when he saw her coming out of the store, a young woman on tow. Both had their hands filled with paper bags, one in each hand. Had the shopping list been so long? He hadn't cared enough to even check. Arms folded as he propped himself on the hood of his car and stared at the girl besides his stepsister. There was nothing particularly impressive about her. She was wearing an ugly plaid shirt, at least twice her size, stuffed in some equally baggy jeans and worn leather boots. He wondered momentarily if she had stolen her father's shirt, before shaking his head and putting her out of his mind. He doubted he would have noticed her if she wasn't in Max's company so there was no need to give her a second thought. But as the two neared him, all giggles and whispers, he saw a glint in her eyes as she looked him up and down and couldn't help the smirk on his lips. Even if there was not much to her, it was always exhilarating to be the cause of that lust-filled stare and even more thrilling to play with it.

"You must be the infamous stepbrother."

"Yeah, thanks for helping her. I'm Billy." He extended his arm to take the bags from Max, but she only gave him the largest one, all while glaring at him. He ignored her, eyes barely leaving the young woman as he popped open the trunk of his car. "And you are?"

"A complete stranger." She was smiling, playing hard to get, but he saw the way she checked him out. She closed the space between them and placed the bags she was holding in the trunk as well. "These are all yours." She smirked as her eyes wandered, accentuating a little cut on her upper lip, barely visible until then. He was about to thank her again, but Max beat him to it, all bouncy and smiling.

"Thanks again for the help, you're a lifesaver." Max handed her the smaller of all the bags and when she wrapped her left hand around it, the sleeves rolled up just enough to reveal some intricate tattoo on her left wrist. "Maybe I'll see you at the Arcade some time."

"Don't mention it, Max. And sure, I'll check it out later" She then moved her eyes on him and he couldn't help but stare at that little cut on her lip as she spoke. It was oddly appealing and if anything it actually made her stand out from the millions of pretty faces.

"Maybe I'll see you around as well, Billy." She winked at him and waved at Max and to his utmost surprise she hopped in the Chevy he had been admiring earlier, 'Eye of the tiger' barely audible from within as she rolled out of the parking lot.

"Who was that?" He had half a mind to follow her as he got in his car and started the engine. He would have if the little shit wasn't with and if Neil wasn't waiting for them to get back. The girl was direct enough to make him believe she was up for a good time. Max rolled her eyes at him, but he let it slide. Who knew the little shithead could be a chick magnet?

"She's new in town too." There was a small pause, her eyes going back and forth from the road to him. "Just passing through though, so don't get your hopes up."

He scoffed, but didn't argue with her, the little shit was obviously lying. The girl was staying long enough if she was making plans to check the Arcade. Long enough for a little one night stand on the back of his car. Or maybe even hers. He had two purposed now. The first, dethrone the so called King Steve. The second, bang mystery Florida girl. Billy decided that if he was going to be stuck for a year in Indiana, he would at least make the most of it.

#stranger things #billy hargrove #billy hargove x reader #billy hargrove x oc #love at first sting #fanfiction #i need help #Torment never looked so goddamn fine

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maluraunderchild · 5 years

Text

Something In The Air

(( Since it’s ‘Love is in the Air’ I wanted to do a story for Malura. There is a bit of a hint to some future stories for her in this))

Fuck.

When I wake up on Darsa’s couch in Deephaven I groan and roll off to the ground as I try to get my bearings. I’ve been bouncing from time way to time way just to avoid days like today. Days where the world is quiet and everyone is deep in their own romantic traditions. I’ve come to really hate Love Is In The Air. As a kid, I would make cards and give them to my friends. Darsa used to eat that shit up. He still does.

Even as I move through what should be Darsa’s private quarters I can hear him cursing from the kitchen. The smell of cherries and bread is overwhelming and I don’t want to see what he’s making Kat. They’re cute, like, I haven’t seen him this happy in years. But I’m a little salty and I’d just ruin whatever day he has planned.

“Oi, Dar, going to Stormwind. Need anything?” I called not even going into the kitchen he’s built over the summer.

He curses a little then laughs. “Na Shadow got all I need here. Can I ask if ya see your Ma or something tonight?”

Yup, called it. He’s going to do something cute for Kat. I have to humor him, after the shit he’s dealt with he’s needed a woman who inspires this side of him. Inspires and likes this side of him. “I’ll get myself a place to sleep. Maybe I’ll head to Tanaris and hang out with the dragons.”

He poked his head out from the kitchen and gave me a worried look. His normal black clothing was speckled with white flour. Years ago I think he would have laughed if he knew this was how he was going to look. All ruggedly noble with enough money to bake when he felt like it. “Do something good for yourself. Okay?”

I nodded, only because that’s what he wants me to do. “After the holiday is over I’ll buy a wheelbarrow of chocolate.” But I raise my hand and connect to the sands of time. I’ve gotten so used to this. Just slipping away. Letting myself become one with time and losing my touch on what would be my current time. Years of constant work has lead me to the conclusion that there is no such thing as ‘current time’, but I will define it better as the time that my friends and family live in.

As I return to the world I appear in the park in Stormwind. Couples are already holding hands, snuggling on benches. Something cold stabs my heart and I start to walk to my favorite coffee shop. I used to drink, but alcohol became a crutch that I had to kick at one point. At the point I was going through a bottle of scotch a night just to deal with myself, it was time to cut back.

The coffee shop is nice, that sort of hole in the wall place that gets packed at night when all the artists come out so they can sip on coffee and talk about struggles. This early in the morning it’s basically empty, and I like that. It’s fewer people I have to pretend around.

“Hey, Mark.” I said sitting down at a barstool and wave the barista down. He’s a cute guy, tall, lean, has stunning eyes that he flashes in everyone's direction so we feel special. He would have been my type when I was a kid. These days I’ve learned that I need someone else. Someone who doesn’t exist. “Can I get-”

But a large mug is put down in front of me. “Double shot of espresso latte. It’s already been paid for.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” I pick up the mug smelling the roasted beans and frothed up milk.

Mark shook his dark head. “Oh no, I didn’t pay for it. That guy did.” He pointed, and as I followed his finger it found nothing but air. When he looked he dropped his hand. “The hell. I swore he was just here.”

Something different grabbed my heart. I only know one person who slipped in and out of time to leave me things. My hands grip my scolding hot mug, not caring if I burn my fingers. “What did he look like. Tan? Bright blue eyes? Strange accent?”

The barista was still confused but shook his head. “Nah, nothing like that.”

Thank the gods... I don’t know what I would do if it had been him. Swallowing down a near panic attack I nodded and took a long drink from my coffee. I needed it to wake up, to make me think more. Maybe some random guy bought me a drink. It’s not the first time. Just normally that drink would be alcoholic and would be a way to get into my pants. It seems this time it’s not.

As I drink my coffee I pulled out the current romance novel. At least a romance novel isn’t going to treat me like shit. If I don’t like it, I don’t have to finish it. It really lets me have the reigns of the fantasy relationship. My current book was about a woman who falls in love with a San’layn. I’ve got half a mind to write the author and tell them if they need a sensitivity reader for her next book to call me. Cause she knew nothing about the undead bastards and I’m more laughing my way through this book than thinking about my ex... One of my exes. I really have shit taste in men.

I’m getting near the end of the book. The girl has to choose between the monster hunter of the San’layn, both guys are sexy idiots and I’m invested enough because the San’layn isn’t a total monster. I’m getting to the good part, the epic showdown when I smell it. The shop is still empty, but the scent crosses my nose. It smells like something warm with a spice I don’t know. Looking up and around again I swore I felt someone pass me, but Mark shuffles past with some napkins he’s going to fold.

It’s probably my imagination, or some of the coffee mixing together. I push it out of my mind and finish the book. Low and behold the girl chose the San’Layn and the monster hunter ended up with the girl’s best friend. I never said this was a good romance novel. Trashy romance novels have the merit of keeping me distracted for a few hours, and that’s good enough for me.

I pay a tip for Mark and head back to the streets of Stormwind. Darsa is right, I should get myself something for today. If I can’t get a boyfriend I could at least get a new romance novel to read for the night. The best part of the romance novel is the guy can get me all hot and bothered, but I won’t have to sneak out of his bed at six am.

The bookstore I frequent wasn’t far from the coffee shop. They specialize in more used books, and that sounds pretty good to me. Get a bunch of romance novels for cheap so the poor store can get more on their shelves.

As soon as I enter I smell the perfume of old books. It instantly relaxes me. I’m not one of those brainy mages who obsess over textbooks. But give me something to read to enjoy myself and I am all over it. Give me rows upon rows of stories that someone has made up and I’m a happy girl.

I make a b-line to the romance section to find it’s still jam-packed with books. People love donating romance novels, buying them is another story. No one wants to be in public with these things. I call bull shit on that, but I also don’t care what people think of me anymore. I want a book with a sexy half-naked guy, that is what I’m going to get!

Going through the books I try to find something that will be different but also give me the kind of night I want. I want something with adventure, that a guy and girl bond over something not just fall in love.

That smell crosses my mind again. That heat and spice. I stop again looking around. It wasn’t the coffee. But I don’t see anyone. When I look back to the shelf I see a book is slightly sticking out. It’s a book of a man who is only being covered by a bunch of silk at his groin. He’s laying back on a bunch of pillows with a more dressed woman leaning over him, her breasts barely being contained by her dress. The title catches me instantly ‘The Heart of Time’.

Flipping to the back I scan to read it’s a time traveler love story. I’m a time walker, I can appreciate a romance between a time traveler and normie. Sold.

When I go to pay the woman at the counter smiles at me and winks at my book choice. When she opens the book she lets out a small sound. “Hey this has some store credit.”

Blinking I looked at the slip of paper and at the price she had run my book up at. It was equally priced. My heart skipped a moment and something warm pooled in my stomach. That’s the second time today something I would normally get was paid for me.

“Looks like you’re in for a free book.” She handed it over to me taking the slip of paper so she could write down the store credit. “Have a great day!”

I mutter a reply and leave, but now I start looking around. Was it just a coincidence that both my coffee was paid by someone who vanished, and I ended up picking a book that had store credit inside? Looking around the street I don’t see anyone looking at me. But I’m a Timewalker. If you’re smart you will be invisible or hiding just outside of time.

I want to reach out, to see if I can sense someone, but who would try to do nice things for me? Maybe just one of my fellow Timewalkers? Sometimes we do stuff like this, little things to brighten each other’s days since we are so removed from people sometimes. Maybe that’s it. Someone is trying to be nice and give me a good day.

It’s better than thinking someone was stalking me.

Opening my book I start to read and walk back to the park. The book catches me quickly since the main female character is actually the time traveler. She’s used to letting time slip her by and has pushed away from the idea of romance... okay, that’s a little too close for home. But the guy she meets is an honest fellow who finds out she’s a time traveler and accepts her as she is.

I don’t even notice I’ve sat back down. It’s only when that scent comes back that I whip my head up and look around the park. No one is here. It’s just me. Me and anyone in hiding.

I’m a ballsy woman so I put the book down for a moment and start talking. “Okay, thanks for the coffee and the book. Are you going to come out and tell me who you are? Or am I going to have to hit the Caverns of Time to find out who you are?”

The smell is still here and I feel something warm beside me for a second before it’s gone. Reaching out through the sands of time I try to see who is sitting beside me. But I don’t know them. I can’t find anyone’s course through time that matches to the times I’ve felt someone close today. It doesn’t mean they aren’t there, it just means I haven’t met them yet.

My heart hurts for a moment. I want to ignore this. Tell myself it’s just my imagination. But every time that scent comes up I know someone is there. Someone who can’t talk to me but is here for me. Being a Timewalker that could mean anything, but picking up my book I shiver, the realization coming to me. Someone in my future knows today was going to be shit, so they’re giving me a good day.

I smile a little, but I can’t think of this as a romantic gesture. It’s just kind. “Thank you.” I swallow a bit then let out a sigh. “I won’t go hunting you down... I’m just, paranoid.”

Resting my hand down on the bench it touches something soft. There, like it had been forgotten by someone with a larger bouquet of flowers was a single red rose in full bloom. The most curious thing about it was all the thorns were gone. Uncle Archi demanded I learn the flower language along with my alchemy. A red rose means ‘love and respect’, but one without thorns means ‘love at first sight’, and a rose in full bloom means ‘I still love you’.

My vision blurs as som tears well up. pulling the flower I wonder if it’s been forgotten or if this was part of this strange day I’m having? The scent crosses my awareness again and I lower my head. I don’t want to fall in love again. I don’t think I can handle the breakup again. But there is a hope in me, one that no matter how stupid it would be, it hopes that this means something. That I won’t be alone forever.

Touching the rose I bring it up to my hair and tuck it in with one of my braids. My eyes are closed and I don’t search for who is doing this. Like with time, I need to accept things happen and I don’t need to control it. Let the chaos move, and I can stand at its eye. If there is someone who cares about me, let them. At least it means this shit day will be better because of them.

Once more I mutter out, to the person who I’ve never met, to the person sitting outside of time as they watch over me today. I mean what I’m going to say and I hope they know what it means to me. “Thank you, days like this can be absolute shit and, it means a lot to know someone has my back. When we finally meet, I hope you know I’m going to owe you a coffee and a trip to the bookstore.”

When I open my eyes I see something for a flash, as someone vanishes from my time to somewhere else. I don’t get any idea of what they looked like, but as they vanish, so does their scent.

(( Mentions: @kat-lockhart, @darsacarrington and someone not yet mentioned))

#Love Is In The Air #Something Is There #Someone Is There #Future story

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mikauzoran · 5 years

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Lukanette/Lukadrien/Adrienette Drabble: Nachtmusik Chapter Nineteen

A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) Chapter Nineteen:��The Seagull

Nearly two hours later, Marinette sat up and looked back at Luka. “The movie can’t end like that. That’s not a happy ending. What gives?”

Luka could only shrug helplessly. “I like it. It’s bittersweet.”

Marinette shook her head in amazement. “I want ‘and they lived happily ever after’.”

Luka shrugged again, wondering absentmindedly if Adrien would like the movie. Adrien’s favourite type of ending involved the lovers both dying, their love frozen in time forever, untouchable, unable to fade or sour or break like so many of the relationships Adrien had experienced in real life.

“If it makes you feel better, the book’s ending is worse,” Luka offered.

Marinette glared at him. “You know what? That doesn’t make me feel better at all. What happens at the end of the book?”

Luka shook his head. “Spoilers.”

“You sound like Adrien,” Marinette accused.

“He’s rubbed off on me.”

Marinette’s glare intensified. “Lord, help us. Just don’t you dare start on the puns.”

“You like the puns when he’s not fooling around during a fight,” Luka reminded. “You pun back.”

She looked away with a snort. “Do not. …What happens in the book?”

“The book is more…cynical and disillusioned as a whole. It’s really different throughout. I think you should stick to the family-friendly version,” Luka suggested.

Marinette turned and studied his face for a full thirty seconds before she sighed and shrugged. “I want Miss Acacia’s dress.”

“So make her dress. Red is a beautiful colour on you, Chanson; I’d love to see it,” he encouraged with an easy smile.

Marinette’s cheeks slowly started to pinken. “I’ll have to add it to my list of potential projects.” She bit her lip, averting her eyes and then sneaking glances back at him. “But…actually…I’m thinking that blue is my colour.”

Luka blinked at her dumbly. “Blue? I mean, I’m sure you’re gorgeous in any colour, Marinette, but why blue?”

Marinette suddenly lost all coyness and turned to stare at him, defeated. “You know. Blue,” she hinted.

His eyebrows slowly found one another in a deep frown. “Like…your eyes?” he ventured.

Marinette groaned, covering her face for a moment before meeting his gaze once more, explaining in consternation, “Blue like your eyes, like your hair. Honey. Blue is your colour. I’m trying to be a real girlfriend over here, appealing to your macho, possessive nature by publicly advertising that I’m yours through my clothing choices. Work with me here because this is all I have going for me.”

“Oh, wow,” Luka chuckled, face going grenadine as he positively beamed at her. “Okay. Several things. You’re already a real girlfriend, Marinette.”

She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout to rival Adrien’s.

“You are,” he stressed, taking her hand in his. “We’re dating, aren’t we?”

“Yeah,” she grumbled. “But I just don’t feel like—It’s not like in the movies or on TV. I feel like I’m not doing it right.”

Luka paused for a minute. “Marinette…real relationships rarely play out like in fiction. I know you have no way of knowing this because you don’t have much relationship experience yourself, but…we’re never going to be like a rom com couple. Maybe we need to talk about expectations. All you can be is you, and all I can be is me.”

She bit her lip. “Do you think that just being me will be enough?”

“Remember two hours ago when I told you that you were epic?” Luka answered tenderly, reaching to move a bang out of her face.

A tentative smile began to bloom on her lips. “Yeah. Sorry. I’ve just…completely lost faith in myself this year when it comes to romance. …What were you saying? You were saying something about blue being my colour.”

He gave the side of her forehead a gentle kiss. “Next, I was going to say that I don’t know if I have a ‘macho, possessive nature’, but I’d love to see you in blue, and I appreciate the sentiment behind the gesture.”

Marinette hummed thoughtfully, considering her next move for a minute before casually inquiring, “And…is there anything else you’d like to see me in? Maybe…I don’t know…something Viperion-inspired?”

Luka gulped, mind immediately ending up in the gutter. “Is this a serious question?”

She nodded, smiling at his flustered state. “Yeah. I take requests. What would you like to see me wear?”

His mind went blank. “Uh…You don’t…happen to have anything Chat Noir-inspired, do you?”

Marinette blinked. “Really?”

“Is that weird? Sorry,” Luka rushed to apologize, looking away as his cheeks did a tomato impression. “Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“No, it’s fine,” she assured, regaining her presence of mind. “I actually have a dress and some accessories I’ve made, but…I’m a little worried it would give Adrien the wrong idea. I don’t want to lead him on—provided he still even has feelings for me after everything anyway.” She looked away with a sigh.

“Right,” Luka hissed softly. “Right. Sorry. I…I guess I wasn’t thinking.”

Marinette glanced up and studied her boyfriend curiously. “Why Chat Noir exactly?”

Luka tensed. “Um…I mean…I like the aesthetic. Lady Noire was hot, so…” He trailed off, hoping she’d accept the explanation and not dig any deeper into his Marinette-Adrien-threesome fantasies. He knew they all had feelings for one another to some degree, but none of the relationships were really stable. None of them were really healthy. There was still a lot of hurt between Marinette and Adrien, and Luka was afraid that if he asked for what he really wanted, the whole thing would topple down on top of him like a house of cards.

“Another thing,” Luka changed the topic, meeting Marinette’s eye. “A minute ago you said that fashion was the only thing you had going for you, but you know that’s not really true, don’t you? Is that just your bruised self-confidence talking? Do I need to shower you with compliments to bolster your self-esteem?”

Marinette giggled, leaning back into him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. “God, you’re so sweet, Luka. That won’t be necessary, but thank you.”

“You just tell me when you need me to, and I will always be there to build you up, Chanson,” he promised, treasuring this moment, the warmth of her in his arms.

They sat there in silence for a bit, recuperating until Marinette nuzzled the underside of Luka’s jaw and whispered, “…I want to go stargazing. Can we go abovedeck for just a little while?”

“Sure, but it’s cold. It’s November, and it’s windy out on the water,” he warned.

“We can wrap up in a blanket and snuggle in one of the deck chairs,” Marinette suggested. “Just for a bit.”

Luka raised an eyebrow, inclining his head to look down at her. “How are we both going to fit in a single deck chair? They’re not that big.”

Marinette shrugged, cheerily proposing, “I can sit on your lap.”

Luka gulped but nodded. He wasn’t sure if she was acting so affectionate because it made her feel better after a rough day or if she was attempting to make him feel cared for, but Luka was starting to think that he was going to overdose on all of this physical contact.

They headed up to the deck of the Liberty and settled down in one of the deck chairs with Marinette in Luka’s lap and the blanket wrapped around them to fight off the chill of the night. She rested her head against his shoulder, and he held her tightly to him.

“I wish I knew the names of the stars,” Marinette mumbled. “You can’t see a lot of them in the middle of Paris, can you?”

“No,” Luka sighed. “You can’t…and tonight’s kind of overcast.”

“Oh well.” Marinette shrugged. “The ones we can see are pretty…. Those three look like they form a triangle. You see the really bright ones?”

“I know one of those is Vega,” Luka offered. “Not sure which one. The others are Altair and Deneb…. I’m more familiar with the summer sky, honestly. This, I look up and…I’m lost.”

“Why do you know about the summer sky?” Marinette inquired innocently.

“The person I told you about that I dated two years ago,” Luka replied in what he’d intended to be a neutral tone. It came out more wistful than anything.

“Oh?” Marinette was incredibly curious about this mystery girl who had decimated Luka so completely, but she was afraid to ask lest she step on sore feelings. Whenever he volunteered information, her ears always perked up.

“We dated from the end of March to the middle of August. When it was warm, we’d come lie out on the deck at night and look at the stars. They liked stars…used to point out the constellations and tell me the stories behind them…. Maybe next summer we can go stargazing. …Maybe invite Adrien sometimes. He likes stars. Maybe invite the others too, have a watch party,” Luka proposed, trying not to show blatant favoritism and failing.

“I’d like that,” Marinette whispered.

They were silent for a long while, just enjoying their collective warmth against the bitter wind and watching as wispy clouds moved across the sky.

Marinette took a steadying breath. “…I like being with you.”

Her words took Luka by surprise, and it was a moment before he could find the words to respond. “I like being with you too, Third.”

“I like you,” Marinette continued. “I do like you…. You believe that, don’t you?”

He nodded. “I know you like me.”

“I just don’t…” She stopped. “I think I’m broken. I don’t seem to be able to love like other people do. Like how you and Adrien love me,” she explained. “I don’t know if it’s just because I’m not as emotionally mature yet or something, but…I’m trying to be in love. I know what I feel is some version of love, but…I’ve thought I was in love before, and it turned out that what I thought was love wasn’t anything close to really loving someone. I thought what I felt was a big deal, but… My ‘love’ wasn’t as good as Adrien’s, and now…the love I feel for you is really cheap and small compared to your love for me. I don’t know if I can love big like other people.”

“Marinette, your love is plenty good enough,” Luka insisted, beginning to understand the storm raging inside her head a little better now.

She pushed back to look him in the eye. “No, it’s not. You’re not satisfied with it. Adrien wasn’t either. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but please don’t lie to me. I can tell that my feelings are inferior.”

Luka held her gaze for a long beat. “…I think…‘inferior’ is the wrong word…. ‘Different’. You’re eighteen, Marinette. It’s not normal for eighteen-year-olds to be mentally and emotionally competent about life and love and all that. You have time to grow and figure things out. You will grow and figure things out. Experience is going to polish you and make you glow. It’s okay to not be there yet.”

Marinette breathed a heavy sigh and melted back into his arms, squeezing him tightly.

“The truth is,” Luka continued softly, “you have a tremendous amount of love in your heart, Chanson. I can hear it, and the melody is exquisite. I can’t wait to see you grow and mature, hear how gorgeous your song becomes. Just give it time. Patience, Third. I’m so sorry if it ever felt like I was rushing you. I never meant to make you feel not good enough.”

She pulled back again, carefully cupping his cheek, staring intently into his eyes. “It always amazes me how much faith you have in me. It’s intimidating…but it feels really good too. It makes me happy that you don’t think I’m hopeless. …But what I want, Luka, is for us to get to a point where I’m not the only one constantly taking and taking from you. You’re always reassuring me and comforting me. I don’t feel like we’re on an even footing. I want to feel like I’m your partner…. I want to be able to comfort you too.”

“You do,” Luka breathed, pulse quickening as she leaned in close. “We’ll get there, Chanson.”

She closed the distance, placing a sweet, tentative kiss to his lips.

He responded gently, setting a slow pace. A series of feather-light brushes.

There was so much pain and uncertainty in it. Wanting more: more passion, more feeling, more authenticity on both sides.

Marinette’s brain wouldn’t shut off. She couldn’t stop wondering why she couldn’t just kiss the boy. Why was everything such a big deal and simultaneously not good enough, not enough. She liked him. Didn’t she like him? Or did she just like how he made her feel? Was she screwing things up with Luka just like she’d screwed up with Adrien?

And then she was thinking of Adrien. Adrien kissing that girl in the library for acting class. Or at least pretending to kiss her. Kissing Chat Noir on her balcony, sinking her teeth into his neck as he squirmed and gasped. His body against hers. Adrien.

LUKA.

She attempted to recalibrate her thoughts.

Luka hurt at her thinking of other boys while kissing him.

She panicked, gave up, pulled back. “Sorry,” she gasped, lips barely clear of his. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

She looked down at the confused expression on his face.

“Sorry,” she repeated.

Luka blinked several times slowly, swallowed, and nodded, seeming to accept that the kiss was suddenly over. “It’s…okay. You’re fine.”

She avoided his curious gaze by resting her head back on his shoulder.

He didn’t say anything, but he gave her a reassuring squeeze and kiss on the top of the head.

He began to wonder if this was really better than when she used to turn and give him her cheek when he tried to kiss her. He felt like her yoyo. He wondered if it were better to be kissed in this unfulfilling, emotional whiplash sort of way or if it would be better not to be kissed at all.

Ten minutes later, Luka broke the silence. “You’re not getting cold, are you?”

“No,” she replied sleepily. “You’re keeping me warm.”

“You falling asleep?” he chuckled.

“No,” she yawned.

He nuzzled her hair affectionately. “Yes you are. Come on, Chanson. Time to get you home. Do you want me to give you a ride on the motorcycle or we can ride the Métro? I can escort you in a cab?”

Marinette pushed back to meet his eyes. “I’d kind of like to stay here…. If that’s all right?”

“You want…to stay the night?” he confirmed, sure that his ears were playing mean, nasty tricks on him.

She nodded. “Can I?”

Luka’s brain was fried. She wanted…? Did she want…? Did he want? Okay, but even if they both did, was that even a good idea? That was the only question he had a definite answer to, and the answer was a resounding, emphatic NO. They couldn’t even kiss without it being stressful and complicated.

Luka shut his eyes and took a deep breath. “Marinette, we’re not having sex. Like, anytime soon.”

“Okay,” she replied in a small voice.

He looked at her pleadingly. “I can’t do this right now, okay?”

She nodded. “Okay. What about just snuggling? I don’t want to go home and be alone with my thoughts. I want to stay with you.”

He considered the proposal for a hard minute, his head reasoning that this was a horrible idea while his heart whispered that he wanted her with him too.

“Okay,” he finally decided. If he could resist Adrien, he should be able to resist Marinette as well, right? Except…Adrien wasn’t the least bit interested in getting Luka’s clothes off.

Marinette smiled shyly, causing Luka’s heart to melt. “Okay. Ready for bed?”

Luka nodded, unable to find his voice.

She came out of his bathroom with her hair down, wearing boyshorts-type underwear and the undershirt she’d been wearing beneath her puffy, electric blue sweater. She wasn’t wearing a bra.

Luka could easily tell at a glance that she wasn’t wearing a bra. The hard part was not outright staring. It had been a long time since he’d last seen breasts.

Internally, Luka cursed and tried to pretend that she was just wearing a swimming suit. Unfortunately, the mental image of Marinette in a swimming suit did similar things to him as Marinette in her underwear.

“Why are there two toothbrushes in your bathroom?” Marinette inquired out of curiosity. “I thought you were the only one who used this one.”

Luka’s brain broke for a different reason. “Uh…” In his muddled state, Luka decided to go for the truth. “Sometimes Adrien ends up here in the middle of the night if he gets upset or something. It’s easier to just keep a toothbrush and a change of clothes here. I’ve been led to believe that he has a similar setup at Nino’s and Chloé’s.”

Marinette nodded slowly.

Luka was expecting a teasing comment such as, “Wow. He really is your boyfriend, isn’t he?” but instead she remarked in an almost sad, nostalgic way, “Yeah. Chat Noir has a toothbrush at my house too—at least he did. Before, I mean. I mean, I still have it…not that he’s coming back.” She looked down at the floor, rubbing at her arm. “He slept on my balcony and my chaise from time to time. He spent the night a lot for a couple months about two years ago. Sometimes I’d wake up in the middle of the night and see him down on my chaise longue, but then I’d wake up in the morning and he’d be gone. Is that what he does to you?”

Luka shook his head, watching as she made her way over to the bed and slipped under the covers, taking the side by the wall.

“He typically stays the whole night with me and helps Rose make breakfast in the morning. I guess it’s easier now that his father is more lenient and there aren’t any secret identities to worry about protecting,” Luka reasoned as he turned off the light.

He hesitated before pulling back the covers and climbing into bed beside her.

She smiled shyly at him.

This felt, oddly, like a betrayal. He comforted himself with the fact that Adrien would never know. At least Marinette wasn’t sleeping on Adrien’s side of the bed. That would have just felt wrong.

It was bad enough that Luka was probably going to wake up calling Marinette “Angel” or “Ariel” and feel bad for betraying both Marinette and Adrien simultaneously. And then Adrien would probably find out somehow and be inconsolably hurt, and…

Luka forcibly turned off the downward mental spiral and directed his attention to the present moment where he was in bed with his girlfriend, about to spend the night cuddling.

Everything would be fine.

…Marinette was probably a cover thief.

“Night, Luka,” she whispered, settling in with her head resting against his shoulder.

He gave her forehead a grounding kiss. “Good night, Third. Sweet dreams.”

“Why are you going Eltz?” Adrien asked Rose, his back to her as he mixed together the ingredients for the blueberry lemon poppyseed scones with his hands like Tom had shown him, forming the dough into a ball before taking it from the bowl and rolling it out on the counter.

“I have accepted an engagement there for the winter. It is time for me to go,” Rose, who was sitting at the counter on one of the brightly coloured stools, read from a photocopy of the script.

Marinette paused in the doorway between the hallway and the main cabin. Rose had been living with the Couffaines off and on for years, so Marinette wasn’t really surprised to see her, but what was Adrien doing in the Couffaines’ kitchen at eight AM on a Thursday morning, and what were he and Rose talking about?

Adrien began to cut circles out of the scone dough using the rim of a cup and placed the resulting dough globs onto a baking tray, carefully equidistant from the sides of the tray and the other nascent scones.

“Nina,” Adrien replied bitterly, further confusing Marinette for a moment before she realized what was going on. “I have cursed you and hated you and torn up your photograph…” Suddenly Adrien’s voice became resigned with a hint of tenderness as he continued, “…and yet…I have known every minute of my life that my heart and soul were yours forever.”

Marinette’s heart stopped beating and then fluttered. She felt dizzy, overwhelmed, and oh so torn at Adrien Agreste’s vows of eternal love. He was a good actor, yes, but the feelings he was expressing had to come from somewhere, and she had a feeling that Adrien was very much drawing on his own feelings for her.

“To cease from loving you is beyond my power,” Adrien chuckled softly, sadly. “I have suffered continually from the time I lost you and began to write, and my life has been almost unendurable,” Adrien confessed, and Marinette believed him.

She had felt the same way. She’d lost her partner and friend Chat Noir just when they were beginning to be something more. She had lost her sweet Adrien, her love and her close confident. She’d ruined everything, and they’d been yanked away from her, out of her life, and it had been continual suffering ever since then trying to repair the damage.

“My youth was suddenly plucked from me then, and I seem now to have lived in this world for ninety years. I have called out to you,” Adrien lamented. “I have kissed the ground you walked on, wherever I looked I have seen your face before my eyes, and the smile that had illumined for me the best years of my life.”

“Why, why does he talk to me like this?” Rose read in response, following the flow of the dialogue down the page with her finger, making sure Adrien had the lines right.

“I am quite alone,” Adrien whispered, an aching to his voice that broke Marinette’s heart because she could feel the loneliness behind those words, Adrien’s loneliness, the loneliness of years of enforced solitude with no one to comfort him, no one to rely on.

“…unwarmed by any attachment,” he continued. “I am as cold as if I were living in a cave…. Uh…” He paused and then muttered to himself, repeating without feeling, “I am as cold as if I were living in a cave…. Shoot,” he sighed. “Sorry. Line?”

“‘Whatever I write is’,” Rose prompted.

Suddenly Adrien was back in character, mournful, “Whatever I write is dry and gloomy and harsh…. Stay here, Nina,” he begged, and those words had all the broken desperation of when Adrien had looked at Marinette that spring on that park bench in the Tuileries and pleaded with her, “Please don’t leave me”.

Marinette’s heart lurched.

“…I beseech you, or else let me go away with you.”

“Nina quickly puts on her coat and hat,” Rose read the stage directions between Adrien’s lines.

“Nina, why do you do that?” Adrien despaired. “For God’s sake, Nina!”

Marinette let out a little gasp as she realized that Nina was leaving Adrien just like Marinette had left Adrien, and Adrien wouldn’t survive that kind of devastation again. It was bad enough that Marinette had hurt Adrien both as herself and as Ladybug. Nina couldn’t rip his heart out and stomp on it too. Adrien deserved better. Someone needed to stop Nina. Someone needed to protect Adrien…but Marinette was powerless to help. She was even more guilty than Nina. All she could do was watch and listen.

They talked. Nina’s coach was waiting at the gate. She didn’t want Adrien to see her out. She was leaving. She talked a bunch of nonsense, and Marinette got the impression that Nina was half mad. She seemed to be under the impression that she was a seagull that Adrien had shot two years prior? Marinette really wondered what Adrien saw in this Nina. Marinette really wondered what Adrien saw in Marinette.

Nina seemed to have a plan, though. She was an actress. She was going to be a great actress…if she didn’t end up in an insane asylum first.

“You have found your way,” Adrien sighed sadly. “you know where you are going, but I am still groping in a chaos of phantoms and dreams, not knowing whom and what end I am serving by it all…. I do not believe in anything, and I do not know what my calling is,” he replied, a deep weariness to his voice.

Adrien sounded so lost.

Marinette wanted to grab his hand and lead him through the chaos, out of the darkness and the loneliness, but she couldn’t. She knew she was powerless. No Lucky Charm would solve the problems between them and bridge the gulf.

“Nina embraces you impetuously and runs out onto the terrace,” Rose announced.

Adrien placed the scones into the oven, set the timer, and then stood there for a moment, looking numb. “It would be a pity if she were seen in the garden. My mother would be distressed.”

There was a pause that had Marinette leaning forward, on the edge of her figurative seat. Surely, Adrien would go after her despite her insistence that he not. Surely, they would be reconciled. Surely, there would be a happy ending for Adrien this time.

Adrien cleared his throat. “And then I slowly tear up all of my manuscripts, unlock the door, go out, and shoot myself. End scene.”

“What?!” Marinette screeched, making Adrien, Rose, and Luka (who had been standing behind her for God knows how long, watching her go to pieces over Adrien) all jump.

“No!” Marinette insisted. “It can’t end like that! You have to go after her! You can’t just shoot yourself! What the hell kind of play is this?!”

Luka placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “Deep breaths, Chanson. It’s The Seagull by Anton Chekhov.” Luka looked up at Adrien. “Beautiful job.”

Adrien’s face lit up with a smile and a blush, and he moved to run a hand through his hair, stopping when he remembered the blueberry lemon poppyseed dough still sticking to his hands. “Thank you. I’m glad you think I did it justice. I know it’s your favourite Chekhov play.” He turned to look at Marinette shamefacedly. “Sorry it upset you.”

Marinette rounded on her boyfriend. “You like this?”

Luka shrugged. “It’s better if you see the whole thing. It’s really powerful if done well.”

Adrien winced. “Sorry for spoiling the ending.”

Marinette took a calming breath. “I think I need to stick to plays with happy endings. My life is angsty enough. I need fluff.”

“I’m doing a scene from Shakespeare’s As You Like It,” Rose informed with a sly grin. “It’s a gender-bender rom com. Much more digestible than Chekhov. Want us to do my scene to cheer you up?”

Marinette tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. “Thank you so much, Rose, but Shakespeare is too smart for me this early in the morning. I actually just came in to see if you needed help with breakfast. I feel guilty eating if I don’t help cook,” she explained, coming over to lean on the counter next to Rose.

“We hadn’t really started breakfast yet,” Adrien laughed sheepishly, bringing the dishes he had used making the scones over to the sink and beginning to wash them. “The blueberry lemon poppyseed scones are technically for Luka, but he’ll probably share. We were thinking omelets, toast and jam, yogurt, fruit, and bacon for everyone else. We were just about to start.”

“You made him blueberry lemon poppyseed scones?” Marinette chuckled, mentally doing the math on how many scones Luka would have with Adrien’s batch now on top of the batch she had brought Luka the night before. “That’s really sweet of you. What’s the occasion?”

Adrien shrugged, demurring, casting his eyes down into the sink. “No occasion. Just…I know they’re his favourite, and your dad has been teaching me, so… I guess they’re a thank you gift for him always putting up with my crap twenty-four-seven.”

Marinette nodded, turning to smile at Luka who was standing back slightly, looking nervous. “I might have to steal your idea, Adrien; he puts up with my crap twenty-four-seven too.”

“Yeah,” Adrien chuckled, smiling besottedly down at the bowl he was cleaning. “He’s just awesome like that, isn’t he?”

“Yeah,” Marinette laughed fondly, not catching the lovesick expression on Adrien’s face.

Luka’s throat tightened. His nerves were on edge. He couldn’t even enjoy the flattery of the two objects of his affections because any second now Adrien was going to realize that Marinette had come from Luka’s bedroom, and there were going to be all kinds of misunderstandings, and Adrien was going to be hurt.

Rose’s eyes narrowed as she started to pick up on the fact that something was off. She looked back and forth between Luka and Marinette. Her gaze landed on the latter as she asked, “Marinette, when did you get here?”

Adrien looked up and frowned. “Yeah, I didn’t see you come in. I guess we were really caught up in running lines.”

Luka tensed, bracing for the explosion.

Marinette shrugged, cheeks beginning to turn rose petal pink. “I’ve been here.”

Rose’s head slowly tipped to the side. “But…we’ve been going over our scenes for almost an hour now. How early did you get here?”

Marinette bit her lip, squirming slightly as her blush deepened. She smiled shyly. “Last night?”

Adrien stopped breathing. His eyes went glassy. He stared unseeingly at Marinette, blinked, and then looked at Luka.

There he found guilt and apologies being silently screamed at him.

He looked away, back down into the sink. He tried to make his mind focus on the dishes, but he couldn’t help but think about how he’d been feeling down the previous evening and Luka hadn’t been available because he’d had “company”. Adrien had assumed that that meant some bandmates or friends from the Literature Department at university.

Had Luka and Marinette been in bed together when Luka had called? Is that why they’d enlisted Nino to babysit Adrien through his bad mood? So that he wouldn’t bother them while they…

He felt like such an idiot. He’d been excited about the dinner/concert date with Luka on Saturday. He’d been looking forward to Tuesday night dinner/movie/snuggling with Marinette and Luka, but…in reality, Adrien was grasping at clouds…the scraps of other people’s happiness that were occasionally thrown his way. Fragments of affection, shadows. It was all pointless, last-ditch efforts to make himself feel like he wasn’t being left behind.

He was being left behind. Luka didn’t need Adrien to make him feel better about the situation with Marinette now. Luka didn’t need him anymore now that things were going well with his girlfriend, so Luka was going to cut Adrien off so as not to endanger things with Marinette.

Echoes of something Gabriel had said to Adrien two years prior reverberated through Adrien’s head: why would Luka choose Adrien when Luka could have a happy, normal relationship with a girl? Was this what Gabriel had been afraid of? Adrien getting hurt like this? Adrien had thought Gabriel was just throwing anything and everything at the wall to see what stuck in a desperate attempt to separate Adrien from Luka, but…it seemed like Gabriel had hit on something real whether he’d intended to or not.

Adrien felt like he’d been wounded. It was a lot like the time he’d been impaled. There was pain and cold and numbness and terror and the panicked thought, “Oh, God. There’s a javelin sticking out of my chest. What do I even do?!”

Adrien couldn’t breathe. He was losing them both.

Vaguely, Adrien registered Rose saying something. It was a fast, high-pitched stream of words directed at Marinette, and then Rose was tugging Marinette back down the hallway, out of the main cabin, perhaps towards Rose’s room for an interrogation.

And that left Adrien alone with Luka, and Adrien was going to have to say something. Adrien was going to have to produce words and sentences in either French, English, or Russian and pretend like his world wasn’t falling apart freaking again. He had to handle this gracefully and not freak out and not behave like a lunatic like he had last time when Marinette had broken his heart. He had to keep it together long enough to make breakfast and sit through the meal, watching Marinette and Luka make morning after eyes at one another. He had to stay calm and collected long enough to get home where it would be safe to have a total meltdown.

For the time being, Adrien reached out with his mind for the kwami hiding in his right shoulder. He drew on Nooroo’s power, searching for some hint of calm or joy or tranquility or contentment out there beyond himself that he could make his own for the next hour or two. Someone in Paris had to be having a good day. There had to be one person at least from whom Adrien could borrow some small part of positive feelings to get him through this.

The first thing he felt was Luka, all guilt and panic and not what Adrien needed for once. He spread his search out farther, beyond the ship.

“Adrien,” Luka called, breaking Adrien’s concentration.

Adrien slammed the fire-doors of his emotions shut, putting on an empty smile that he had no doubt Luka could see through. “Good morning, Orpheus. It looks like I owe you a congratulations. I’m happy to see that things between you and Marinette are finally progressing. That’s good.” Adrien dropped his gaze to his hands and sadly added something that was actually true, “I mean, you deserve to be happy and have good things happen.”

“Adrien, this is all a misunderstanding,” Luka began, striding across the cabin and around into the kitchen.

Adrien let out a feral feline hiss and turned to glare as Luka approached. “Don’t even start with me. Look, it’s fine. Whatever. She’s your girlfriend. It’s completely normal for you to be sleeping with her. You don’t have to lie to me about it.”

“Adrien, I’m not,” Luka swore as he advanced.

Adrien backed away, growling softly. “Leave me alone.”

“I’m not sleeping with her,” Luka explained, reaching out to take Adrien by the arms.

Adrien backed up into the counter and gritted his teeth. “Don’t touch me.”

Luka grabbed a towel off the counter and caught one of Adrien’s hands, carefully rubbing it dry before taking the other one and doing the same. “I know you’re upset, but there’s no reason to be. Nothing happened. I promise you, Third.” Luka looked up and met Adrien’s gaze. He was surprised to find Adrien staring back at him with a mixed expression of hurt and sadness and betrayal on his face.

“‘Third’?” Adrien whispered. “Is that a new nickname for me…or is that what you call her?”

Luka looked away and cursed. When he turned back, he wore a pleading expression. “Adrien, I am so sorry. I’m not running on much sleep.”

Adrien let out an angry bark of laughter, ripping his arm out of Luka’s grasp. “Oh? Please, rub it in a little more!”

“Adrien.” Luka reached for him, but Adrien dodged. “That’s not what I meant. Please just listen to me.”

“I’m going home,” Adrien announced, sidestepping Luka and making to escape. “Don’t forget to take the scones out of the oven when the timer goes off. It’s not my fault if you don’t and the whole boat burns down. Tell the others…” He thought for a minute, pausing by the end of the counter. “…Tell them I died. Or, better yet, tell them the truth.”

Luka caught him around the waist and pulled Adrien back against him, holding him firm. “Please just listen,” he begged against the shell of Adrien’s ear.

Adrien stopped struggling and slumped back against Luka.

“Adrien, we didn’t have sex. We spent the evening snuggling. Yes, she spent the night in my bed, but that was the first time that had ever happened, and nothing happened between us. It was no different than when you spend the night.”

Adrien stiffened at that. “Did she sleep on my side of the bed?”

Luka shook his head despite Adrien being unable to see him. “Adrien, no. She slept on the wall side of the bed. P5, I’m not replacing you. There’s nothing to be upset about; she’s not taking anything that��s yours.”

Slowly, Adrien turned in Luka’s arms to meet Luka’s plaintive gaze. “You smell like her,” he accused without heat.

“I don’t suppose you have any of that Adrien the Perfume on you, do you?” Luka sighed. “I mean, if you did, we could douse me in that, and I’d smell like you.”

Adrien gave a snort of laughter at that, beginning to thaw. “No, but I do have some Camembert. We could always smear you with that.”

Luka chuckled, resting his forehead against Adrien’s. “I will do literally anything you say you need me to do to make things okay between us.”

Adrien bit his lip. “You didn’t sleep with her?”

“No,” Luka confirmed.

Adrien hummed softly in thought. “Did you two make out?”

Luka frowned, weighing his answer carefully before giving it. “Yes and no. We kissed, but…she’s not really into it. I mean, she tries to be, but…the only time that she was was when she was imagining she was kissing you.”

Adrien arched an eyebrow skeptically. “How can you tell?”

“She moaned ‘Minou’,” Luka sighed.

Adrien winced. “Oh. That’s me all right. Geez.”

Luka snorted. “Yeah.”

There was a beat, and Adrien’s arms wrapped around Luka, pulling him in tighter. “You okay?”

“Not really,” Luka mumbled with a tired shrug. “You okay?”

Adrien shook his head. “No. I’m kind of realizing how delusional I’ve been.”

Little furrows began to form in Luka’s brow. “Oh?”

Adrien nodded. “This whole time, I’ve been waiting and trying to coax you away, but you’re never going to leave Marinette for me, are you?”

Luka’s eyes flew open in surprise, and his lips parted to answer, but he was cut off by Anarka calling out in a much-too-loud voice, “Marinette! It’s so good to see you! I didn’t know you were here!” as she stood in the doorway between the hallway and the main cabin, blocking the way and the sightlines.

Adrien and Luka jumped apart and tried not to look guilty as Anarka looked back over her shoulder, observed that her son was no longer in a compromising position, and stepped out of the way, letting Rose, Juleka, and Marinette pass.

“Will you be staying for breakfast, Dear?” Anarka put on a big, friendly smile that belied her throbbing headache.

“If that’s okay?” Marinette bit her lip nervously. “I wouldn’t want to intrude, Capitaine.”

“Oh, no. Of course it’s okay!” Anarka assured. “The more the merrier, right, Luka? Adrien?”

The boys stammered out a slightly out of sync affirmative.

“Marinette, why don’t you help me prep the vegetables for the omelets?” Rose proposed, taking Marinette by the hand and gently tugging her over to the kitchen. “Adrien, can you start washing and cutting up fruit?”

“Sure thing,” Adrien assured, jumping into action (but not before nonchalantly letting his hand brush against Luka’s).

Luka countered with an affectionate smile, and Adrien responded with a subtle wink.

“Are we sure we trust butterfingers with a knife?” Juleka snorted sassily, sticking out her tongue at Adrien.

He answered in kind.

“Oh, you mean Adrien?” Marinette laughed heartily. “Gosh, Juleka. I thought you meant me for a second there.”

“O-Oh.” Juleka gave a start. “No. Sorry.”

“I’ve been known to cut myself a few times,” Adrien explained, coming up beside Marinette and giving her a little bump with his shoulder.

Marinette laughed and gave him a bump in return. “I don’t know if I want to share kitchen space with you. It sounds like you’re notorious with a blade in your hand wherever you go.”

She leaned into him, and he leaned back, both of them laughing as they halfheartedly tried to knock the other over.

Luka grinned fondly as he watched them horse around…until Juleka came up beside him and slapped his arm playfully, giving him a knowing eyebrow waggle.

He rolled his eyes at her and turned his attention to Rose. “Rosette, what do you need me to do?”

“I need you and Juju out of the kitchen,” she informed. “There’s not enough space for more than three, so the honorary Couffaines will be making breakfast. Couffaines by birth can go look pretty elsewhere.”

Luka snickered as he followed Juleka around to the other side of the counter, out of the way. “I’m sure Juleka will manage just fine, but I prefer to leave the looking pretty to Adrien and Marinette.”

Adrien gave a snort of laughter and lost the power struggle with Marinette, stumbling slightly as she knocked him off balance. In an instant, her hand shot out, grabbing his arm and steadying her partner.

Adrien chuckled sheepishly. “Thanks, Buginette.”

Marinette winked. “No worries, Chaton. I’ve got your back…even when you’re distracted by my smokin’ hot boyfriend.”

Luka choked on air, face taking on the hue of a firetruck.

“Oh, you noticed?” Adrien purred.

“What? The way you look like you want to sink your claws into him?” she joked.

“More than just my claws,” Adrien hummed, going over to the refrigerator to get out the mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, and onions for the omelets for the girls as well as the fruit to prep himself. “Would you be angry if I sank my teeth into him, or do only you get to do that?”

Marinette took the onion and carton of mushrooms from Adrien as he passed them to her. “Depends. Do I get to watch?”

Juleka put a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter while she nudged her brother with her other arm. “Are they flirting with you or each other?”

“Guys,” Luka hissed, voice pained. “I am right here.”

Before either Marinette or Adrien could answer, Anarka spoke up. “Yes, and I actually need you abovedeck to help me with the sound system real quick. Can I borrow you for ten minutes, Luc?”

Luka quickly analyzed the situation between Marinette and Adrien and determined the atmosphere to be stable for now. They could be left alone together under Juleka and Rose’s supervision for ten minutes.

“Sure thing, Maman,” he easily agreed, not suspecting that Anarka’s excuse was only that.

#Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Luka Couffaine #Adrien Agreste/Luka Couffaine #Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste #Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction #Lukanette #Lukadrien #Adrienette #Luka Couffaine #Marinette Dupain-Cheng #Adrien Agreste #Rose Lavillant #The Seagull #Mikau's Writings #A Little Night Music (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik)

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thecloserkin · 5 years

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book review: K Webster, Hale (2018)

Genre: Romance

Is it the main pairing: Yes

Is it canon: Yes

Is it explicit: Yes, extremely explicit. In fact if this had been published on literotica i would have accounted it a well-above-average story.

Is it endgame: Yes

Is it shippable: Yes

Bottom line: This is the most vanilla thing I have read in a LONG time and if i hadn’t paid $3.99 for it i doubt I would have bothered to finish it

I picked up this title because shipcestuous added it to her to-read shelf on goodreads, and while it’s clear from the editorial copy (“This book is an epic, emotional, raw love story”) that they think something groundbreaking is going on here, I would like to direct these amateurs to the Sibling Incest tag on Ao3. Or the Incest Shipping Yay page on TVtropes. Or Astrid’s now-defunct blog, if tumblr ever sees fit to restore it. Trust me, you do not have to be doing anything experimental or original for me to enjoy your tropetastic incest story. You don’t even have to be good with words. Stephenie Meyer, for instance, is not what anybody would call a first-rate stylist, and yet I’ve never had any trouble finishing any of her books (none of which feature incest, but the point was about writing generally).

Hudson and Rylie Hale lose their parents in a tragic car accident. Their shared grief is the catalyst for the affair that blooms between them, and I will give them this much: these kids at least know better than to leave any incriminating texts or pictures lying around on their phones. Their vigilance in the digital realm is then completely nullified by the way they conduct themselves irl—they’re walked in on by (1) their aunt aka Rylie’s guardian and (2) Hudson’s roommate at college, all within a week of getting together. I know the risk of being caught is part of the allure of incestuous relationships, but these clowns need to learn to keep it in their pants at least until they can find a closet.

In my opinion this story would have benefitted from an Outsider POV or two. Not every story needs one—Cathy Dollanganger’s first-person POV is more than adequate to carry Flowers in the Attic, and speaking of authors who are shoddy stylists, look at how bad V.C. Andrews was, and how little it mattered—but there’s not enough substance to either Hudson or Rylie’s characters for their alternating POVs to keep the reader invested. In brief, Rylie’s clinically depressed, and Hudson’s attending college on a baseball scholarship. There’s a scene where they watch a movie together and end up fucking on the couch, which would usually be my jam (standard sibling interaction leads to white-hot sex), except I was boooooored. There’s a scene where she visits him at school and they go skinny-dipping in a lake with some of his friends, and they both have to fight off the attentions of prospective romantic partners, and it ends with him carrying her to his truck and fucking her in the back off it. Which again in theory sounds amazing. In practice I think the jealousy trope works better if you’re threatened by your partner’s emotional intimacy with somebody else. And what is Rylie worried about? That this girl has porn star tits, where Rylie is much more modestly endowed. Ok you know who else has small tits? Natalie Portman. Keira Knightley. Emma Watson. Physically unprepossessing women the whole lot of them, amirite? Rylie is overcome by the same unwarranted insecurity when it comes to Hudson’s on-again-off-again ex-girlfriend, who is described as having humongous knockers. I understand how this can make Rylie feel inadequate—women are taught to hate their bodies from day one—but this chick also clearly has nothing going on upstairs, and her emotional connection with Hudson is nowhere in Rylie’s league. So Rylie’s jealousy strikes me as unearned and unrealistic.

Hudson and Rylie spend a good chunk of this book struggling against their feelings, berating themselves for being sick and twisted, all of which would normally be my kryptonite since i am on record gushing about the taboo/forbidden angle of incest and how I’m into sneaking around!! And none of it did damn thing for me in this case. The more reviews I read that contain the word “raw” the more I start to wonder if we all read the same book.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

As far as canon incest happy ending goes, the “run away together to where nobody knows you guys” strategy has its drawbacks, namely that it means leaving loved ones behind. I have discussed my preference for Option B before, but that option isn’t on the table for Hudson and Rylie because THEY GOT THEMSELVES CAUGHT IN THE ACT and exposed their relationship to multiple people so they can’t plausibly carry on denying it. Especially when Rylie starts popping out kids. Look, I’m into pregnancy kink as much as the next person but it just seems unearned. As is the fact that Hudson found a good-paying steady job even without the college degree their parents worked so hard to push him to get (he was kicked off the baseball team + lost his scholarship due to a combination of grieving for parents & obsessive infatuation for sister). This is America, where good jobs don’t just fall into high school graduates’ laps (unless you have family connections, which the Hale kids don’t, bc they had to move a thousand miles away to live amongst strangers!). And I can’t write these lapses off to the influence of the genre because I know there can be coherent class discourse in a romance novel.

A professor of mine once gave me a copy of Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature (1984) by Janice Radway, and it remains to this day one of the most transformative nonfiction reading experiences of my entire life. Janice Radway conducts interviews with dozens of mostly-married, mostly-middle-aged women in a midsize midwestern American city, and finds that for them reading romance novels is a form of self-care. They spend the rest of their time supporting and nurturing their families & extended social networks, but with a Harlequin romance in hand, husbands are much less likely to bother them. They can carve out time and space for themselves, they can draw from these escapist fantasies the emotional sustenance that their marriages/children are not providing. They can form friendships with like-minded women who also read a lot of romance. It resonated deeply with me even if I’m not a middle-aged white homemaker in middle America in 1984, because ever since, I’ve been very clear-eyed about why I read romance: To meet my own emotional needs that are for some reason not being met by my existing meatspace relationships. That, to me, is the point of the romance genre, and to hell with character and plot. And that’s why I say Hale let me down, because it didn’t succeed in making me feel anything.

There’s a post floating around that contrasts the way we categorize published fiction (by genre, ie. what happens—wizards or starships? corsets or lawyers?) with fanfiction, which is organized based on how it makes us feel: fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, etc. And fic has never let me down in that department, so I guess that’s why romance and fanfic fall under the same mental classification in my head. In this essay I will

#book review #hale #k webster

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thezodiaczone · 6 years

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July Forecast for Gemini

Which end is up? Normally, you’re happy to let that question go unanswered, Gemini. A little bit of pandemonium keeps life interesting for you! But as the Sun makes its annual visit to Cancer and your second house of work, money and daily routines until July 22, you’re ready for some post-birthday stability. Grab it while you can this month. Amidst your attempts to be practical and grounded, the stars serve up two topsy-turvy eclipses AND your ruling planet Mercury turns retrograde. The only constant seems to be change! Our advice: Roll with it. Now’s the time to root into your sign’s “mutable” nature, which helps you stay flexible and adaptable.

So, what’s going on upstairs exactly? For starters, July kicks off eclipse season, with two of this summer’s three scene-shifting lunar events sparking radical change. Eclipses sweep in four to six times a year and shakes up the status quo, removing anything that’s past its expiration date and flinging open the doors for a fresh start.

The first, a partial solar (new moon) eclipse, lands in Cancer on July 12, activating your second house of finances and security. Is it time for a new source of income, a different working style or some affirming habits? Solar eclipses mark bold beginnings and can set us on a whole new (and unexpected) path. Efforts you undertake now could really pay off in the coming six months.

This is the inaugural eclipse in a series that will fall on the Cancer/Capricorn axis between now and July 2020, initiating a wave of changes around the way you spend, save, invest and share both money and power. If you’re living check to check, prepare for an eye-opening (and unavoidable) education on how to make your money work harder for you. The second house also rules self-worth, and you could get a crash course in confidence, learning how to advocate for what you truly deserve.

This is the only eclipse from this series in 2018—a “sneak preview” of the changes that will take flight in 2019—but it will still be an intense start! On July 12, the Sun and new moon are exactly opposite power-tripping Pluto in Capricorn and your eighth house of joint ventures, shared finances and intimacy. The annual Sun-Pluto opposition is a time when domineering behaviors can manifest, along with abuses of authority. Pluto rules the unconscious, and this transit can draw out the “shadow” sides of people driven by fear and scarcity. Watch your own jealous or undercutting thoughts, which can be intensified by an eclipse. Fights around sex, money or the division of power could erupt, and with these two ego-driven planets at loggerheads, it will take extra effort not to sink into low-vibe behavior.

Some of this angst is spurred by magnifier Jupiter, which will end a four-month retrograde two days before the eclipse, on July 10. Jupiter will go direct (forward) in Scorpio and your sixth house of health, fitness and organization. That will be a boon for your wellbeing but could also bring up dormant control issues and anxiety, especially around money.

Keep calm and Gemini on: Jupiter will remain in Scorpio until November 8, giving you ample time to get back on the wellness wagon and straighten out your finances. Start with an epic decluttering and purge stuff that’s been taking up psychic and physical space. With stressful Mars now retrograde until August 27—and in Aquarius and your ninth house of excess until August 12—there IS such a thing as “too much,” even for you. Prioritize. Streamline. Focus. If you tend to the handful of projects that are most aligned with your values, you’ll get the right return on investment. The sixth house rules helpful people, so refresh Team Gemini with some savvy service providers and delegate duties to them.

On July 22, the Sun swings into Leo and your social third house, helping you get out of your head and talk things through. With el Sol in your communication and kindred-spirits zone, synergies can spark up quickly. But don’t rush to sign someone on as a partner too quickly! From July 26 until August 19, expressive Mercury will be retrograde in Leo, scrambling signals and causing chaos with technology, transportation and interpersonal affairs.

Explore small (and low-risk) joint undertakings where you can test your chemistry rather than incorporating an LLC together. Hold off on inking contracts if possible, and if you need to have a “difficult” conversation, make sure you’re prepared to listen as much as you talk—if not more. Since the third house and Mercury both rule anything with wheels (and electronics), think twice before getting a new car, bike, scooter, laptop, phone or gadget. Research now, then make an informed purchase after August 19.

Mercury will join Mars, Saturn, Neptune AND Pluto in powered-down retrograde as July ends, and it may feel like a lot of things are stuck in a holding pattern. Once again: roll with it. Retrogrades are ideal times to revisit the past, reunite, reflect and redo. Surely you have some unfinished business or back-burnered projects that could use your attention while you wait?

Retrogrades aside, there’s one day that things WILL happen, come hell or high water. That’s June 27, when the Aquarius full moon total lunar eclipse commands the cosmos, sweeping through to radically move the needle. This game changer of a full moon will blast into your outspoken and expansive ninth house, prompting you to completely ignore every Mercury retrograde “rule” and address an issue head-on.

The ninth house also rules travel, study, entrepreneurship and long-distance connections. Out of the blue, you could hop on a plane for a big opportunity, see your work published or get an exciting indie business opportunity. A person or situation that’s no longer aligned with your vibe could be “eclipsed” out of your life. This eclipse will conjunct fiery Mars, which is retrograde in Aquarius for the next couple weeks. If you’ve been biting your tongue, a LOT could come out in a heated way. Watch that temper—and that famous Gemini sarcasm!

This is the final Aquarius eclipse in a series that’s been touching down on the Leo/Aquarius axis since February 2017, shaking up your mindset, beliefs and communication style. Reflect on the past couple years: You could now live in a different neighborhood, acquire an entirely new set of friends or have a platform to share your ideas. Look back to the prior two Aquarius eclipses on August 7, 2017, and February 15, 2018, for clues of what might fully come together now. And if you DO have something to get off your chest, remember all that you’ve learned from these eclipses—make your point in a kind way that brings people together rather than dividing and alienating them.

Love & Romance

With relentless Mars off-course in Aquarius and your excessive ninth house all month (June 26 to August 27), you might be feeling overwhelmed or like things have moved too fast and now you need to pull back. Some Geminis may contract a case of “grass is greener” syndrome, having gotten a bit too hopeful about someone only to discover that their “adorable quirks” are possible deal breakers. Action planet Mars spinning retrograde can help you go back a few squares and reassess things before making any major decisions.

Whether with a new love interest or your longtime sweetie, you’ll be able to talk things through while diplomatic Venus is in Leo and your third house of communication until July 9. But she’s opposing Mars in your larger-than-life ninth house, so watch out for overthinking or forcing conversations before you’re both ready.

On July 9, Venus darts into Virgo and your nurturing fourth house until August 6. Take time to relax at home, feather your nest, focus on self-care and strengthen bonds of unconditional love with family and intimate friends. If you’re in a new relationship, this is a perfect time to meet each other’s parents or siblings or to exchange keys. Longtime couples will enjoy this homey vibe and hosting some lovely gatherings or revisiting a nostalgic spot. Bring on the misty-eyed moments!

Venus will form flowing trines to innovative Uranus in your twelfth house of fantasy (July 11), then structured Saturn (July 14) and transformational Pluto (on July 27), which are both in Capricorn and your erotic, soulful eighth house. These could be powerful moments for pulling out all the romantic stops and having some unforgettable encounters in the boudoir, however many shades of gray you fancy!

Key Dates

July 11: Venus-Uranus Trine You could drop your emotional guard spontaneously, perhaps even sharing a deep, dark secret. Seeking love? You might meet a fantasy-sparking soulmate type out of the blue.

Money & Career

Easy does it, Gemini. You’re percolating with big ideas, but it might be too soon to unleash them fully on the public. Mars, the planet of drive and ambition, is retrograde in Aquarius and your expansive ninth house until August 12 (the retrograde lasts until August 27). Rushing into anything is not advised, especially ventures that involve the media, education or a startup business. In your eagerness to “make this happen!”, you may have overlooked a few small but crucial details. Don’t worry about upsetting anyone, Gemini—if a deal’s not working in your favor, it’s okay to hit pause or renegotiate.

Besides, the month’s two eclipses may bring opportunities you couldn’t have imagined. On July 12, a partial solar eclipse in Cancer activates your second house of work and money. An intriguing job offer or a new client could appear out of the blue. You might have an epiphany about the kind of work that best suits your soul, and home in on that. Take methodical steps to build that over the next six months, and you’ll have some awesome progress to celebrate in early 2019 (or sooner).

A total lunar eclipse in Aquarius arrives on July 27, electrifying your visionary ninth house. You’ll be glad you didn’t rush into anything because this could take your passion projects in a whole new direction. This powerful surge of purpose and optimism can bring one of your world-changing ideas to a global audience or push you to leap far outside your comfort zone. (Since this eclipse will sync up with Mars retrograde, be sure to pack a parachute for backup.) An opportunity to travel, teach or publish your work could appear out of the blue. Look back to mid-February, when an Aquarius solar eclipse planted the seeds for what will come to a bold turning point now. Stay open to opportunities and input from afar—you never know where it will come from.

Key Dates

July 5: Mercury-Mars Opposition You can get sucked into some petty (or significant) squabbles over expenses or the division of time and resources. It might not be possible to precisely balance everything, but find a way to make it work for everyone on a grander scale and people will be happy.

Love Days: 18, 23 Money Days: 30, 12 Luck Days: 10, 27 Off Days: 8, 19, 25

#gemini #monthly forecast #horoscope #horoscopes #astrology #gemini monthly

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dsudis · 7 years

Text

writing meme

I was tagged by @silentwalrus1 approximately one internet lifetime ago.

+Where do you publish your work?

AO3 and also my own website (dira.ficlaundering.com) though I am beginning to think that... you know. Personal fic author archive-websites are a thing of the past and it’s not like I don’t keep local copies of everything in case the AO3 should up and disappear somehow, and also it looks... reasonably likely that the AO3 will not up and disappear anytime soon, so... maybe I will let the website go? idk.

+What medium/application/etc. you use?

Good old Microsoft Word, since I was dragged kicking and screaming to it from WordPerfect ten years ago. I trust The Cloud even less than I trust the AO3 to go on existing and also I do not actually want to share my actual working files in real time with absolutely anyone ever.

+Do you collaborate with others?

Nnnno. I am not good at relinquishing control over the story to anyone else--I mean, I will take someone else’s story and write fanfiction of it all day long, obviously, but sharing the actual story-making with someone else, no.

OTOH I love betas, and I more or less have to workshop an idea in chat--telling out the whole arc and sometimes individual scenes--before I can write it. Like, if you want to know what I’m going to write next the trick is to be in a chat room with me and ask a leading question and then make encouraging noises occasionally because BOY HOWDY DO I WANT TO TELL YOU AND HEAR WHETHER YOU THINK THAT WORKS.

+How much editing do you do before you publish?

It varies, depending on the story, how long it is, how many fucks I give about it by the time I’m done with it, etc. But I definitely like to have it betaed and go over the final story for proofreading type stuff. There have been stories I wrote that in the beta process wound up getting fairly massive rewrites--the middle story in the “Just Stay Alive” trilogy, “Seek Out the Hidden Places” is the one that springs to mind right now; I wrote that story, sent it to beta, and then realized that I had basically left out a huge amount of what the story should really be about, and rewrote a lot to make that work.

+Do you listen to music while you write?

I listen to music almost constantly--silence is slightly unnerving and makes every little other sound much more distracting, plus I have a bit of tinnitus so once I start noticing that I have to drown it out. (Thanks, ADHD, on probably both counts.) So, yes, I listen to music while I write, but it’s very very rare that I have any special playlist or anything relevant to the story itself--sometimes I’ll have some kind of RAR GET THE WORK DONE playlist for generally motivating myself to stay awake and on task, but that’s about it.

+How do you decide what to write about?

See above, re: workshopping ideas. I am a pretty much perpetual-motion idea generator, but I also have been doing this long enough to have some sense of how much of a hassle a story is going to be to write (in terms of how long it will be, how much thinking and planning and research it might require, how much shame I will feel about posting it, etc.) and how much I will love creating and posting it (how much of a target audience it has, how personally enchanting I find the idea) and kind of keep those things in proportion. One of the ways I gauge that is by, as I said above, basically workshopping the idea with friends and in chat--there are lots of ideas that I’ve talked out to the point where I can recognize that if I write it I’m committing to 200k, and back-burnered it until I forgot about it completely.

(I rarely actually utterly fail to sell an idea to anyone, but there are definitely times when other people’s reactions make me reconsider how a story would need to work to survive outside my head. So that is also a factor.)

...Also once it gets past the idea stage and into the stable of WIPs, random number generators help a lot.

+When do you write?

Well, not damn much for the last week or so, and before that writing was my dayjob so I scheduled periods of fic-writing in between periods of original-romance-writing to break things up and avoid feeling too all-work-and-no-play about writing. Before that, I tended to sneak in writing at work and also write in the evenings, especially while chatting with my alpha/beta readers. So... could be pretty much anytime I’m in front of a computer, which is... most of my waking hours, most of the time.

+How often do you write?

Once again: not damn much lately because things have been a bit. wild. But prior to The Upheaval, pretty much five or six days a week (I would do five-ish days a week Going To Work to write, plus a semi-regular evening meetup one night on the weekend to sit in a coffeeshop and write with other writers).

I always always wanted to be a professional writer, so I was reading writing-advice books of the variety written by working SF/Fantasy writers when I was 10 or 11 and internalized all their advice, which certainly included the “if you want to write, write every day” chestnut, and so I knew that and could have repeated it with great assurance of its validity anytime since I was in middle school, but it was only maybe five or six years ago that I actually seriously connected that to my own writing practice, particularly in the sense of--whether you feel inspired or not, whether you want to or not, get some words out as regularly as you can.

+Do you take requests?

Only after we reach friendship level 7. Or if I have specifically opened myself up for requests for some very specific reason like a charity auction or something, and even then I will reserve the right to be really wary of your requests.

+Is there a genre or type of story you want to write but are hesitant to?

I avoid writing historically-set stuff because I know Just Enough to know how much research I would want to do to Get Things Right and that is a rabbit hole I don’t need to send myself down when I have so many modern-set ideas where I can just roll with it and put down any goofs to “well it’s like that in the Marvel universe” or “well it’s like that in the universe where werewolves became widely known about fifteen years ago in a lengthy revelation that was traumatic in various ways for basically all werewolves alive at the time, especially the children and teens who had to deal with this happening but had no control over how it affected them.”

For instance.

+Any inspirational quotes, videos, tricks, articles, etc that help you stay motivated?

...Prescription amphetamines mostly? I have the ADHD, so “staying motivated” to do literally anything is a deeply questionable proposition. What works a lot better is to have a pretty reliable schedule where there is a time, or multiple times, in the day when it is Time To Work On The Thing. And if I’m particularly stuck, such that I arrive at Time To Work On The Thing and just go blank, that is usually time to show the most recent bit of the story to someone and talk with them about what I’m doing next, because actually talking about it with another person tends to jump-start my brain into focusing on the thing and working out what’s next and sometimes does in fact stir up enough enthusiasm to get me going without it having to be Time To Make The Donuts.

+Go to page 7 of your WIP, skip to the 7th line, and share 7 sentences:

I have lots of things in progress but only one that is more than 7 pages long where the seventh page isn’t in a chapter already posted, which I have also worked on this month, SO. From the Ace!Bitty epic, slightly more than seven very long and winding sentences:

“I thought he was asking because it was how he felt, and I was trying to be a... good teammate, a friend--I was older, I was trying to look out for him. So I kept saying, oh, that doesn't seem so weird, and I think everyone feels like that sometimes..."

Bitty laughed, and Jack grinned and pressed on, watching Bitty's face to see if he was properly lightening the mood.

"He wound up taking me to the ace spectrum group on campus--oh, hey, Bits, there's a group for this, when you get back to campus, I know I still see their flyers around all the time, because it reminds me of that time. They're really friendly, they didn't even get mad at me and Shitty for showing up and being idiots at each other and everyone else."

Jack paused, considering what would be an added selling point for anyone else, and added cautiously, "I think the cake at the meetings is from the grocery store, though."

"From the--!" Bitty looked horrified. "But--what if there are little frogs just figuring this out, and they--"

Jack did not point out that, in this department, Bitty himself was the frog just figuring this out.

Annnnd lazytagging whoever wants to do the meme! Say I tagged you, it’s cool, you’re allowed! :D

#memery #writing #ace!bitty #wips

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